What size tires do you plan on running? If bigger than 35c or with knobs, that actual rim profile doesn't really matter except in the windtunnel in an advertisement. But if you want to use them for wide road tires, that's a meaningful reason to get something 30-40mm deep or too expensive. If I were spending a lot and wanted to run very low tire pressures, I'd go Enve g23s

For cheap - DT Swiss G1800 or GR1600 from one of the euro websites for $300-400. Wide and durable, plus they come with spare things you dont' need (end caps / XD driver) good for $150 back on ebay. Fulcrum Rapid Red and Easton AX also good buys.

I also have a set of Lightbicycle AR wheels, which i use with 30c tires. They great. I'd get something like this for 38c+ tires sub40psi only https://www.lightbicycle.com/...less-compatible.html

I saw that Boyd just came out with a gravel specific alloy wheel what looks pretty nice. Named CCC and available for $700 in either 700c or 650b. The specs look really good. 25mm internal and 29mm external width. Quest hubs which seem to get good reviews, and it's tubeless but also is hooked so no tire limitations. Weights look outstanding...the 700c is 1515 grams and the 650b is 1475 grams.

I was thinking about getting some HED Eroica's as a second wheelset for my 'all road' bike, but these have similar specs and are lighter and less expensive. Plus I've been a long time fan of Boyd Johnson and his company.

https://boydcycling.com/...ions/alloy-gravel-cx

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Matt

The hubs are a pretty expensive part of the package, you can do something like the Bitex set for 150, then maybe the Roubaix rims for like 200 for the pair and maybe 200 for spokes, nipples and labor. For lighter wheels maybe a stans rim. That's all you need, light and strong if they are built correctly. Then you can just swap the bearings out yourself when they wear out, very easy job. Those proprietary hubs are tough to get spare parts for and expensive.

I recently picked up some Mercury G1 wheels at competitive cyclist for $989, which they say is 48% off list. I've only got a couple of rides on them but seem great so far...