Grit 4540

(9 customer reviews)

$3,000.00$4,150.00

Our Grit 4540 was designed from the ground up to recalibrate your expectations from an all-road carbon wheelset. Lightweight? Got it. Amazing stiffness? Check. Versatile, snappy, fast, stable? Always. Ideal for climbing and all purpose road OR gravel/CX (mixed terrain, gravel, cyclocross). How do we do it? Taking experience from the 6560, we launched the Grit with our variable depth cross section, for unrivaled cross wind stability. We also introduced a slightly varying width to the profile, and optimized our carbon layup, focusing around high stress areas. The nipple bed has been completely re-engineered to provide greater carbon thickness in that area, while removing material where not needed. 21mm hook to hook and 29.9mm at the widest point. Next level stuff? Try a uniform, hole-less tire bed. By removing holes from the tire bed, the wheel becomes incredibly stiff (holes+carbon aren’t best friends). That allowed us to make the tire bed thinner (lighter) while providing greater hoop stiffness (stronger). Oh yeah, no more tubeless tape either (YOU’RE WELCOME). The Grit 4540. Tubeless and podium ready. Reserved for those with grit.

Email info@princetoncarbon.com to inquire about a custom set.

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Description

Our Grit 4540 was designed from the ground up to recalibrate your expectations from an all-road carbon wheelset. Lightweight? Got it. Amazing stiffness? Check. Versatile, snappy, fast, stable? Always. Ideal for climbing and all purpose road OR gravel/CX (mixed terrain, gravel, cyclocross). How do we do it? Taking experience from the 6560, we launched the Grit with our variable depth cross section, for unrivaled cross wind stability. We also introduced a slightly varying width to the profile, and optimized our carbon layup, focusing around high stress areas. The nipple bed has been completely re-engineered to provide greater carbon thickness in that area, while removing material where not needed. 21mm hook to hook and 29.9mm at the widest point. Next level stuff? Try a uniform, hole-less tire bed. By removing holes from the tire bed, the wheel becomes incredibly stiff (holes+carbon aren’t best friends). That allowed us to make the tire bed thinner (lighter) while providing greater hoop stiffness (stronger). Oh yeah, no more tubeless tape either (YOU’RE WELCOME). The Grit 4540. Tubeless and podium ready. Reserved for those with grit.

Email info@princetoncarbon.com to inquire about a custom set.

Additional information

Brake Type

Rim, Disc

Hub Type

White Industries, Industry Nine, Carbon Ti, CK R45D Ceramic, DT Swiss 180EXP, Tactic Racing

Rim Weight

415g (Disc), 430g (Rim)

Hook to Hook

21mm

Depth

45 to 40mm, Variable

Max Width

29.9mm

Freehub Body

SRAM XDR, Shimano, Campagnolo

Finish/Color

Matte Black, Matte White, Gloss Gold, Gloss Chrome

9 reviews for Grit 4540

  1. Jose Padilla

    In mid-July I went to Iceland to race in The Rift’s little brother, The Crevasse 100k.

    The Grit 4540’s performed flawlessly along with the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H. I9 Hubs, Campag Ekar 13 speed group set on a Pinarello Grevil F made for a good time. Elevation gain about 3,200 feet with max elevation of 2,000 feet. Wheels felt great whether climbing or descending at speeds ranging from 10mi/h to 30 mi/hr. Tire pressures were 27 on the front and 29 on the rear. Temperature ranged from low 50’s F to upper 60’s F with a light 2-2.5 mi/h breeze with humidity in the low 90’s.

    Quite a nice day for the race compared to the 2021 race.

    In conclusion, the Grit 4540’s are great wheels on road, off-road and on small/big rock surfaces. Marty and the PCW team have come up with another superb wheel. I am a fan, friend and customer of PCW. I ride several bikes with different wheels, Campag, Enve and DTSwiss…among my wheel sets is the Wake 6560. Looking forward to more good product from PCW.

    Thanks for the ongoing support, Jose P.

  2. Erik A. Dorwart

    Already owning a set of 6560 disc brake wheels for my Cervelo S3 (and love them – by far the best handling wheel of this depth I have ever ridden) I was interested in trying out the 4540 in my rim brake Colnago C64 with 28mm tires. I have had the wheels for almost a year now and they have performed flawlessly over a few thousand miles here in New Jersey (on road and gravel surface) However, I just put them through a test on a completely different level and felt the need to leave this review. Between 07/24 and 08/01 I rode my Grit 4540’s 715 miles and 49,500′ of climbing on the mountain roads of southern California (altitudes as high as 7,900′). I was a little apprehensive of the descents on rim brakes but Marty assured me that the pads that come with the wheels (grey pads) were determined by PCW to be the best pad for this rim and, like everything else Marty has told me, it turned out to be the truth. I am 185 pounds, so not a light weight and these rims (in conjunction with the supplied pads) have the best braking of any carbon rim brake wheel I have ridden (which includes, Reynolds, Campagnolo, Enve (textured and non-textured) and Roval). Never a squeal, chatter or squeak out of these wheels ever when braking into hairpin turns from 45+ mph. While they might not be the “lightest” wheel out there, the extra rim width equates to better handling, stability and comfort on the road which is by far a better tradeoff over a few extra grams. So, while many may think GRIT may not be for the road, I can confirm that YES INDEED, these make fantastic road wheels too!

