Zwift’s February 2022 game update included two interesting additions to the Drop Shop: a pair of gravel wheelsets. There are three things that make these wheels interesting:
- This is the first time Zwift has expanded its non-road wheelsets beyond the basic “Zwift Gravel” and “Zwift Mountain” wheels
- These new gravel wheels have a custom Crr on dirt surfaces (more on that later)
- The wheels aren’t level-locked, and they’re available at a very low price
Let’s look at how these wheels perform, then we’ll dig into the Crr issue and wrap up with thoughts on why Zwift has made these wheels so easily available.
Speed Test Results
Both wheelsets perform (nearly) identically in our tests. In our tests on flat pavement they essentially matched the existing Zwift Gravel wheelset (just 1/2 second faster over 50 minutes). And on the Alpe du Zwift climb test they were just 2-3 seconds faster than the Zwift Gravel wheels. (Interestingly, the ENVEs consistently climbed 1s faster than the Rovals in our tests).
So on pavement, these wheels don’t offer any substantial performance advantage. But on dirt, it’s another story!
We tested the wheels on laps of the Jungle Circuit. Here are their times:
- ENVE G23: 13:57
- Roval Terra CLX: 13:57
- Zwift Gravel: 14:15
So the dirt is where these wheels really shine. Pair them with a faster gravel bike like the Canyon Grail and you’ve got a rig that’s a few seconds faster than any mountain bike in the Jungle.
Perhaps even more interesting are the tests we did up the dirt Temple KOM in Makuri Islands. Whereas the stock Zwift Gravel Wheels make the climb around 25s faster than the Tron bike, these new wheels climb around 36s faster. This will make bike swapping, and even using a gravel bike for your full ride, an even more attractive proposition.
Custom Dirt Crr
Crr (tire rolling resistance) is an important factor to consider in Zwift racing. (If you aren’t familiar with how Crr works in Zwift, read our “Crr and Watt Savings of Zwift Wheel Types” post.)
Until this latest release, all of Zwift’s road tires shared the same Crr settings. Similarly, Zwift’s “Zwift Mountain” wheels had their own set of Crr settings, and the “Zwift Gravel” wheels had their own set.
But Zwift is doing something different with these new gravel wheels. They’ve given these wheels a new Crr value when rolling on dirt – one that hasn’t been seen before in game!
The Zwift Mountain wheels have a Crr of .014 in dirt, while the Zwift Gravel wheels have a dirt Crr of .018. These two new gravel wheelsets have a dirt Crr of .016. And this makes them much faster than the stock Zwift Gravel wheels on dirt.
Based on our calculations, the difference between a Crr of .018 and .016 works out to a watt savings of around 15W if you’re a 75kg rider traveling at 40kph. Heavier riders or higher speeds could increase that power savings to ~25W.
High Availability
These new gravel wheelsets have no level requirement, and they’re the lowest-priced wheels in game (17,800 Drops) apart from the Buffalo Fahrrad. Zwift is clearly saying, “We want all Zwifters to have access to these wheels.”
Why is that? We’re not entirely sure, but we bet the upcoming Tour of Watopia, which includes some new gravel routes, has something to do with it.
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike’s performance relative to others may also change. We don’t always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
Interesting stuff. I’ve got a million drops burning a hole and have been wondering if it’s now the right time to invest in the new gravel bike and wheels.
A large chunk of those 11s will be lost selecting the right wheels, but still, I’m always up for these shenanigans.
Yeah, it’s odd… Zwift seems to save your gravel wheel selection, but not your road wheel selection. So you can start on a road bike and swap to the ideal gravel setup quickly. But if you swap back to road bike, it appears to just put you on the first road wheels in your road wheel list. Zwift needs to fix that, methinks. But if you’re just swapping one way – road to gravel until the end of the race – it’s a no-brainer for sure. (Another way around it is to use the Tron bike – then wheel selection… Read more »
I think, we NEED an option to swap within an individual prepared short-list of favourite combos from our own Drop-Shop.
Seems to get even stranger. I purchased the Roval gravel wheels and the Specialized Crux. If I select the Crux, the ENVE wheels are the default and I can ride on them without spending the extra drops. As long as I don’t swap the gravel wheels to something else, I can go back to my Colnago equipped with my preferred Campy BORAs. The only thing that changes is the spray paint on the Colnago. I can swap back and forth between those two setups no problem. But if I equip the Crux with the Rovals, the Colnago switches over the… Read more »
OR(!) Zwift could enter the 21st century of similar (read driving games) and let you save a few custom setups in your garage. I.e. bike 1 flat fast, bike 2 mountain goat, bike 3 gravel muncher, bike 4 repack ridge mtb, etc.
