New Rovals?

[ParisCarbon]

Are these the new Rovals?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT7hxWNlFeM

[mikehhhhhhh]

Possibly, although I found it weird that he couldn't find the original picture.

If you wanted a load of views, photoshopping the spokes thicker on one of the most popular big brand aero wheel sets and claiming a new model is coming would do it

Perhaps it's just regular scepticism of GC Performance.

adding carbon spokes, saving a few grams on the hub and calling them sub-1400g would be a good way to milk that rim!

[TobinHatesYou]

Possibly, although I found it weird that he couldn't find the original picture.

If you wanted a load of views, photoshopping the spokes thicker on one of the most popular big brand aero wheel sets and claiming a new model is coming would do it

Perhaps it's just regular scepticism of GC Performance.

adding carbon spokes, saving a few grams on the hub and calling them sub-1400g would be a good way to milk that rim!

Found it like 5 seconds with Chrome. The photo is severely out of focus so it's possible these are regular CX-Rays or Aerolites, especially given that a few of those spokes look normal.

[mikehhhhhhh]

I agree with you

Is it just me or do the spokes look thicker in the GC vid

[aham23]

This is how the brands are reducing claimed bike weight, crazy light wheelsets. See the new Factor and TCR.

[pushpush]

Put some roval decals on some CRW wheels and I'll wager you have something VERY close to the next gen Rapide CLX.

[mikehhhhhhh]

Put some roval decals on some CRW wheels and I'll wager you have something VERY close to the next gen Rapide CLX.

What makes them so close? Just the combination of carbon spokes and wheel depths?

[Nickldn]

One of the biggest differences with the front wheel between the CLX and the CRW is the IW.

Last gen CLX front rim 21mm IW and 34mm external width. The CRW has a 25mm IW and 34mm external width.

With the CLX a 28mm tyre is usually about 29mm measured width, leaving 2.5mm of the rim exposed on either side.

This is a concern if riding on potholed roads, as the exposed rim edges are likely to get damaged from striking uneven parts of the road.

With the standard fit Spec 26mm tyres the situation is much worse.

The CRW's wide front rim gets around this issue with a 25mm IW. A 28mm tyre measures about 31mm, so not much exposed rim to damage.

[RDY]

Possibly, although I found it weird that he couldn't find the original picture.

If you wanted a load of views, photoshopping the spokes thicker on one of the most popular big brand aero wheel sets and claiming a new model is coming would do it

Perhaps it's just regular scepticism of GC Performance.

adding carbon spokes, saving a few grams on the hub and calling them sub-1400g would be a good way to milk that rim!

Found it like 5 seconds with Chrome. The photo is severely out of focus so it's possible these are regular CX-Rays or Aerolites, especially given that a few of those spokes look normal.

New Rapides may or may not be coming, with or without new spokes. But that just looks like steel spokes ...

Finish on rims and spoke count and lacing is identical to existing ones too.

[mikehhhhhhh]

One of the biggest differences with the front wheel between the CLX and the CRW is the IW.

Last gen CLX front rim 21mm IW and 34mm external width. The CRW has a 25mm IW and 34mm external width.

With the CLX a 28mm tyre is usually about 29mm measured width, leaving 2.5mm of the rim exposed on either side.

This is a concern if riding on potholed roads, as the exposed rim edges are likely to get damaged from striking uneven parts of the road.

With the standard fit Spec 26mm tyres the situation is much worse.

The CRW's wide front rim gets around this issue with a 25mm IW. A 28mm tyre measures about 31mm, so not much exposed rim to damage.

I guess you could just fit a wider tyre to the CLX to acheive the same, but fwiw, I've done 15k on a set of CLs with 28s on some of the worst roads in the UK (Kent!) without damaging the front yet

[toxin]

I'm pretty sure the point is to mount wider tires and I hope those aren't carbon spokes with that spoke count at the back

[Nickldn]

One of the biggest differences with the front wheel between the CLX and the CRW is the IW.

Last gen CLX front rim 21mm IW and 34mm external width. The CRW has a 25mm IW and 34mm external width.

With the CLX a 28mm tyre is usually about 29mm measured width, leaving 2.5mm of the rim exposed on either side.

This is a concern if riding on potholed roads, as the exposed rim edges are likely to get damaged from striking uneven parts of the road.

With the standard fit Spec 26mm tyres the situation is much worse.

The CRW's wide front rim gets around this issue with a 25mm IW. A 28mm tyre measures about 31mm, so not much exposed rim to damage.

I guess you could just fit a wider tyre to the CLX to acheive the same, but fwiw, I've done 15k on a set of CLs with 28s on some of the worst roads in the UK (Kent!) without damaging the front yet

Trouble with wider tyres is they add more weight, but you're right I would not risk 26c tyres with the CLX front.

Maybe you're just more careful than me. I have chipped my Bora WTO rims (front and back) on Surrey roads, that's a 26.1mm outer rim width with 25c tyres on. I can't imagine what a CLX would look like for me now.

Thought you were on Zipps all the time?

[mikehhhhhhh]

Trouble with wider tyres is they add more weight, but you're right I would not risk 26c tyres with the CLX front.

Maybe you're just more careful than me. I have chipped my Bora WTO rims (front and back) on Surrey roads, that's a 26.1mm outer rim width with 25c tyres on. I can't imagine what a CLX would look like for me now.

Thought you were on Zipps all the time?

Good point, I hadn't thought of the weight aspect. It's more likely to be luck than care for me

I have 303S on my commuter/winter bike and just bought some 353s for a bit more comfort day to day and lower weight for climbing trips. But up until now, I've been pretty much exclusively on the rovals and shall continue to use them for anything flat/fast.

[hannawald]

Just thinking if they move to carbon spokes what would be the reaction of DT Swiss. They are bog spoke manufacturer and supply those Rovals and Bontragers with spokes and hubs / hub internals. They don´t have neither carbon spokes nor hubs for them (consequently).
DT Swiss also have Aerolite II in their product portfolio, wider steel spokes which they have saved for their own wheels up untill now. Can this be a solution?

[toxin]

Wide spokes are nothing special, the main benefit of carbon spokes is weight reduction