Halo Carbaura XCD

£949.95 Halo’s gravel heroes

BRITISH BRAND HALO builds wellpriced wheels by hand in the UK for most types of cycling. The Carbaura XCD is, as the name suggests, a 700c carbon-disc wheelset for gravel riding, especially longdistance gravel racing, ultra adventures, road plus or lightweight bikepacking trips. Be aware that the wheels’ maximum recommended rider weight is 100kg, which is the weight of both rider and any load being carried.

The carbon rims are 35mm tall, 30mm wide externally, and 26mm internally, making them ideal for tyres from 28mm to 50mm wide. They spin on Halo’s off-road specific GXC hubs, which include the 120-point engagement Supadrive freehub, sealed bearings, 12mm end caps and centre lock rotor fitment.

Each wheel has 24 Halo Black Aero Racing Stainless spokes with a J-bend so the wheels can be easily repaired. Including 12mm end caps and the pre-installed tubeless tape, the Carbaura XCDs weigh a very healthy 1,451g.

Fitting a pair of Mavic 40mm tubeless tyres was child’s play, and they only needed 50psi from a track pump to seat fully on the rim. With sealant added, the combination took a few rides to settle down and they only lost 5psi overnight. Inflated to 30-35psi for a mixture of road and gravel riding, the tyres measured 42mm wide, giving welcome additional volume.

Be aware, though, that compared to the relatively small variations in road-tyre weights, the mass of gravel tyres can vary by over 200g each, and this obviously affects the rotational mass of the wheel. The Carbaura XCD rides very well, with excellent response from its fast-engaging freehub, and enough rigidity to prevent wind up (where the hub twists before the rim, due to the flex in the spokes). Whether the J-bend spokes and spoke pattern contribute to compliance is hard to say when rolling on large-volume, soft tyres, but flowing through uneven, potholed tracks, the wheels conformed well to the ever-changing surface. Their lateral stiffness and stability is helped by the widely-spaced hub flanges, and counteracts any noticeable deflection due to high loads and the action of large-volume tyres.

At a price that’s lower than several wheelsets with equivalent specs, the Halos are hard to fault. I did notice a high-pitched buzzing from the Shimano HG or SRAM XDR-only freehub, but that’s a minor quibble.

“The Carbaura XCD rides very well, with excellent response from its freehub”