Issue #015 Review

Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc 700C – comfortable, featherweight gravel wheels

29.01.2021
by

Lightweight carbon wheels aren’t cheap but they’re the most noticeable upgrade that your bike can get. We tested the super-light Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc wheelset for you on a gravel bike and tell you whether it’s really worth € 2,499.

Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc 700C | 1,262 g (including tape/valves and Skyline freewheel) | € 2,499 (6-hole, 15 x 100, 12 x 142, SRAM XDR) | Manufacturer’s website

Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc 700C – the name is longer than the routes for which it’s made and also provides you with almost all its specs and intended use. Marketed by Tune as a specialist wheelset for gravel and cross, it promises to be lightweight and yet robust. While the version with aluminium rims is also available in 650B, the carbon version only comes in 700C. It’s also available in three tubular models with different rims and hubs. In this respect, the Crosser Endurance Carbon is a unique product.

For the Crosser Endurance wheelset, Tune rely on Stan’s shallow and super-light Grail CB7 carbon rims. They’re specially designed for gravel and cyclocross, weighing just 300 g each.
The Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc is available in all conceivable axle, freewheel and disc standards.
As a customer, you are also spoiled for choice with a multitude of colours for hubs, nipples, valves and stickers. The latter can easily be removed if desired.
The carbon rims rotate around equally light Tune KINGkong, or Kong hubs on the Endurance version. These have a more durable freewheel with solid lubricant in the bearings for maximum durability and weather resistance.

The Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon wheelset consists of super-light, shallow Stan’s Grail CB7 carbon rims, Sapim D-Light spokes and of course, Tune hubs. Since all wheels are built by Tune in the Black Forest, customers can choose from a wide range of axle standards, disc mounts, freehub bodies as well as a large number of anodized colours for the hubs and spoke nipples. While the spokes and hubs are on the lighter side of the market, they prioritise robustness over maximum weight savings. However, the Grail CB7 rims they are built on, are ultra-light and bring the total weight down to just 1,262 g, including tubeless tape and valves!

Due to their design, the rims are only approved for tubeless use, which we would recommend anyway. Tires sit and seal excellently.
With an inner width of 21.6 mm, you’ll be able to fit tires between 25–40C. However, they work best with models wider than 35 mm (pictured: 40C Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M).
Our test model had the lighter Skyline freehub instead of the standard reinforced Endurance model. That said, we never encountered any issues with the lightweight model. The titanium pawls aren’t quiet but the sound they make is very pleasant.

Each rim weighs only 300 g despite a relatively wide inner width of 21.6 mm, which is determined by their intended area of application: off-road use with wide tires (25-40C) and low pressures. The maximum tire pressure for a 40C model is given at 55 psi, which we think is still pretty high. We would usually run around 35 psi. To allow some flex and compliance the profile of the rim has been kept very shallow at 19.3 mm. As such, the rims should be more capable of absorbing impacts and go easy on your tires. In addition to the maximum tire pressure and maximum rider weight of 90 kg, the rims are certified exclusively for tubeless use, which we would recommend anyway. Fitting tubeless tires worked flawlessly and tires mounted securely and held air very well, as with all Stan’s models. Even with low tire pressures and aggressive riding, the tires never threatened to come off or burp.

The shallow profile of the Grail CB7 rims of the Tune Crosser Endurance wheelset offer a good amount of vertical compliance for a carbon rim. This protects the tires in the event of an impact and generates a lot of grip.
Tune use 28 Sapim D-Light spokes in a 3-cross lacing pattern front and rear. These offer an excellent compromise between weight, stiffness and durability.

The Sapim D-Light spokes chosen by Tune for the Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc fall in between the super-thin and light Sapim Laser and the thicker Sapim Force, which are the two versions that Stan’s use on their own wheelset featuring the Grail CB7 rims (Pro or Team model). This not only fills a gap in the market but offers a good balance between weight, stiffness, durability, as well as the need to true wheels. We like! Tune use a 3-cross lacing pattern for the 28 spokes at the front and rear, which adds to the wheels’ long-term durability. Tune have also prioritised durability over weight savings with the hubs. The KINGkong and Kong hubs are available in different versions, which use different bearings and freehub bodies. The Endurance version on the Crosser Endurance Carbon wheelset features a freehub body that is a little thicker at certain points and double-sealed bearings with solid lubricant. That way, no water is able to penetrate them and there is no need to ever grease the bearings. Like all Tune models, the freewheel itself has 3 titanium pawls. However, our test model featured the lighter Skyline freewheel and we encountered no issues during the course of the test.

The handling of the Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc wheels is very beginner-friendly. Thanks to their compliance, they’re forgiving of rider error and cope well with sudden impacts instead of pinging around and transmitting vibrations directly into your hands. This way they’re able to generate grip while remaining comfortable and in control at all times. You’ll also clearly notice their low weight, which makes them particularly interesting for light, less powerful riders.

The Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc 700c wheels are designed for durability and off-road use and you can feel that as you ride. They’re intentionally less stiff than classic high-end carbon road bike wheels which is a good thing. Thanks to the noticeable compliance of the shallow rims, the wheels offer extremely pleasant handling while generating plenty of traction, especially on gravel, all without sacrificing too much lateral stiffness on the road. Due to their emphasis on comfort, they’re more of a long-distance specialist than a sprinter but they’re pleasantly quick in acceleration nonetheless and precise through corners. Every bit of input is immediately converted into propulsion. Above all, they’re very forgiving for a carbon wheelset, making them easy to ride and therefore a good choice for beginners.

Not just an excellent technological upgrade, the Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc 700C also cut a fine figure on almost every bike thanks to their slim shape and multitude of colour options.

The Tune Crosser Endurance Carbon Disc 700c wheelset is a super light yet excellent all-rounder, both on an endurance and all-road, as well as a gravel bike. It strikes a perfect balance between stiffness and compliance and thus offers lots of comfort and easy handling even for beginners. At € 2,499, it’s not cheap but delivers a convincing performance and makes for an excellent upgrade for a variety of different riders and bikes – provided you weigh less than 90 kg.

Tops

  • all axle, freewheel and disc standards available
  • extremely lightweight
  • pleasant balance between stiffness and compliance
  • very easy to master

Flops

  • max. 90 kg rider weight (100 kg maximum permissible weight)
  • expensive

Rider: Andi
Duration: 3 months
Price: € 2,499 (6-hole, 15 x 100, 12 x 142, SRAM XDR)
Weight: 1,262 g (including tape/valves, with Skyline freewheel)
More info: tune.de

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