Easton EC90 ALX Wheelset

Being solidly North American (and not from Chicago), most of the time when I get a pizza it lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between deep-dish tomato pie and cracker-thin crust Neapolitan. It's just "pizza", with a relatively thin base crust, a moderate amount of sauce/toppings, and a pleasant crust that bulges out a bit but it wouldn't hold a hot dog.

If you're confused and feel like you're lost on a food blog, start here. The Coles Notes of it is that I'm using pizza as a metaphor for gravel wheels.

The Easton EC90 ALX wheelset attempts to be this middle 'za. Not too thin, yet maintaining some aero profiling without being too deep and uncomfortable, and a width that is modern without risk of being overly progressive.

If you're unfamiliar with Easton nomenclature, EC indicates they're carbon (EA is alloy), 90 indicates the lightest, high-end components, and the ALX suffix is derived from the original AX "Adventure Cross" components as a lighter, racier group.

Highlights

• 36mm depth and 24mm internal rim width
• Available in HG11 Road, Microspline, and XDR configurations
• 1,492g wheelset weight (listed)
• Optimized for tubeless tires ranging in size from 33-50c x 700c
• Centerlock brake rotor compatible – maximum 180mm
• Hookless rim design
• Sapim CX-Ray spokes, 24 front and rear
• Vault CL hubs with 6-degree engagement
• Lifetime Warranty - details here
• MSRP: 1,848 CAD / 1,398 USD

Design & Installation

While there's some disdain online for "gravel" components, I will continue to argue that it is a genre unto itself, with a surprising (to some folks) amount of diversity and variety. And as the genre matures it's inevitable that components will evolve to meet the specific needs and desires of riders; someone doing 300 kilometer high-pace rides in Manitoba has different demands than a rider headed to Morocco for 3 weeks of off-road touring. This wheelset is geared more at the former; moderate aero profiling based around wide gravel tires, for those looking to go fast and maintain some modicum of comfort and keep weight down over a full-depth profile. This is similar in concept to other recently released wheelsets like Zipp's 303 XPLR, although the Zipp's dimensions are significantly wider and deeper.

These carefully sculpted rims surround Easton/Race Face's longstanding Vault hubs, with six degrees of engagement driven by three pawls attached to the hub and the drive ring on the freehub. Keeping weight down and compliance up are a paltry 24 straight-pull bladed spokes. While the Vault isn't my favourite mountain bike hub (the two-piece hub shell can be problematic), I have no concerns about it in lighter use cases (y'know...drop bars) and checking with a couple of different shops around town they haven't seen any issues. Basic maintenance on the Vaults is simple, and doesn't require proprietary tools. If you're looking for a full teardown on the six-pawl mountain bike Vault hub, Andrew has you covered.

Riding the EC90 ALXs

Wheelset experiences start when they come out of the box, and things started well. I've had two sets of tires on the hookless carbon rims, and fortunately both Specialized (38c) and Maxxis (45c) tires have gone on without issue, using just a floor pump. I've since had about 1,000 worry-free kilometres of riding on the hoops, across a wide variety of terrain and conditions.

Especially in the early days of carbon rims, countless wells of ink were spilled about rim compliance and ride feel. And while that still matters and there are plenty of rims out there that are way too stiff, by and large most major manufacturers have it figured out by now. I'm also a believer that tire carcass and pressure are a bigger factor for comfort and compliance. So while the Eastons ride firm, feel snappy and aren't overly punishing despite having some depth, anything less would be disappointing. The shallower profile is also significantly less susceptible to crosswinds than deeper rims, but sadly I don't have a Marginal Gains wind tunnel to test other aero claims.

Durability

I'm good at checking tire pressure on my mountain bikes, putting a pump to both valve stems before every ride - the same cannot be said for my gravel bike. Between daycare and commute runs, I just forget. I'm in a hurry, it's early, I know I should just do it everyday, but maybe I checked yesterday, and that means it'll be all good and a waste of time today! This matters because it means I've done a great job testing the ALX rims for impact resistance, after pressures have slipped low without me noticing. I've smoked multiple rocks against front and rear rims with horrifying sounds, and had no damage to rims or tires.

Similarly, the Vault hubs have held up through an awful winter of salt, grime, and the inevitable near daily bike hosing. The six-degree engagement is plenty for drop bar applications, and a quick inspection shows the seals have been doing their job keeping the outside out.

Conclusions

Everyone's demands from a wheelset are different, however the EC90 ALX fits my preferences quite well on paper. A fast, responsive wheelset built with moderately-sized gravel tires in mind, comfortable off-road, and enough aero chops to not feel like the brakes are on when you're really moving.

So has Easton nailed the marketing spiel and "struck a precise balance between rim depth and ride quality, with the goal of elevating gravel speed and experience"? I'd say these largely deliver on that promise. Sure, there are lighter wheels, deeper wheels, wider and narrower wheels... but some versatility is good, especially if you're dropping 1,848 CAD. Yes, they're built with the faster end of things in mind, but with a tire swap, I'd be equally happy racing these wheels or taking them on a bikepacking adventure. I believe these will remain my main wheelset for a while (with my We Are One Revives shod in 50c Ravagers as the aggressive terrain/bikepacking wheelset), and I'll update these pages if there are changes in that conclusion, or any issues with durability. etc.