Pick your line on loose gravel and the tire is doing most of the work: how much volume it has, how much support the rim gives it, and how much you can trust it through a corner. Most gravel wheels are built around a rim barely wider than a road wheel. The SandStone platform, hand-built in the Netherlands, starts from a 37mm internal width instead, wide enough to change what tires you can run and how they behave underneath you. That is what we mean by wide gravel wheels.
Why Width Matters More Than Depth on Gravel
Road wheel design spent two decades chasing depth for aerodynamics. Gravel doesn’t reward the same approach as directly. On loose, uneven surfaces, tire volume and pressure do more for your speed and control than a few extra millimetres of rim depth: a wider tire at lower pressure absorbs impacts instead of bouncing off them, and holds a larger contact patch through a loose corner. The limiting factor is usually the rim, not the tire. A narrow rim squeezes a wide tire into a rounder, less supported shape at the sidewalls, which is exactly where gravel tires take the most abuse.
Wide Gravel Wheels Need a Genuinely Wide Rim, Not Just a Wide Tire
A 37mm internal width is unusual for a gravel wheel. Some of the best-known wide gravel wheelsets run a 32mm internal width and are rated for roughly 40–50mm tires. The SandStone platform starts 5mm wider at 37mm internal, and is rated for tires from 40mm up to 66mm, including 2.4-inch mountain bike tires.
We recommend starting from 45mm to get the full benefit of the wider bed: more support under the tire, a rounder profile, and lower rolling resistance on loose surfaces. It’s also why we regularly hear from riders running wide, high-volume tires on these wheels, tires like the Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.1″ or Continental’s 50mm Dubnital, well past what a standard gravel rim can properly support.
The rim itself uses our Asymmetrical Rim Technology (ART), which evens out spoke tension between the drive and non-drive side. Paired with DT Swiss hubs across the platform, it’s built to stay round and true under load, not just wide on a spec sheet.
A 37mm rim is not the right choice for every rider. If you ride fast on smooth gravel with 45mm tires, read who should choose a slightly narrower gravel rim. And if you are weighing a smaller wheel for more tire volume, see 650b or 700c for gravel.
SandStone SL: Built for Climbing and Acceleration (1,388g)
For the gravel racer prioritizing climbing and acceleration, the SandStone SL is the lighter build on the same 37mm rim. At 1,388g, it pairs DT Swiss 240 EXP hubs with aluminium nipples to keep rotational weight down, without narrowing the rim or the tire range that makes the platform work in the first place.
SandStone: Built for Wet, Salt and Everyday Abuse (1,460g)
If your riding regularly means rain, river crossings, or beach conditions, the standard SandStone (1,460g) runs DT Swiss 350 hubs and brass nipples. Brass nipples resist corrosion, which matters if your wheels see salt water or standing water regularly rather than just dust and mud.
SandStone Boost: For Boost-Spaced Frames (1,514g)
The SandStone Boost (1,514g) has DT Swiss 350 Boost hubs, brass nipples and 28 spokes front and rear. The Boost axle spacing (15×110 front, 12×148 rear) fits mountain bike frames, beach race frames and Boost-standard gravel bikes, and the wider hub base adds lateral stiffness.
SandStone SL Ninefold: Carbon Spokes and Our Own Hubs (1,225g)
The SandStone SL Ninefold (1,225g) is the top specification of the platform: our own Onda-G hubs and Alpina Carbolite carbon spokes, 20 at the front and 24 at the rear. Why the rear gets more is explained in our article on carbon spokes on a gravel wheel.
The Same Rim at 32 Inches
The 37mm rim also comes on a larger wheel: the SandStone SL32 and the SandStone SL32 LTD. Read why on our journal page: why 32-inch wheels belong on a gravel bike.
Built by Hand, by a Small Team
Every SandStone is hand built in the Netherlands, so we control the build process directly. As a small brand we can also adopt new technology quickly, such as carbon spokes and our own hubs, and get it to riders sooner. Read how in how we build a 9th Wave wheel.
All SandStone wheelsets are covered by our Lifetime Warranty on all rims and the Crash Replacement Program once registered.
View the SandStone SL, the standard SandStone, the SandStone Boost or the SandStone SL Ninefold in our webshop.
