HED Announces Mid-Range Gravel Wheels, Emporia GC30 Performance

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Minnesota-based has announced the latest wheelset to their gravel lineup. Called the HED Emporia GC30 Performance, it’s a budget version of their top of the line Emporia GC30 Pro.

HED has also provided more details behind the naming of their products using a simple formula,

“Wheel Line” + “Riding Genre” + “Material” + “Rim Depth/Size” = Wheel Name

For example,

“Emporia” + “Gravel” + “Carbon” + “30 mm” = Emporia GC3 Pro

The Pro represents top-of-the-line and Performance for mid-range.

The Emporia naming took inspiration from the fact that the biggest gravel race, the Unbound Gravel takes place in a small town in Kansas called Emporia. It’s a race where the best gravel racers around the world compete over a grueling 200-mile course, and also where new gravel-related products are announced such as the Schwalbe G-One R.

At first glance, the GC30 Performance looks very similar to the more expensive GC30 Pro. Designed and handmade in Minnesota, the Emporia GC30 Performance has a 30mm deep with 26mm internal, 31mm external width, and tubeless compatibility. According to HED, the minimum tire width is 32c and can go up to 55c.

That’s as far as all the similarities are.

So what are the differences between the Emporia GC30 Performance and Pro?

The Emporia Emporia GC30 Pro uses a heavier carbon rim (150 GSM Carbon vs 110 GSM Carbon) and different Sapim spokes (Sapim Laser vs Sapim Race DB). The spokes are laced to the HED Sonic 510 hub instead of a higher specced HED Performance hub.

All these led to a weight gain of 125g for a total wheelset weight of 1,545g.

Pricing and Availability

The HED Emporia GC30 Performance retails for $1,650 and is available at HED, your local bike shops, or online at Competitive Cyclist.

They ship with tubeless tapes and a pair of tubeless valves.

Hisham Mirza

Hisham is a staff writer who has been with us for the past two years. He likes writing about gravel riding, and he’s always looking for new stories to tell our readers.