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In the beginning when I heard about 650 gravel thing I considered it in the same way as @miro_o, but later got concinced that wide 650b & narrow 700c knobby is the way to go.

My wheel-choice saga is nearing the end, I am almost decided on going for two wheelsets 650b slick and 700c knobblies, so I will both benefit from extra cushioning on road and hardpack and be able to try some CX races in winter. The only question left is: I want to buy cheap from Planet X, should I go for Clement Strada USH 1.75 (13 pounds each) or Panaracer Gravelking 1.9 (21 pounds each). From specs it seems that despite the difference in size both should weigh almost the same, which makes me think whether the beefer build of Clements will nullify the effect of less massive tyre. Any advice please?

There are some good tyre deals at Planet X currently, thinking about making some stock for my future plans. My Pickenflick currently has Vittoria Adventure Trail 700x38c, thinking about either buying a pair of Gravelking SK 700x43 for later replacement and continuing with a single wheelset, or investing into second 650b one, then using 700c with knobblies like Crosswolf I have stocked and 650b with slick/file tread for hardpack and tarmac. I like to sometimes join road group rides so I need something not too draggy on road.
Would you advise me to invest into second wheelset? If yes, should I go for 1.75 Clement Strada (PX has it for 13 GBP) or 1.9 Gravelking (for 21 GBP)?

As an update, I got an offer to buy used Alfine 8 Di2, where the complete set will cost me about 60% of new Alfine 8 mechanical hub. When adding cost of shifter etc., this looks quite appealing and from what I heard Di2 is really smooth shifting and there is no more hassle with cable tension and wheel removal.
S-A still remains as a budget option, probably would cost about 30-40% of that Alfine set at maximum.
Also I am a bit worried that equipping the commuter bike with Di2 can make it unwise to lock unattended outside, what is one of main points of this bike.

I need discs, but S-A also offers S-RK3 with 6-bolt mount. Frame is 135 mm wide in rear.
I have heard many bad opinions about 5- or 8- speed S-A hubs, was yours @M_V a 3-speed or other?

I am planning to fit an IGH to my singlespeed commuter (Vitus Dee), not sure whether to choose Sturmey Archer 3 speed or Alfine 8. S-A is lighter, from what I heard less draggy and possibly more bombproof (simpler design) keeping the bike essentially SS with extra gears for up and downhills, while Alfine is more expensive and heavier, but possibly could let me also do some more trips on hilly routes as kind of 'extended commute rides'.
What would you choose? For most of 'free time riding' apart from commuting I have a Ti Pickenflick CX, here the most important is low maintenance and resistance to rust, winter salt etc., while keeping me going all year around.

I opted for 700c for now mostly because I got quite tight on budget and I got Vittorias free with bike, while 650b tyres are quite expensive and not so widely available, especially here in Poland. Later I plan to have two wheelsets - 650b for road and gravel, and 700c for more wet and muddy conditions, I was considering Nano 40c as my future mud tyre, but I have spare Crosswolf TCS laying around, so probably will use them instead.

Time to show off my Pickenflick after the first ride ;)
Apex 1 mechanical version, immediately made several changes, now it is my first bike where from the beginning I feel it is almost perfect :)
Kudos to Planet X for letting me change to Selcof Sterrato flared bars and Vittoria Adventure Trail TNT tyres for free (both were not available in the bike build, but they just put them after I asked for it and offered to pay extra).
Already set up tubeless on the new wheelset and added a carbon 3T seatpost and my proven Toupe saddle. Also swapped BB5s for HyRD from my old bike.

My Pickenlick finally arrived and I just assembled everything (brakes switched to HyRD from old bike and new wheels mounted immediately), tomorrow first ride :)

Does the raw titanium frame require any protection from cable rub? Should I mount some protective stickers or it won't be damaged by it anyway?

Can you compare RWS to ordinary thrubolt QR, is there a.noticeable difference? Also, does RWS make it easier not to have to adjust brake with allen key after every wheel change?

