Are carbon wheels worth it on a steel bike?

If you’re curious why these wheels seem relatively heavy keep in mind that these were weighed with rim strips and valves and both the Bontrager Line Elite Aluminum wheels and the Line Carbon wheels are designed to be durable All Mountain/Enduro applications. The Line Carbon wheels cost about twice as much as the Line Elite but are still significantly less expensive than many other albeit much lighter carbon wheels currently on the market.
The steel Surly Krampus was a joy to ride in all these variations and the carbon wheels certainly didn’t make it any worse. (Something I had feared going into this.

[@bootsauce47]

Your a cool Dude. Like your videos for your Krampus
For my 2017 Bombtrack Plus has BT hubs and 50mm WTB scrapers. Currently, I have Nobl with I9 1/1 loaded. The Bombtrack is my go to bike for gravel Chonky and I am a steel frame convert.
I have a lot of hills where I live so I noticed the carbon wheels don’t wallow when climbing. They are slightly lighter and not as much of a chore when riding.
I don’t regret my purchase and agree that you don’t need them. I personally think steel frame and mix nicely.
I also have a fully Carbon Gravel bike loaded with Onyx hubs and Nobl rims and I’m about to build up Velo Orange Neutrino just cuz I can.
One piece of kit I notice I prefer carbon is the seat post (buy a double seat post clamp if you go that route). I can’t ride very far on an aluminum.

[@harrie205]

all depends on the bike and usage.

[@audreyz6213]

Hi! Thanks for your video. I have questions eheh I ride a steel gravel bike (Keppler from Brother Cycles) and I really like it. But it's quite heavy and I live in Swizerland (so many ups and downs here). I'm thinking of buying a carbon bike, but I don't have the money right now and I don't want to rush to buy a bike I don't really like. So I'm thinking of putting carbon wheels on my steel frame (thanks to you video I know now it won't do much) but also a carbon fork. What do you think about that? Does it make sense to "carbonised" a steel bike or should I just save money to buy a carbon frame to be lighter? Merci :) best whishes.

[@WildOutdoorLiving]

Would you put carbon wheels on a steel bike? (Track bikes excluded)

[@broadfjord7087]

There’s levels to carbon and it appears that the carbon rims you put on were mid at best(considering they were heavier than the aluminum rims).

[@WildOutdoorLiving]

Absolutely and I should have explained that a little better. The carbon itself is probably okay but hub shells and spokes of the alloy wheels were obviously a little nicer which tipped the scales. They are also enduro focused wheels so comparing to a cross country wheel-set would change the outcome as well. This hopefully shows that just because something is carbon doesn't necessarily mean it is better, unfortunately the nicest wheels are very expensive but you often get what you pay for.