NOBL leaps to fore of gravel tech with FAR series rims and wheels

Gravel keeps evolving, rapidly, and NOBL is making sure it stays at the sharp end of the sport. The Vancouver Island custom shop has two new wide, aero gravel rims releasing today. The FAR 40 and FAR 50 aim to set a new bar for gravel tech in a space that very few brands have yet explored.

These two new FAR rims aren’t just wide. They’re also the lightest gravel rim NOBL’s ever made. With a few tricky new features on top of wide and light, these new rims go well beyond trendy.

Fixing the problem with wide tires

Wide tires are all the rage in gravel right now, for good reason. Finding appropriate rims is not as easy. While gravel aficionados can borrow rubber from their mountain bike brethren, mountain bike rims are rarely, if ever, particularly concerned with aerodynamics. That puts NOBL at the fore of gravel tech with the FAR rims.

There are a lot of reasons why growing rim width proportionally with tire volume is important. Wider tires were designed to work with wider rims. That means the tread will contact the ground differently when you’re running wide tires on narrow rims. It could also lead to a tire that feels like its folding under heavy cornering, instead of having the rim push in line with the tire. From a strictly gravel perspective, wider rims tend to be more aerodynamic companions to wider tires.

Introducing NOBL FAR 40 and FAR 50

There are two new rims in the FAR line-up. The deeper of the two, the FAR 50, is designed for higher speeds on more open terrain. Think Unbound or Belgian Waffle Ride events. The FAR 40 is slightly shallower, lighter and designed for more all-round performance where rugged meets the (gravel) road.

NOBL says the FAR rims are designed to be aerodynamic when combined with wider tires. What is aero with wide tires is different than what would be aerodynamic with a more traditional tire width. To start with, that means a wide, 29mm internal, rim width. NOBL claims that will work well with tires from 38mm all the way up to 57mm (2.24″). That range covers the more extreme mtb tires some pros are running these days while still giving options to run narrower tires when that’s called for.

To keep those meaty tires slicing through the air efficiently at gravel and endurance events, NOBL gives the FAR’s a 38mm width at their widest point. Both the FAR 40 and 50 taper down to 34mm (external) closer to the tire. NOBL says the FAR 50’s teardrop-shaped rim profile places the widest point 15mm below the bead…