Roval Alpinist CLX II vs Princeton Peak for Aethos

[justonwo]

I built my Aethos with Roval Alpinist CLX I wheels last summer, thinking I wouldn't mind going back to tubed wheels. Well after two flats on my ride yesterday, I'm just too used to living the tubeless good life.

The Alpinist CLX II is kind of an obvious choice given that it's generally the same wheel - but tubeless.

But I've been captivated by Princeton Peaks since discovering them several months back. The design certainly looks cool and the tape-less rim bed is kinda cool, too.

But the Peaks have an internal rim width of 18.5 vs 21 for the Rovals. I typically run 25/26 on the Aethos but want to be able to use 28 mm in the winter (or even larger).

Obviously, weight is paramount for this bike, which is my weight weenie bike. With Princeton's own brand of hubs, the weight is about 1280 grams. I think the Rovals are about 1250 grams.

One other idea would be to buy Cadex Ultra 50 for my Pinarello and steal the Zipp 353 NSW from my Pinarello. Those are super light (1250) but then I can only ride 28 mm tires. Maybe not a bad thing. I just worry about having 50 mm depth wheels as my only wheels for the Pinarello. How are they in crosswinds?

[TLN]

So, Rovals are lighter (a bit), wider (by much), likely to have a better warranty (Spesh stores all over the place) and are brand-specific (if you care about it). Seems like no-brainer for me.
It seems that you alreay have Pinarello with 353. Why don't you give it a try, and why can't you swap wheels between Pinarello and Aethos if it's super windy?

ps. 353 NSWs are 45mm, do you want to get extra 50mm Cadex? Seems to close depth-wise to me.

[justonwo]

So, Rovals are lighter (a bit), wider (by much), likely to have a better warranty (Spesh stores all over the place) and are brand-specific (if you care about it). Seems like no-brainer for me.
It seems that you alreay have Pinarello with 353. Why don't you give it a try, and why can't you swap wheels between Pinarello and Aethos if it's super windy?

ps. 353 NSWs are 45mm, do you want to get extra 50mm Cadex? Seems to close depth-wise to me.

All great points. Wheel swapping isn't so easy because one drivetrain is Shimano 12 and the other is AXS. But perhaps Roval is the obvious choice here. Maybe not as exotic as Zipp or Princeton but probably just as good?

[TLN]

So, Rovals are lighter (a bit), wider (by much), likely to have a better warranty (Spesh stores all over the place) and are brand-specific (if you care about it). Seems like no-brainer for me.
It seems that you alreay have Pinarello with 353. Why don't you give it a try, and why can't you swap wheels between Pinarello and Aethos if it's super windy?

ps. 353 NSWs are 45mm, do you want to get extra 50mm Cadex? Seems to close depth-wise to me.

All great points. Wheel swapping isn't so easy because one drivetrain is Shimano 12 and the other is AXS. But perhaps Roval is the obvious choice here. Maybe not as exotic as Zipp or Princeton but probably just as good?

I recall reading that Sram AXS and 12sp Shimano can play together. Not sure if you need specific chain for that.
Overall, aethos and Pinarello (F, I assume?) seem pretty close to each other. If I decide to keep two road bikes, I'd try to build them as different as possible, keeping them cross-compatible between each other: ww build and aero-specific build for example.

[justonwo]

So, Rovals are lighter (a bit), wider (by much), likely to have a better warranty (Spesh stores all over the place) and are brand-specific (if you care about it). Seems like no-brainer for me.
It seems that you alreay have Pinarello with 353. Why don't you give it a try, and why can't you swap wheels between Pinarello and Aethos if it's super windy?

ps. 353 NSWs are 45mm, do you want to get extra 50mm Cadex? Seems to close depth-wise to me.

All great points. Wheel swapping isn't so easy because one drivetrain is Shimano 12 and the other is AXS. But perhaps Roval is the obvious choice here. Maybe not as exotic as Zipp or Princeton but probably just as good?

I recall reading that Sram AXS and 12sp Shimano can play together. Not sure if you need specific chain for that.
Overall, aethos and Pinarello (F, I assume?) seem pretty close to each other. If I decide to keep two road bikes, I'd try to build them as different as possible, keeping them cross-compatible between each other: ww build and aero-specific build for example.

Too many differences between SRAM and Shimano to make them cross compatible, not the least of which is the different cassettes. Not worth it.

I decided to get the Rovals for the reasons you mentioned. Cheapest, lightest, wider. Just seems to make sense.

