Roubaix Expert Roval wheelset sub-1600g? No

[bluesky6]

I just got a Roubaix Expert thanks to Specialized's spring forward sale.

The bike's webpage claims that the Roval SLX 24 Disc wheelset is sub-1600g.

Well, I took the wheels apart to convert to tubeless and did some weighing (with a relatively accurate machine). I found that the total weight of the wheelset is close to 1698g with the original Roval rim tapes but without the centerlock lock rings. Detail: front weighs 781g and rear is 917g.

Since the two rim tapes will likely not weigh 98g, I suspect Specialized of exaggerating the weight of the wheelset.

Note that the Roval SLX 24 that comes with the bike is not the same as the USD$800 set that is sold separately.

This is a little disappointing as I was hoping that this will be the ONE bike where I don't have to swap out the wheels (being a weight weenie and all).

I'll still probably use this wheelset until I get enough $ to spring for a DT Swiss ER 1400 or something

[ChiZ01]

you get a beefier rim, what's wrong with that?

[kofsw4]

I bought a pair of slx 24 discs second hand. I think the seller said they came off a roubaix.

Anyway, they weigh 857g + 708g = 1565g with the roval rip strips which I subsequently weighed at 23g each leaving the weight of the wheelset at 1519g almost exactly the weight the wheels were advertised at.

I wasn't aware that there was a difference between the aftermarket and OEM slx 24s. What is the difference supposed to be?

[markgoldstein]

What was the complete bike weight? And is it Di2 or regular Ultegra?

[bluesky6]

The "real" Roval wheelset use Roval-branded hubs with DT Swiss 350 internals e.g. AFD1/AFD2. Which you can see with a quick peep at the Roval Components website.

The wheelset I got with the Roubaix Expert use hubs that are clearly DT Swiss 350 ones. The rims are Roval-branded. See pic for a glimpse of the rear hub:

Perhaps the "real" Roval hubs benefit from some milling/machining slimming process a la Dicut that reduces the weight...

The discrepancy in advertised/actual weight is important because the us/en webpage for the Roubaix Expert touts the weight of the wheelset as one of the top 3 big deals of this particular model (after the rider-first engineered 10r frameset and FACT fork).

PS: this is the "old" 2018 Roubaix Expert with Ultegra mechanical and CG-R seatpost.

[kofsw4]

Thanks, I didn't realise that. Yes mine have the Roval AFD hubs so must be the 'real' wheels. I didn't realise there would be such a big difference and I bet many people who have bought that bike are assuming they're getting the wheels advertised separately (ie the real ones) when assessing the value of it.

[Nefarious86]

The bike is advertised with the DT350 variant. Doesn't excuse them for the weight being over the claimed 1600g but it does show in the listing that it's not the 1500g retail offering. Without rim strips they will be about 3% over weight which is about the same +/- tolerance that most other manufactures play with.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/rouba ... 085-128894

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/roval ... 754-156781

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[bluesky6]

Apologies for reviving this thread.

Just for the sake of closing this out and providing a complete set of info for other weight weenies who might be OCD enough (like me) to weight their factory wheels.

I went ahead and removed the rimstrip of the rear wheel and weighed it. It came up to 23g.

So some math, if you subtract the total weight of the rimstrips (46g), you get a total wheelset weight (sans lockrings) of 1698-46 = 1652g.

Which still exceeds (albeit by 0.25%) the so-called "expected" 3% manufacturing tolerances.

In any case, this isn't great for Specialized.
Either (1) they come out as shipping a product that fails to meet typical manufacturing tolerances.
Or (2) which is probably more probable: their copywriters were misled by the SLX 24 references and believed that the wheelset that comes with the bike is the same as the one sold separately. Hence the "sub-1600g" reference in the Roubaix Expert webpage.

I've gone ahead and ordered a set of DT Swiss ER 1400 wheels. In the mean time, the overweight Rovals will be up for sale.

[regisol]

Hey guys, since the SLX 24's are the subject of this topic, I would appreciate your thoughts on the following question.
Are Roval's SLX 24 a worth upgrade to the stock wheels of my Tarmac SL6 (DT swiss R470 db with spz hubs)? I found a good deal on a never used pair of SLX 24 that came with a Roubaix Expert 2018 (about US$650 w/ a pair of spz turbo cotton tires). Thanks a lot.

[kofsw4]

Mine are still going strong after probably 10,000km of winter use, haven't even had to service or true them. However, I don't think they would be a huge upgrade to your DT Swiss wheels which actually seem pretty similar in terms of rim profile. Personally, for that kind of money I would look at something carbon and a bit deeper from Farsports or Light Bicycle etc. The LB AR46s that I use on the same bike in summer are a big improvement on the SLX 24s.

[blind76]

Does anyone know what is the rim weight (without spokes and hubs)?

[prokyon]

I had the SLX24 wheels with Roval hubs which came out to around 1500g - after 2 years of use, rear wheel buckled in an s-shape on a pothole and Speciazlied did a warranty replacement as they deemed the failure to be structural in nature. The new wheels have DTSwiss 350 hubs and are about 200g heavier! It looks like the spokes are beefier as well as the rim and obviously the hub.

It's almost like the original Roval wheels are the weight weenied version of the new ones with DTSwiss hubs. Seeing how mine failed, I can understand why - those wheels were way too tight and light.