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At 62mm deep and a huge 45mm wide, the Streem G.62 is the ideal companion for wider gravel tyres. Add in low weight, maximum lateral rigidity thanks to stiff carbon spokes and a very competitive price, and I might just have found my new favourite fast gravel wheels.
Aerodynamic gravel race wheels are a trend. Zipp started things rolling with the 303 XPLR, then Hunt came up with the impressive Limitless Gravel. ENVE recently joined the party with its epically sized G SES 6.7.
Newmen’s entry into the gravel-race wheel sector features a 62mm-deep rim – only bested for depth by ENVE’s G SES 6.7 rear at 67mm. It’s also wide at 45mm externally, albeit the internal width is a relatively ‘standard’ 27mm.
Instead of going super-wide internally, as ENVE and Zipp have, Newmen has chosen to use the extra width to bolster the sidewalls of the rim, with a smoothed flat 5mm-thick edge to the hooked rim. The idea is the thicker edge offers more support and protection to tyres, reducing the chances of pinch punctures and tears when hitting obstacles.
While the 62mm depth makes it one of the deepest gravel wheels available, it’s the 45mm thickness that gives the Streem G.62 a unique look. The bulbous carbon is the same width as the tyres fitted, giving a balloon-tyre like aesthetic. Personally, I love the look.
Setting up tyres on the Streems is relatively easy. Like Newmen's road-going Streem wheelsets, the G.62s utilise the brand’s Aero Valve system. The heart of the system is a short, stubby 24mm-long Presta valve mounted into a plate, which is fitted into the rim much like a standard tubeless valve.
This lives inside the deep rim itself, so you need to use the included adaptor tool to thread the extension in place and access it for inflation. It has a Schrader valve end that sits proud of the rim, so you can inflate normally (assuming you’re carrying a pump with a Schrader port).
When the tyres are fitted, sealed and inflated, you remove the adaptor and conceal the gap via aero cover plugs. It’s a clever idea, although it’s another tool to carry around (and potentially forget). The wheels can only be used with compatible inner tubes if you don’t want to set them up tubeless (Tubilito makes compatible TPU tubes).
By hiding the valves, Newmen claims it has made a measurable aero gain of between 1 and 1.5W over the presence of standard valves, making up part of the 6W improvement over its previous gravel wheels.
With a set of 45mm Schwalbe G-One RS Pro tyres fitted, Newmen says the Streem G.62 is 2-3W more efficient than the Zipp 303 XPLR SW and DT Swiss GRC1100 50 wheelsets fitted with the same tyres when tested at 40kph in the wind tunnel.
My test pair weighed in at 1,539g – 808g rear and 731g front including aero valves, aero covers and tubeless tape. They come with a generous 130kg system weight limit, which means there’s plenty of capacity to spare for fully laden bikepacking.
Zipp’s 303 XPLR SW wheels are a little lighter at 1,496g a pair but, at £1,600 / $2,100, are more expensive than the Streem’s £1,499 / $1,690. ENVE’s G SES 6.7 Pros are claimed to be lighter again at 1,480g, but are more than twice the price at £3,199 / $3,100.
On the road and trails
I expected the G.62 to be a fast wheel in the right conditions; any modern aero wheel design of this depth (62mm) is going to gain pace quickly and hold it. I also expected the wheels to be something of a handful in crosswinds, because when combined with the Panaracer GravelKing ZX TLR 45mm tyres (that plump up to 46.8mm wide), the effective sidewall was 105mm deep.
They delivered on the speed front, rewarding my efforts by efficiently holding onto speed over rolling terrain, tarmac and trail.
You can feel crosswinds, but it’s just a slight feeling of pressure on the steering, never a jolt or jerk even when crosswind speeds are high – a likely result of the wide-arcing profile that results in the 45mm external width.
On truly rough terrain with lots of rocks and exposed roots, I welcomed the extra volume of the 45mm tyres, because the Streems are very stiff wheels.
According to Newmen, the Streem G.62s are optimised around 45mm-50mm tyres, so I certainly wouldn’t recommend going narrower, because a 40mm tyre will sit within the wide 45mm rim and potentially leave the rim exposed to accidental damage.
However, according to ETRTO standards, a 27mm internal width is compatible with tyres from 35mm to 71mm. Technically you could go narrower, but I wouldn’t.
Newmen Streem G.62 Bottom line
The Streem G.62 pushes the boundaries for depth and external width for a gravel wheelset. If the huge dimensions fit your bike, these are certainly worthy of serious consideration.
They are fast, tough and stiff. With a hooked profile and a 27mm internal width, it doesn’t sow any seeds of doubt around safe tyre fitting. That said, the broad rim still pushes regular tyre widths larger – something to bear in mind for frame clearance.
They’re very well priced and come well equipped with everything you need out of the box, albeit if you want spare tubes you'll have to buy the compatible options from Tubolito, which few stores will hold in stock.
But, niggles inherent to a fresh take on tech aside, the Newmen Streem G.62 is a progressive and very impressive wheelset.
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