Hunt Limitless 40 Gravel Aero review: fantastic wheels, but I'd make one spec compromise to save £600

I was impressed when I tested Hunt’s Limitless road wheels, so the prospect of the brand applying its progressive aero design to gravel grabbed my attention.

The Hunt Limitless 40 Gravel Aero builds on the success of that impressive road wheelset.

These are light, responsive and great-looking wheels. The Limitless 40 Gravel Aeros combine everything I’d want from the best gravel wheels: low weight, an exemplary ride quality, toughness and a competitive price of £2,499 / $2,899 / €2,899.

However, I would question the need for this full-upgrade option with CeramicSpeed bearings over the £600 cheaper standard model.

Hunt Limitless 40 Gravel Aero rim design

This new-generation Limitless Gravel wheelset comes with asymmetrical rims, front and rear.

These are designed to work better with larger gravel bike tyres, thanks to an increased internal rim width and wider overall shape.

The goal was for optimal performance with tyres between 40 and 45mm wide, the sort of sizes now favoured for gravel racing.

All of the development and wind-tunnel testing was carried out with Schwalbe G-One tyres in 40 and 45mm widths.

The rim development involved hundreds of hours of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) processing, and no fewer than 42 rim shapes were wind-tunnel tested.

The resulting design is front and rear rims with similar yet differing profiles. The front rim, for example, is 40mm deep, 36mm wide and has a 27mm internal width, while the rear is 41mm deep, 35mm wide and has a 26mm internal width.

Hunt claims this differential design maximises the aero benefit across the bike, while minimising mass.

The rims have a hookless profile. Hunt says the TSS (tubeless straight side) rim design improves the interface with the tyre and makes for a tougher wheel.

It also says that because the hookless bead is wider than on a hooked rim, it reduces the chances of pinching the tyre on rock strikes.

The rims are laced via carbon spokes into straight-pull hubs that are a new, lighter design from Hunt.

The H_Ratchet DBL hubset weighs a claimed 314g and the freehub has a 7.5-degree engagement angle.

Hunt Limitless 40 Gravel Aero weight and pricing

My test wheelset is the range-topping version, with upgraded CeramicSpeed bearings, tipping the scales at a feathery 1,378g for the pair, including tubeless valves and tape (Shimano freehub).

By comparison, Zipp’s 303 XPLR SW wheelset weighs 1,496g (£1,600 / $2,100 / €1,800), although it features much deeper and wider rims.

Reserve’s shallower 25/GR wheelset is marginally lighter at 1,360g (£1,899), while Black Inc’s Thirty-Four gravel wheelset comes in at 1,557g (£1,740).

If you can live with steel bearings (and I suspect many will be able to), the price drops to £1,849 / $2,279 / €2,279, though.

A saving of £600 / $619 would give 99% of the same performance, with a gain of only a few grams and perhaps a little mechanical efficiency.

£600 is a chunk of change to save and the same could be said of the steel-spoke version, which is still very light at 1,431g – and cheaper again at £1,470 / €1,849 / $1,849. That's a saving of nigh-on £1,000 / $1,000.

Hunt Limitless 40 Gravel Aero setup and performance

I set up the Limitless 40s with Cadex’s GX 40c gravel tyres, which are designed to be hookless-compatible.

Fitting was simple – the tyres seated easily and have retained pressure well since.

The combination of lightweight wheels and tyres made a difference to my bike immediately, not only by dropping a couple of hundred grams from the bike's overall weight.

On the trails, the Hunt wheels' lateral stiffness translates to a punchy ride feel.

Like other carbon-spoke wheelsets I’ve tried, such as those from Cadex and Partington, this stiffness is combined with a vibration-smoothing quality, though.

The difference here is Hunt’s gravel-focused design and a significantly cheaper price.

At 40/41mm deep, when combined with a deep gravel tyre, you might expect to feel the effects of crosswinds. I have ridden them in some blustery conditions, and while I experienced a bit of pressure, they remained stable.

The Limitless 40s are excellent on smoother gravel – they’re smooth-riding, vibration-softening and feel efficient at speed.

I was also impressed when the ground got rougher, and they performed admirably on some of my favourite singletrack woodland trails, with plenty of exposed roots and rocky sections.

While I’d still choose Zipp’s flexible and forgiving 101 wheels over these for more extreme conditions, the Hunts are a match for my current favourite Zipp 303 XPLR wheels when it comes to all-round gravel use.

Hunt Limitless 40 Aero UD bottom line

In this range-topping bells and whistles iteration, the Limitless 40s are undoubtedly brilliant.

They may not be quite as progressive as Zipp’s latest, more extreme offerings. But if you’re after a gravel race wheelset that doesn’t compromise on weight or aerodynamics, this is a fantastic option.

I’m not convinced the extra £600 / $619 for CeramicSpeed bearings is worth it for most riders, though, especially because forgoing this upgrade helps make the price far more competitive.