Posted on August 3, 2022 by Ron Frazelle
Hailing from San Carlos, California, Ritchey Design has been providing the cycling world with innovative and kick-ass products for decades. Tom Ritchey, one of the legendary pioneers of the mountain bike in the 70’s, is still involved with design as the president of Ritchey. Their new WCS Zeta GX wheelset builds on those 50 years of experience, now with a focus on adventure.
This new wheelset does look very promising… it’s handbuilt, available, and selling for a price that is pretty damn wallet-friendly!
Let’s just start with the fact that Ritchey says these new wheels are “directly inspired by the reliability and top performance of the original Zeta Wheels, but meant shine in gravel.”
The new WCS Zeta GX wheelset is a 28-hole, hand-built, and tubless-ready wheelset that uses the new Ritchey WCS hubs which have sealed bearings and Centerlock brake rotor mounts.
The Ritchey WCS rear hub on this wheelset uses the precise dual-star Ratchet Driver with 36-point engagement which Ritchie says will “provide reliable engagement, no matter the terrain.” Plus the rear hub can be disassembled without any tools, making the hub easy to service, possibly resulting in a headache-free experience. Drivers that are available for the hub include Shimano Hyperglide, SRAM XDR, and Campy N3W. The hubs are available in BOOST 110/148 and 100/142mm spacing.
DT Swiss Competition tapered spokes.
The spokes used on this wheelset are the DT Swiss Competition spokes that taper from 2.0 to 1.8. This combo Ritchey claims “males for a very robust wheelset that is strong where you need it and shaves weight where available.”
The WCS Zeta GX rim,
The rims on the Zeta GX wheelset are 6066 aluminum and feature a 25mm inner rim width, and are tubless-ready, being taped from the factory. All you need is a valve and some sealant and you are ready to rip.
The WCS Zeta wheelset can use up to 50mm tires.
Check out more from Ritchey below!
Ron Frazelle is the Cycling Lifestyle Editor for Bikerumor, he has been writing about bicycles and the cycling way of life for 7+ years. Prior to Bikerumor, he worked in the bicycle industry, living and breathing bicycles since 1995. He is based in Anaheim, California, Frazelle is an avid cyclist of all disciplines, camper, father to 6 children, husband, musician and self-proclaimed retro-grouch.
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Why is it that every time there are images of a “gravel bike” or product it shows what looks to be someone riding XC on a drop bar bike? That’s not gravel around here!
“25mm inner diameter” seems a bit small for a bike
Agreed. “Inner diameter” likely should have been “inner rim width”
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