Enve G SES Gravel Wheels: Three Aero-Focused Options Compared

Introduction

Enve has added three new gravel wheelsets to its range under the G SES name, borrowing the naming convention the company already uses for its road wheels. The lineup consists of the G SES 4.5, the G SES 4.5 Pro and the G SES 6.7.

Gravel riding and racing has been getting faster, with more aerodynamic bikes and wider tires, and these wheels are Enve’s answer to that shift. The company first entered the gravel wheel market in 2018 with the G27, a low-profile, wide rim built around durability and compliance rather than aerodynamics. The G SES line marks the first time Enve has carried its road aero technology across to a gravel wheelset.

The G SES 4.5 sits at the centre of the range as the all-round option, light enough, wide enough and aero enough for most riders. The 4.5 Pro uses the same rim with lighter hubs and hardware. The 6.7 is the deepest and widest of the three, built for riders chasing every aerodynamic gain.

Why Enve Went Wider and More Aerodynamic

The most striking figure in the range is rim width. The G SES 4.5 measures 30 mm internally, while the G SES 6.7 goes up to 35 mm. That is unusually wide next to most current gravel rims: the Zipp XPLR sits at 32 mm, the 3T Discus at 29 mm, and many Hunt gravel wheelsets at 25 mm, which is still a common number.

Two things drive the extra width. First, tires are getting bigger, with 50 mm and even 2.2 inch widths now in use, and a rim that is nearly as wide as the tire keeps airflow smooth around the pair instead of creating a light bulb shape that disrupts it. Second, a wider rim gives a broader platform for a low-pressure tire, so the sidewalls are properly supported and the tire is less likely to squirm or fold when cornering hard or crossing rough ground.

Enve says the new rims are optimised for tires between 44 and 52 mm. They are hookless, as on the road range, with a wide hookless bead profile designed for maximum impact resistance and to reduce the chance of pinch flats in extreme situations.

Going wider looks like the start of a broader trend rather than a single product decision, and riders who already run 45 to 50 mm tires are the ones who will notice the difference most.

Enve G SES 4.5: The All-Rounder

The G SES 4.5 uses a mixed-depth rim profile carried over from the road wheel of the same name, with a 49 mm front and a 55 mm rear. The pairing is intended to balance front-end stability in crosswinds with a deeper, faster rear section.

For most gravel riders this is the sensible pick: wide enough and aerodynamic enough for mixed terrain without the extra depth of the 6.7. It is priced at $2,850.

Enve G SES 4.5 Pro: Lighter Hubs and Silver Finish

The 4.5 Pro shares the rim of the standard 4.5 but swaps in Enve’s own Pro Innerdrive hubs, which are considerably lighter than the hubs used on the non-Pro version. The build is finished with silver decals and silver bladed spokes, with the nipples seated inside the rim. The hubs and spokes are the same as those used on the company’s road wheels.

The rear hub accepts both Shimano and SRAM cassettes and runs a 42-tooth engagement mechanism, which gives quick pickup when you start pedalling hard out of a corner.

On the scales, the front wheel came in at 685 g on its own, and the pair weighed 1,465 g with rim tape and valves fitted. That is slightly below the 1,480 g figure Enve quotes, which is a good sign for a wheelset at this level.

The silver hubs and spokes are a deliberate visual choice rather than a technical one, but they do give the Pro build a noticeably different look from the standard 4.5.

The Pro version is priced at $3,100.

Enve G SES 6.7: Maximum Width and Depth

The G SES 6.7 is the most aggressive wheel in the range, with a 35 mm internal width and the deepest profile of the three. It exists for riders who want every marginal aerodynamic gain and are comfortable with the character that comes with a bigger, deeper rim.

Like the 4.5 Pro, it is priced at $3,100.

Tubeless Setup and First Ride Notes

Setting the wheels up tubeless was straightforward. A set of 50 mm gravel tires mounted without tire levers using a standard track pump, with none of the compatibility trouble that very wide rims sometimes create.

Out on a mixed loop of gravel, country lanes, bridleways and rough single track, the wide rim made its presence felt most clearly in corners. Pushing hard into dirt at low pressure, the tire held its shape instead of rolling or collapsing, which is exactly the support a narrow rim struggles to provide. Comfort was good as well, though with tires this size much of the credit belongs to the rubber rather than the rim.

The setup also felt quick. On a flat road with a slight headwind the bike was sitting around 30 km/h at roughly 215 watts, and it carried that road speed onto dirt without feeling unsettled. Real-world aerodynamic gains are very difficult to verify on a single ride, so the fair conclusion is that the package feels fast rather than that it has been proven faster.

For riders moving across from shallower gravel wheels, the combination of a deep rim and a 50 mm tire is a distinctly different experience, both in how it looks and in how it holds speed.

Aero Claims in Context

Enve has published wind tunnel data for the new wheels at 32 km/h and 48 km/h. At the lower speed with a 48 mm tire fitted, the company claims 14.8 percent less drag than the original AG25 wheels used as a benchmark, and 1.8 percent less drag than the Zipp XPLR, a comparable wide-rim gravel wheelset.

The same testing shows the G SES gravel wheels producing less drag than Enve’s own SES 4.5 road wheels when wide gravel tires are fitted, which is the clearest illustration of why the wide rim matters here. The margins are small, but gravel racing is being decided by small margins, and that is the case Enve is making with this line.

Buying Advice: Which G SES Wheel Fits Your Riding

For most riders, the G SES 4.5 is the straightforward choice. It brings the aero and width benefits of the new line at the lowest price in the range, and its mixed 49 mm front and 55 mm rear depths suit everything from fast gravel races to long mixed-surface days.

The 4.5 Pro makes sense if you want the lighter hubs and the silver finish and are willing to pay a little more for them. The 6.7 is a specialist tool for riders who prioritise aerodynamic performance above all else and ride terrain where a deeper, wider rim is an advantage rather than a handful.

All three wheels are made in the United States and come with a limited lifetime warranty plus a limited lifetime crash replacement policy. Enve lists euro and sterling pricing alongside the US figures. Given the price and the claims attached to these wheels, those warranty terms are a meaningful part of the value.

Conclusion

The G SES range marks a clear change of direction for Enve’s gravel wheels, moving from the durability-first G27 of 2018 to a line built around aerodynamics and serious width. The 4.5 covers the widest range of riders, the 4.5 Pro adds lighter hubs and a distinctive finish, and the 6.7 pushes width and depth as far as the range goes.

If you ride tires between 44 and 52 mm and want a wheelset that supports them properly while helping you hold speed, this lineup deserves a place on your shortlist. Go in with realistic expectations about aero gains: they are real, they are small, and they matter most when everything else on the bike is already dialled in.