No Terra wheels in my drop shop – why?!
Excellent answer, Roule. You’re hired!
Haha … yes, you can hire Roule 🙂 … only a little addition : we don’t have a basic Gravel bike in our garage … but the Zwift Gravel is the easiest to purchase : 163.300 drops an no level to unlock … ride on everybody
Thanks, Eric and Carsten. 😊
I stand corrected concerning the Zwift Gravel. 😃
So much has changed in just three years, I forget what is available — or not — in the garage when starting out. I thought there was one of everything. Perhaps now that the gravel bikes are finally coming into their own, Zwift will throw the house brand version into the garage for everyone, like they did for the MTB.
This caught me out (thank goodness for ZwiftInsider!) Surely this is a bug (Zwift might call it a feature) – what next, disk wheels can only be bought when on a TT frame (which they should only be available for!)
Intersting! Can you elaborate why Canyon grail with enve G23 will be faster than an mtb in the jungle ?
Looking at the table in provides a good idea why that might be the case https://zwiftinsider.com/yumezi-bike-choice/
Because of a combination of the lowered Crr for these new gravel wheels… and the fact that gravel bikes are lighter and more aero than MTB.
Basically, the only advantage MTB had in dirt was their low Crr (.014) compared to the stock gravel wheels (.018). But these new wheels are .016, which is enough to make them faster than the MTB.
Ok, thanks! Looking forward to pass roadbikes in the jungle! It has been fun on a mtb!
Did Temple KOm from castle side, 64 seconds faster compared to roadbike, best time
It was a harder effort with 12 watts more, and last ride was in May 2021,
Canyonn Grail felt very good with the enve wheels! 🙂
I’d really like to see you use temple KOM as benchmark for gravel testing (wheels and frame) and using a tron as a baseline. Simply because it’s course with this climb that present racers with bike switch options.
Using my own estimates I gain about 20-30 sec (cat c rider) on that climb using a gravel bike. This does not warrant a change atm but with these new wheels maybe. Also since this climb has been in two latest ZRL seasons I really think it’s a good benchmark.
“Pair them with a faster gravel bike like the Canyon Grail and you’ve got a rig that’s a few seconds faster than any mountain bike in the Jungle.”
Would they be even faster when paired with the Cruz, especially when climbing Temple KOM?
I’m pretty sure that, on the which bike should you choose for makuri page, he showed that the Canyon Grail was 1s faster up the KoM than the Crux with the standard wheelset. If that holds for the gravel wheelset, that would leave the Grail as the fastest for climbing.
Very interesting Eric, thanks!
Although the pictures show the Crux I suppose you tested the Gravel wheels on the Zwift Gravel bike, right?
Thanks again: I would like to see Zwift treat all platforms equally. I am running on an iPad currently – and thinking of upgrading to apple tv/large screen. It is next to impossible to do a bike swap on the apple tv platform. There should be a way to do it via the Companion app, removing the advantage of a PC hotkey
That’s not true though it does take some practice. Last ttt with bike changes our ATV riders were no slower than the PC riders
Eric – a few days ago I tried a race on the jungle circuit. I thought “great, a MTB race” as I am a MTBer IRL and tried to select my mtb, but it wouldnt do so, and while in the start pen there was a small line of text top right of screen saying something like “this event has an enforced bike choice” At least one person was on an MTB and I tried to stop on a climb to switch but it wouldnt let me. (also one of the A’s was using a TT bike, for a bit… Read more »
Usually races on Jungle Circuit force you to use a gravel or MTB. It’s possible you were seeing “cached” versions of some riders, so even though they were actually on the forced bike, you were seeing an older bike selection.
You were doing the Sledgehammer Inbetweeners race by the sounds of it. To balance all the Categories As all ride TT bikes so no draft, Bs ride road bikes so slowed down in the dirt, and Cs can ride anything. What you saw is how the organisers have set it up.
I don’t see any of these wheels in the drop shop. Do you know when they will be there?
They’re already there, you just have to be on a gravel frame in order to see them.
Thank you. I’m all set.
Neither of the wheels above are in my drop shop. Anyone know how to try and fix this? Thanks.
You have to have a gravel bike equipped in order to see gravel wheels in your garage/Drop Shop.
Thanks Eric!!!
I don’t see the new gravel wheelsets in my Drop Shop. I have received all the updates.
Not sure where I should go from here.
Any Crr difference (or other advantage) between these new gravel wheelsets on pavement vs. the original Zwift gravel wheels?
Nope. The only place they have a Crr difference is on dirt.