Apex 1 is currently 1200 GBP, so cheaper than Arkose 3. I just bought it for 1000, it's just a matter of patience until PX does another sale.
Also titanium might crack, but it is not less resistant to hits as far as I know. Not rusting like steel an not oxidating like alluminium is another plus for winter bike.

For a QR wheelset for gravel use, would you pay ~40 GBP extra to have DT RWS thrubolt skewers over Novatec ones? I have already decided to go for 9x100 and 10x135 instead of 5 mm QR, just there is a question of whether it is worth it to pay even more for RWS.
Also, anybody has experience with RWS and carbon fork? Is it safe so carbon won't get damaged, how easy it is to tighten it properly (so that the wheel sits in stable but it's not overtightened)?

Price is great, but 2 kg each :/ I am currently looking for both kind of wheelsets, but most likely will just buy 700c now and 650b later so they can be lighter.

For a mostly road use but with possibility of some light terrain, I am looking at non-SK Gravelkings and Pari-Moto. GKs available in 700x32c while Pari-Moto in 27.5x1.5. Which will be better in your opinion? I am a bit concerned that 27.5x1.5 is even smaller than 700x20c, so I am not sure if the bike will not be too low then.

I live in Poland, that makes PX shipping much more expensive.

As always, money is the final decision maker, and then I had to resign from this plan - when ordering a bike from PX anything extra in basket raised shipping from 43 to 80 GBP and ordering rims alone is extra 30 GBP postage, so for now I will just stick to "ordinary" 700c wheelset ordered here locally and maybe will come back to this idea in the future.

I am decided on TL28 for the 650b build, already ordering both bike and wheels at the same time makes my budget really tight, for the second 700c wheelset I will either take DT R460 or something 20 mm wide, but that will have to wait until later. The only question for now is 28 or 32 spokes.

Great, and to conclude the wheels topic - for road and gravel use, would you go with 28 or 32 spokes? Both are available at PX, my wheelbuilder said 28 will be plentiful for my 77 kg weight, but better check different opinions.

Home do they set up tubeless? The main 'competitor' for me is DT R500d, which are 50 g heavier, but I have heard many great things about how good DT rims are for tubeless setups.

Alright, I think that clears my concerns (the only problem is that here in Poland there is extremely limited choice of road plus tyres, but I am ordering bike from Planet X so can grab GKs by the way).
Do you think Pacenti TL28 will make a good rim for such a project? PX has them for 10 GBP, a real bargain it seems.

This is actually opposite to what I was considering (narrow road 700c and wide offroad 650b), but makes quite a lot of sense. Increased width of 42-48 mm 650b tyres is not too much of an aero drag when road riding? I would also like to join some group rides form time to time, so this must be zippy enough to let me keep pace ;)

I am also a bit frightened by weight of these - over 600 g is double the 700c wide road tyres, although Gravelking (non-SK) is much more bearable - 290 g in 700x32 and 350 g in 650x42.

Thanks, if you could also measure roughly how much clearance Pickenflick has in the rear for 650b wheels it would be great. I am asking all these questions because if non-slick 2.0 don't fit then probably I will go with a more standard approach of 40c Nano.

So far I only found Crossmark in 1.95 or 2.10 sizes, which one did you actually have if you remember?

Generally speaking, will 2.0 treaded tyre like Crossmark, X-King or Saguaro fit in the back?

You convinced me to buy the Pickenflick, now I have a question regarding the wheel size. As I am planning to make it my do-it-all bike for both road and offroad, I intend to get two wheelsets - a road 700c one (road tyres, maybe some 28c GravelKings etc) and an offroad one to easily swap them depending on my plans. Buying the bike I could order a few more bits for the future wheels from PX considering how bargain some of the parts are there.
I read that Pickenflick has 2.0' clearance on 27.5 wheels, so I wonder whether the offroad wheelset should be 650b so I can run e.g. Maxxis Crossmark 1.95 or something similar or should I just stick with a second 700c and grab some 40-42c tyres? As a sidenote, forests where I ride sometimes tend to get quite muddy, especially at time when foresters cut trees with all their heavy machinery, so the typical gravel file-tread tyres are not necessarily a good option for me.