The Traka. Unbound Gravel. The Hills. UCI Gravel World Series. Graff RD was developed on these roads, together with The Grip and Mattia De Marchi.
Gravel has raised the bar. Designing a gravel wheel today means solving an equation that, until recently, seemed impossible. Aerodynamics. Impact absorption. Lightness. Precision. All in a single wheel.
Graff RD is built around this balance. Because the best way to design a gravel wheel is to let it race gravel.
Graff RD was not developed solely within Miche’s Race Division. It was developed and refined in the field, thanks to the joint work of The Grip team and Mattia De Marchi, who were involved throughout the project, testing every technical solution across the toughest events on the international gravel calendar.
Stiffness, impact response, handling precision and rim performance over rough terrains were all validated in competition, under real loads and at race speeds. Only the solutions that proved themselves in the most extreme conditions made it into the final configuration. The result is a wheel that combines engineering expertise and racing feedback, refined where gravel is at its hardest, fastest and most authentic.
APPLYING AERODYNAMICS TO GRAVEL
Aerodynamics was the starting point in the development of Graff RD. Graff Aero 48 represented the basis of the project, but the evolution of gravel and ever-increasing speeds required a complete rethink of the rim.
The wider rim well made it possible to increase the external width, creating a more continuous transition between rim and tyre. The new profile, developed using a NACA airfoil, makes the airflow more stable, reduces turbulence and improves the efficiency of the wheel-tyre system.
To validate the project, Graff RD was tested in a wind tunnel with 47 and 50 mm tyres, at speeds of 30 and 40 km/h and with yaw angles between -20° and +20°, measured at every degree.
With 47 mm tyres, the configuration that expresses the maximum aerodynamic potential of Graff RD, aerodynamic drag is reduced by 6.92% at 30 km/h and by 5.94% at 40 km/h compared to Graff Aero 48.
Even with 50 mm tyres, Graff RD confirms the advantage of the new design, recording a reduction in aerodynamic drag of 2.73% at 30 km/h and 3.92% at 40 km/h compared to Graff Aero 48.
The findings were consistent across every configuration tested. Regardless of speed, tyre section or yaw angle, Graff RD consistently delivered lower aerodynamic drag than Graff Aero 48.
ALL-NEW RIM DESIGN
Designing a gravel rim means resolving a different balance compared to the road. Increasing the internal width, essential for higher-volume tyres, inevitably modifies both the aerodynamic and structural behaviour of the wheel.
The airfoil design builds on Miche’s experience in developing high-performance wheels and is driven by an engineering approach focused on optimising aerodynamic, weight and structural efficiency. The goal was to create a platform with a significantly wider rim well, while optimising the overall wheel weight.
The NACA airfoil was therefore redesigned to maintain effective aerodynamic behaviour, even with tyres beyond 45 mm. Every configuration was validated in the wind tunnel to identify the most efficient rim-tyre combination across the entire yaw angle range analysed by Miche, from -20° to +20°.
Gravel riding also introduces a second design constraint. Unlike road riding, gravel exposes the wheel to more frequent and more severe lateral and radial impacts. For this reason the shoulder section was completely redesigned and dimensionally reinforced to improve resistance to impacts against stones, roots and other obstacles typical of off-road riding, while preserving the structural integrity of the rim.
OPTIMISED INTERNAL RIM PROFILE
As gravel has evolved, tyre sections have progressively increased, calling for a complete rethink of the rim well. Graff RD features a 30 mm hookless rim well, designed to offer optimal support to the tyre carcass and to allow the use of lower pressures.
The increased internal width improves the shape of the contact patch and tyre support, delivering a more stable and predictable ride on rough terrains. The result is better vibration absorption, greater comfort and reduced rider fatigue, even over long distances.
The hookless configuration also helps to keep rim weight low, whilst maintaining the structural characteristics required by intensive gravel riding.
