ENVE Foundation AG25 Gravel Wheelset review

ENVE pitches the AG25 as a do-it-all style wheelset, suitable for everything from country back roads to hitting the trail and race conditions.

There’s no doubt the £2,100/$1,750 price is steep, and it will doubtless deter many people from buying a set.

High price aside, in testing the ENVE AG25 wheelset delivered impressive performance on poor roads and well-treated gravel. That said, those who like to explore tougher trails might be better off looking elsewhere for a set of the best gravel wheels.

ENVE Foundation AG25 details & specifications

ENVE says extensive technical analysis and rider feedback has informed the development direction of the AG25 wheelset. The aim was to combine responsiveness with compliance, and stiffness with comfort.

A shallow rim depth of 21mm is used to optimise vertical compliance and vibration damping, while the rim cross-section has been optimised for stability and power transmission.

The hookless rim has a broad 25mm internal width to support large-volume tyres, further adding to the wheel’s all-day comfort credentials.

The AG25 is the affordable alternative to the ENVE G23 wheelset, though the G23 with its 23mm internal width looks a little old by comparison.

ENVE also offers its premium road-oriented SES 3.4 wheelset with a 25mm internal width, plus a 34mm-deep aero-optimised rim.

The wheelset uses ENVE Alloy CL hubs (with the same internals as ENVE’s more expensive hubs), complete with stainless steel bearings.

You can also buy the wheelset with an Industry Nine 1/1 CL hub for the same price, should you prefer.

The wheelset comes with a lifetime warranty and crash replacement scheme, as you would expect for the price.

Although you might also expect tubeless rim tape to be expertly installed when parting with £2,100/$1,750 for a wheelset, it didn’t come fitted here.

ENVE’s Foundation line is the brand’s more affordable range. However, the wheels are still far more expensive than rivals such as the £849 Hunt 25 Carbon Gravel Race wheelset, and still cost more than Zipp’s 101 gravel wheels.

ENVE Foundation AG25 ride impressions

The greater internal width, combined with the shallow rim depth, spreads the load on the tyre well. Even with harder knocks, it doesn’t bottom out and the opportunity for impact damage is much reduced.

That said, these are not wheels that love life in the rough.

On tarmac or hard-packed surfaces, the Foundation AG25 feels fast, stable and very much at home.

It’s a responsive wheelset that accelerates fast and picks up well out of corners. It feels a lot like high-quality road bike wheels (something ENVE has a track record in producing).

However, take it onto looser trails and it’s less inspiring. It feels okay, absorbing some of the buzz and feeling solid and stable, but the AG25 tended to ping off even small rocks and give somewhat harsh feedback from chatter.

Pedalling on gravel roads feels efficient, but climbing seated on rocky, rooty trails brought about a tendency to skip.

Naturally, your choice of gravel tyres and tyre pressures will have an impact on performance here. However, it was notable given I was using the same Pirelli Cinturato tyres in the same pressure range as other wheels being tested alongside the ENVEs.

At worst, when hitting loose stuff they don’t inspire confidence, and I found myself cutting speed in order to feel more comfortable.

ENVE Foundation AG25 bottom line

While the ENVE Foundation AG25 wheelset is stiff and efficient, it isn’t that comfortable on all surfaces.

It falls most neatly into the ‘all-road’ category, which covers a range of surfaces from tarmac to green lanes and harder-packed unfinished tracks. It feels at home on surfaces that don’t require much supple forgiveness, but where you can cover a lot of ground fast.

The wheelset certainly lives up to ENVE’s ‘race’ pitching, but for the ‘exploring’ part, it’s less convincing.