December's Wuurd from the Nuurd!
Go Big or Go Home! Zipp XPLR 303/s Gravel Wheelset Review
This month, our resident Nuurd - the JayBird, talks us through the new Zipp XPLR range of super-wide gravel wheels.
The rapid expansion of the gravel sector has seen companies, both big and small, continuously innovate and push the boundaries of the sport’s status quo. SRAM has been a pioneer in this space for years, especially when the mullet drivetrain gained popularity in 2019, allowing riders to run a 1x single chainring setup with a massive 500% gear range by using mountain bike cassettes and rear derailleurs, which offer a huge variation from lowest to highest sprocket.
More recently, Zipp introduced their XPLR product line, offering a closer gear range but still facing a gap in their product portfolio—specifically when it came to wheels. Using road wheels on gravel bikes had its limitations, particularly in terms of tire size. Road wheels simply couldn’t accommodate the larger tires needed for gravel riding without sacrificing the volume and performance the tires were designed for. The shape just isn't efficient.
Enter the 303 XPLR wheel range—this has completely revolutionized how we approach gravel wheelsets. While the deep 54mm rims grab immediate attention with their aggressive style, the real performance gain lies in the rim widths. With a whopping 32mm internal width and 40mm external width, the days of running "fast" 35mm gravel tires are over.
As rolling resistance tests and trends among top gravel riders and racers continue to show, 40mm is now considered the minimum tire size for serious gravel riding. That’s why Zipp has designed these wheels specifically for tires 40mm and above. Going bigger allows riders to run lower pressures while maintaining lower rolling resistance and better puncture protection compared to higher pressures. If you get this tire-pressure balance right, you can save a lot of power through smoother peddling.
When you consider the style of gravel riding we do week to week in Jersey, with its rockier, more rustic mixed terrain, wider definitely = control and comfort. Think Grosnez area for example and the valleys with their Rooty sections.
From personal experience, running up to 54mm tires at pressures under 20psi has proven to offer excellent support in the sidewalls and unrivalled grip thanks to those ultra-low pressures. Without the tire volume and profile provided by the XPLR wheels, these benefits would be much harder to achieve. After just a few rides, the performance improvements—especially compared to more road-focused wheelsets—become crystal clear.
The difference this set-up has made from from week to week on the Tuesday evening Gravel ride, has made it feel like a new sport for me.
Thanks for reading.
My top tip of the month - Check out the the Zipp Tire Pressure Calculator - Click Here
Jay
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