REDUCED WEIGHT & VONOA® CARBON SPOKES
Building on the experience gained with the development of Deva RD, Graff RD also adopts carbon spokes with a 4×1 mm cross-section: a deliberate design choice, based on that experience. This marks Miche’s first application of this technology to a wheel designed for intensive gravel use, where impacts, lateral loads and vibrations are significantly greater than in road use.
The 12+12 configuration was chosen to offer a structure combining lateral stiffness, responsiveness and handling precision. A fundamental balance in competitive gravel, where the wheel must transfer power instantly while maintaining stability over the roughest terrains.
Compared to Deva RD, the carbon spoke design was refined primarily to improve impact response. In gravel riding the wheel is subjected to higher and more frequent stresses than in road use, requiring specific engineering solutions to preserve performance and reliability over time.
On Graff RD, the stiffness-to-weight ratio remained a key design parameter. The complete wheelset weighs 1,455 g (±3%, including tubeless-ready tape and valves), approximately 75 grammes less than Graff Aero 48.
THE HEART OF GRAFF RD: THE HUB
Graff RD maintains the same 12+12 spoke pattern configuration already featured in Graff Aero 48, both at the front and at the rear. The hub has been redesigned for use with VONOA carbon spokes. The flange shape has been developed around the spoke’s geometry, for an optimal interface with the cross-section and profile and to maximise mechanical strength and aerodynamic consistency.
The front and rear hub bodies are machined from Ergal 7075 T6 and shaped to minimise the frontal area, reducing the wheelset’s overall Cd·A. At the rear, the hub body is paired with a titanium pawl carrier to optimise the weight-to-stiffness ratio. The micrometric bearing preload adjustment ensures the ideal level of rolling smoothness for every wheel in all riding conditions.
Everything is designed and manufactured entirely in Italy at Miche’s facility in San Vendemiano, using high-precision machining processes.
NEW CERAMICSPEED ALPHA BEARINGS
Even the smallest detail of Graff RD is designed to make you ride faster, for longer. The hubs are fitted with the new ALPHA CeramicSpeed bearings, assembled by hand in Denmark. The Class 1 silicon nitride balls are up to 400% smoother, 128% harder and 58% lighter than steel, whilst the pairing with hardened stainless steel raceways is achieved with micrometric precision. The new low-contact seals keep dirt and moisture out without adding friction, so efficiency remains constant over time.
The result is a service life up to five times longer than conventional bearings and a smoothness that remains unchanged from the first ride to the last race of the season.
Because performance depends on more than what you can see. The hidden details also make a difference, working silently with every revolution of the wheel.
THE IMPACT FORMULA
Every Graff RD wheel is subjected to a dedicated impact-resistance test protocol, designed to replicate the real-world stresses of intensive gravel riding. During the test cycle, the wheel is struck at each spoke hole with impacts delivered at progressively increasing drop heights, until the first visible signs of damage appear. The test determines the wheel’s impact energy absorption, providing a direct measure of the structure’s ability to withstand repeated impacts without yielding.
It builds on the same engineering approach developed for Deva RD, now applied to the far more demanding conditions of gravel riding, where potholes, roots and uneven surfaces put the wheel to the test far more often than on the road. The Impact Formula is not just about passing a single test. It is a method, repeated wheel by wheel, to ensure that every Graff RD is ready to take the hits.
WILD LILAC, THE COLOUR THAT TELLS THE STORY OF GRAFF RD
Wild Lilac grows naturally in California, on dry, rocky hillsides where the soil is thin, the landscape is bathed in relentless sunshine, and summer seems to last forever. There, every spring, the land bursts into a deep shade of lilac.
The colour takes its name from this flower, not as a decorative flourish, but as a reference to where it comes from. A place that offers no shortcuts, where everything finds its own balance with the ground beneath it. Graff RD was born from the same philosophy: engineered to take on those surfaces.
The new Graff RD wheelset is available through authorised Miche dealers at a suggested retail price (MSRP) of €2,500 (VAT included). The wheelset also includes a free warranty extension of up to four years (upon registration), providing added peace of mind at no extra cost for every rider who chooses Miche quality.
Learn more at the Miche Website