[TobinHatesYou]

I'm 65kg (ugh gotta lose 4kg) and literally riding 69mm wheels in windy conditions. You'll live with 50mm wheels.

Anyway I wouldn't worry about rim width on shallow wheels either. You've already punted aerodynamics, there's nothing wrong with running 28mm tires on an 18.5mm wide rim.

There are other options as well. Both the Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 and 37V are very light for their specs. Ascent has a 42mm version of the Polaris coming out with a 23mm internal width and 32.5mm external. Supposedly 1300g with DT 180s. Light Bicycle will have very light "Flyweight" options, even some with a wavy profile if you're into that.

[justonwo]

I'm 65kg (ugh gotta lose 4kg) and literally riding 69mm wheels in windy conditions. You'll live with 50mm wheels.

Anyway I wouldn't worry about rim width on shallow wheels either. You've already punted aerodynamics, there's nothing wrong with running 28mm tires on an 18.5mm wide rim.

There are other options as well. Both the Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 and 37V are very light for their specs. Ascent has a 42mm version of the Polaris coming out with a 23mm internal width and 32.5mm external. Supposedly 1300g with DT 180s. Light Bicycle will have very light "Flyweight" options, even some with a wavy profile if you're into that.

Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated. I was under the impression that internal rim width had more influence over rolling resistance rather than aerodynamics, which is dominated by external width, profile, depth, etc?

[TobinHatesYou]

Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated. I was under the impression that internal rim width had more influence over rolling resistance rather than aerodynamics, which is dominated by external width, profile, depth, etc?

All else being equal, a wider rim effectively increases tire volume. If you maintain the same tire pressure despite the increased volume, then the tire contact patch will shrink, decreasing Crr on a smooth surface or a drum. If you lower your tire pressure to arrive at the same comfort level, then Crr equalizes. The wider tire will still protect against snakebite/pinch flats at that equalized Crr.

So while a marketing department could claim that a wider rim improves rolling efficiency, they aren’t being completely honest. It’s a trade-off between theoretical speed and comfort…and sometimes comfort = speed in the real world.

The aero side of things is more interesting. The deeper the rim, the wider it can be. If the rim is wider, then tire size can also go up. My 69mm deep wheels are 35mm deep at their wider widest point. My 37mm deep Aeolus RSLs are only 28mm deep. I’m okay with this. I bought the Aeolus RSL 37s solely for climbing Strava PRs and to live on my Emonda.

[yingyu]

So, Rovals are lighter (a bit), wider (by much), likely to have a better warranty (Spesh stores all over the place) and are brand-specific (if you care about it). Seems like no-brainer for me.
It seems that you alreay have Pinarello with 353. Why don't you give it a try, and why can't you swap wheels between Pinarello and Aethos if it's super windy?

ps. 353 NSWs are 45mm, do you want to get extra 50mm Cadex? Seems to close depth-wise to me.

All great points. Wheel swapping isn't so easy because one drivetrain is Shimano 12 and the other is AXS. But perhaps Roval is the obvious choice here. Maybe not as exotic as Zipp or Princeton but probably just as good?

Zipp cognition v2 shimano freehub kit sells around $160 and can be swapped by bare hands.

[justonwo]

Got the Alpinist CLX II. Swapped everything over today and installed Schwalbe Pro One TLE. Seemed like a good overall choice. I'll stick with Zipps on the Pinarello since they seem to work quite well.

[FlatlandClimber]

Good choice on the wheels, not great choice on the tires when it comes to speed.

[justonwo]

Good choice on the wheels, not great choice on the tires when it comes to speed.

The tires were on my shelf and need to be used. What would you recommend for a faster tire that has decent durability and puncture resistance?

Also, sent you a private message about your SRM cranks. Ordered the same for my Aethos.

[FlatlandClimber]

Some people report about the GP5000STR not being puncture resistant, but I have ridden nothing but since they released, zero issues.
Also, new Specialized Turbo RapidAir is very likely faster too, as its predecessor is quite a bit faster than the Schwalbe, too.

[justonwo]

I'll give the Rapid Air a go for my next set of tires. For now, I'll poke around on the Schwalbe!

Are you referring to the Specialized Turbo 2BR T2/T5? They're pretty confusing with their naming.

[milanv]

Good choice on the wheels, not great choice on the tires when it comes to speed.

Are you kidding?
Schwalbe Pro One TLE are one of the best rolling tyres with very low resistance.