Marianne Vos won the Gravel World Championship riding this system to adjust tire pressure on the go

Pressure adjustment systems on the go are not new, in fact, both the DSM team and the Visma-Lease a Bike team already tested them last year, even going as far as using them in competition in a race as atypical as Paris-Roubaix. However, the difference is that Marianne Vos has been the first to take a pressure adjustment system for tires on the go to victory in a top-level race.

Gravaa hubs allies of Marianne Vos to conquer the Gravel World Championship

We hadn't heard of Gravaa hubs since last year when some cyclists from Visma-Lease a Bike (then Jumbo-Visma) used this system to try to gain an advantage in the Paris-Roubaix.

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We remind you that Gravaa hubs have a small air pump that, using the energy from the rotation, accumulates pressure that, through a tube that communicates with the tire valve, allows adding air to it or releasing pressure. This becomes especially useful on heterogeneous tracks, such as in a gravel race that includes dirt sections but also asphalt sections where being able to keep the tires at higher pressure is a considerable wattage saving.

Using the Gravaa system allowed Marianne Vos to opt for a very aggressive setup on her Cervélo gravel bike, choosing to compete in the World Championship with Dugast cyclocross tires, that is, in a size of 700x33c. A handicap in gravel since, while it allows for very fast riding on asphalt and smooth terrain, when the rocks appear they become very vulnerable and can roll off if we ride with low pressure.

Undoubtedly, the Gravaa system only adds versatility to the gravel bike, in a very simple way thanks to the wireless button located on the handlebar in the place where the plugs that secure the tape would be and a renewed electronics inside the hub that makes it more reliable by protecting its printed circuit board, the weakest part of the system, completely safe from the dirt to which the hub is always exposed.