HED Wheels Announces Emporia Gravel Wheel Line

HED Wheels announced a new gravel specific wheel line and a name change for the range today. The wheels formerly known as Eroica will now be known as ‘Emporia’ wheels, more on why in a minute.

The new wheel introduced today is a carbon gravel specific wheelset called the Emporia GC3 Pro. It features a 30mm deep profile, a nice wide 26mm internal width, and has a claimed weight of just 1395 grams. The rims are laced with Sapim Laser spokes. The hubs are HED Sonic 515 (front) and 545 (rear). The external width of the rim is 31mm. The wheel is only listed in 700c sizing and the Emporia GC3 Pro will retail for $2200.00 USD and is available to order now.

The wheels formerly known as Eroica are now renamed the Emporia GA Pro and Emporia GA Performance. The wheels carry over their former specs with just a change in naming.

Why change the name?

 When we first introduced our lineup of gravel wheels, we were inspired by cycling heritage, Italian and French racing of the early 20th century. There was something epic and heroic we wanted the name of our gravel wheels to reflect, which led us to “Eroica”. Naturally, this put us in close proximity to the name of the international ride series L’Eroica, another celebration of cycling’s rich history. Out of respect for L’Eroica, HED Cycling has chosen to move in a new direction. 

In our opinion, no one has done more to promote gravel riding and adventure culture than the people and city of Emporia, KS. From the creation of gravel racing’s most well-known events to introducing many of us to the beauty of the Flint Hills, Emporia has left its mark on American cycling and we’re excited to celebrate the city through the new name of our gravel line.

That’s a fun way of saying inspired by Dirty Kanza without invoking the name!

To learn more about HED Wheels products and the new Emporia range of gravel wheels, head to hedcycling.com