  3. Mitch (verified owner)

    Just want to let you know about my experience with the 4540’s. I did some climbing on Monday with a fast descent and along the route there were fast, sweeping curves with some tight bends. Tuesday I did a crit race. Yesterday was more climbing, descending and just generally a bumpy route. Holy Cow…these are fabulous wheels. Exactly what I was looking for and I will have a hard time with ever taking them off. These “feel” super fast for their depth and as you know if I “think” they are fast, they are. When you combine these rims with the I9 hubs and climb…..man they feel great. Light, stiff and quick engagement. The crit race was a great experience as well because I got to test out the cornering ability and speed. They stayed put when going in and out of corners. I absolutely love them.

  4. Hendrick

    I have used grit4540 for 500km, and this wheelset was surprisingly excellent. It feels solid and more stiff than my previous carbon wheelset.
    Crosswind is certainly not an issue, you will feel the crosswind but i can control easily.
    I hope there will a climber version of princeton carbon on a +/- 1200 gram wheelset

  5. Christoph Matern (verified owner)

    After a longer research process I picked the GRIT 4540 for my new road bike. I just want to share a couple of observations for other people. First, when sprinting these wheels seem noticeable stiffer than the 303s on my other bike. Second, they take wind gusts much better than my 303s. I didn’t expect the difference to be that big but I did a ride along the coast yesterday and I really noticed the difference versus my old wheels. Third, the Tune hubs seem very crisp. I will do more testing but even as a non-pro I noticed quite a few differences versus my old wheels right away. Lastly, the customer service was excellent. I needed those wheels on short notice for a trip and the team was response and sent them to me right away.

  6. Jay (verified owner)

    Marty, 

    I want to echo the other rave reviews of your GRIT 4540s. In brief: your wheels are *excellent*. I’ve been on carbon before, a while ago, and was not impressed at the time. It’s a completely different experience now. 

    Wind is always a factor out here on the east end of Long Island, the last touch-point of the Gulf stream before it heads out to sea. A 10-20mph steady breeze is a regular feature on this otherwise flat terrain. Wind aside, the riding out here is excellent. We discussed whether to go for your WAKE 6560s or the GRIT, and I made the call to reduce the disc cross-section based on the wind alone. 

    In terms of wind handling, the difference between your wheels and the Bontrager Paradigm (stock wheels from Trek) and my older Mavic aluminum wheels is night and day. Your wheels *cut* through the headwind like I’ve never experienced. Generally I have to take my beating like a man, but on your wheels I have been repeatedly surprised that I could power-on into the wind. A couple of times the front wheel caught a bit from a squirrely gust but I never had a problem with control. I’m very happy to be on the 4540s out here — now I have a wind weapon.

    In terms of roll, the combination of your wheels and the White Industries hubs is outstanding. They just *roll*! It really feels like floating when out on the flats — it’s a great feeling. I’m running on 25mm gator hardshells and tubes @ ~100-110psi. I am considering a switch up to 28mm and a lower pressure, but for now I’ll stick with the 25s. 

    On my solid but outdated frame + wheel setup (now retired) I got to the point that I could just overpower the bike. With your GRIT wheels and a new Trek Domane SL Disc there is no ceiling. I have a lot to grow into and I’ll be doing so this winter and spring. 

    Thank you as well for your time and attention to my many questions before I made my purchase. As an engineer myself, your team’s innovations, reported on your website, give me great confidence in what I’m riding. I’m literally never going back. 

    -Jay

  7. Bob (verified owner)

    I just posted my f12 with the grit45/40 wheels on Instagram. I don’t know how to tag you, sorry. Got it Monday and installed it all afternoon yesterday. If the wheels continue to perform how it did today and prove to be durable overtime I think it’s an incredible breakthrough. I described it as a “powerbank”. I just don’t get tired riding it. It does everything my bora ultra does, it’s light, smooth and fast. But it doesn’t end there with the 45/40. I pray that some pro team out there would give this a try I mean tdf..thank you!

  8. Matt (verified owner)

    I recently upgraded my Trek Domane SL-8 stock Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3 wheels to a set of GRIT 4540 wheels with White Industries hubs and I’ve been thrilled with the results – gaining both speed and confidence. The bike rolls much more smoothly, absorbs bumps even better than before, and handles the gusty cross winds by the shore much better than my shallower Aeolus Pro wheels.

    I also want to give a shout-out to the Princeton Carbonworks staff, who provided some great advice and turned the order around very quickly.

  9. Ken Zabielski

    Marty,

    I just wanted to close the loop with you and tell you about my spring training with my new PCW GRIT 4540’s with White Industries T11’s, on my new custom made Spectrum titanium road bike with Campy Super Record 12-speed group.

    Let me tell you how these wheels ride. The roads in Mississippi are mostly chip and tar with big chips. The roads are really coarse and are hard on bike and body. The wheels seem to be very stiff, but at the same time absorb the shock really well. It also helps that my bike also has carbon cranks, seat post, and handlebars. But I believe that the 4540’s absorb most of the shock. This is my second spring training in the Meridian, Mississippi area. Last year’s bike had a lot of aluminum on it, and it beat me up a whole lot.

    The wheels feel really stable on the road with tire pressures of 75 psi front and 80 psi rear. During the first week I used Conti 28mm tires. During the second week I switched to 25’s. The 28’s were plush. The 25’s were a lot more livelier, but did not feel any more rough than the 28’s.

    I’ve ridden the bike about 350 miles here with more than 15,000 feet of climbing. Because of the way we build these wheels at Spokes my 4540’s have maintained their trueness and roundness, and have kept centered.

    We have a lot of screaming downhills on these coarse roads. Today I was descending my bike at around 45 mph on a mile-long downhill; the wheels gave me confidence on the descent. The wheels also handle the heavy cross winds well.

    I am totally pleased with the way my 4540’s handle. They will remain the primary wheels for this bike. Great investment.

    Ken

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