Roval 2020/2021 Road Wheelsets

[K4m1k4z3]

For those of you running the CL/CLX Gen 1s tubeless, any particular rim tape/tires that work well? Still trying to figure out if I want to deal with the "risk" or not, although it seems like plenty of people are running them this way.

3M 8992 green masking tape. 25mm. 2 layers. I prefer to start in the gap between spoke holes 1 & 2 on one side of the valve hole and start taping AWAY from the valve hole, then do 2 full revolutions (go over the valve hole twice) and cutting the tape at the starting point again. This results in 2 layers over the whole circumference of the rim as opposed to 3 layers around the valve if you do it the conventional way. Plus the finishing bit still goes over the valve hole and is secured by the tubeless valve.

Get the Roval valves with red (older mtb style) or grey (new Rapide CLX 2 / Alpinist 2 road stuff) rubber grommets. The grommets shape is the same on those and fits the rim well perfectly.

The rims were clearly developed as tubeless. There's a small molded ridge along the circumference of the rim on both sides for the tubeless bead to pop into. There are the characteristic 'bangs' when inflating the tyre and seating the beads. The beads stay in place once deflated and don't fall down into the central channel. All clear signs of a tubeless-specific rim.

Just don't bunny hop straight into curbs like Sagan.

[Pukutis]

Hello, i have roval clx rapide gen1.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade with

DT Swiss Upgrade Kit Superlight 54T for Star Ratchet Hubs

I understand the performance improves a lot?

Thanks!


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[Magnetize6932]

Hello, i have roval clx rapide gen1.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade with

DT Swiss Upgrade Kit Superlight 54T for Star Ratchet Hubs

I understand the performance improves a lot?

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

GPLama put out a helpful video that explains both the benefits and process of this upgrade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXGc9lZAYqU

The comments on the video lean towards it not being a big upgrade on the road. The benefits are largely felt in situations with low wheelspeed, which on the road would be when climbing or clipping in. It will increase noise (could be a pro or a con for you) and will increase drag when freewheeling.

[Hw44]

Hi
Anyone who can compare the standart SiNC ceramics in CLX II vs CeramicSpeed Wheel Upgrade ? Standard vs. Coated ?
Some people say that standard bearing in CLX II are not that good but in terms of reliability / performace is it a good update ? forget the price for CS

[Jaisen]

Hi
Anyone who can compare the standart SiNC ceramics in CLX II vs CeramicSpeed Wheel Upgrade ? Standard vs. Coated ?
Some people say that standard bearing in CLX II are not that good but in terms of reliability / performace is it a good update ? forget the price for CS

Who says the the CLX II bearings aren't that good? I would question your source's reliability. The guts inside the CLX II wheels are DT Swiss, so they use DT Swiss bearings and ratchets. The DT Swiss ceramic bearings use the same quality grade 3 Si3N4 ceramic balls as do Ceramic Speed. There is good evidence to suspect DT Swiss bearings also have hardened races like in the Ceramic Speed bearings, but DT Swiss has never publically acknowledged this.

We have no idea if they have the coated treatment that Ceramic Speed offers but the coating inside doesn't improve performance it only improves durability, and that is assuming there is no water or dirt ingress into the bearings. But the thing that always makes bicycle bearings wear down is the ingress of dirt, water, degreaser, etc. So all in all the Ceramic Speed "upgrade" won't accomplish anything at all except making your wallet lighter.

ETA: Here is a link to the details of the DT Swiss ceramic bearings. Compare the information they give to Ceramic Speed.
https://www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/wheel ... technology

[sheldonsmith]

FWIW, the CLXII has DT Swiss internals on the rear wheel, but not the front wheel. I do get misaligned bearings on the front wheel with which I have to reseat occasionally; I have had CS front bearings go bad as a result which for the first two years, were covered under warranty. Rear wheel does not have this issue whatsoever...

[Jaisen]

FWIW, the CLXII has DT Swiss internals on the rear wheel, but not the front wheel. I do get misaligned bearings on the front wheel with which I have to reseat occasionally; I have had CS front bearings go bad as a result which for the first two years, were covered under warranty. Rear wheel does not have this issue whatsoever...

Incorrect, the CLX II wheels all have DT Swiss ceramic bearings both front and rear:

https://support.specialized.com/wheels/ ... ment-parts
https://support.specialized.com/wheels/ ... ment-parts
https://support.specialized.com/wheels/ ... ment-parts

[sheldonsmith]

FWIW, the CLXII has DT Swiss internals on the rear wheel, but not the front wheel. I do get misaligned bearings on the front wheel with which I have to reseat occasionally; I have had CS front bearings go bad as a result which for the first two years, were covered under warranty. Rear wheel does not have this issue whatsoever...

Incorrect, the CLX II wheels all have DT Swiss ceramic bearings both front and rear:

https://support.specialized.com/wheels/ ... ment-parts
https://support.specialized.com/wheels/ ... ment-parts
https://support.specialized.com/wheels/ ... ment-parts

Yes, correct regarding the bearings.... I was referring to the axle/tube and bearing seat in the front hub... When I asked DT Swiss about the front bearings tightening up over time, DT Swiss indicated that they supply parts for the rear hub, but not the front....

[pdlpsher1]

Bearing longevity depends heavily on the bearing seat machining tolerances. Who does the machining on the Roval hub shells? I know the higher end 180 and 240 DT Swiss hub shells are machined in Switzerland and the lower end 350 and 370 hub shells are machined in Taiwan.

[Feddesman]

will the new hub ( dt swiss ratchet deg )also be on the roval wheels? This new thing still prevents me from buying the CLXII.

[Jaisen]

will the new hub ( dt swiss ratchet deg )also be on the roval wheels? This new thing still prevents me from buying the CLXII.

It is only going be to on MTB wheels for now due to increased weight of the hub. DT Swiss says for road hubs they are sticking with EXP for the foreseeable future.

[Torbjorn]

@ryanwr, you've set up many bikes with these wheels (CLX 50/64, CLX Rapide G1 and G2), how often have you seen the problems desribed by some users in the this thread: 1) binding of the front bearings, and 2) creaking/noise from the spokes of the rear wheel?

I have the old 2018 CLX 50s and do not have any front wheel bearing binding, but have had the spokes pinging (when standing up) for a long time and I think it is incredible that companies can sell 2000+ USD wheels with such problems being known (I know this is not limited to Roval wheels), and I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on the CLX II if both these issues (1 & 2) are prevalent.

[Feddesman]

Does anyone have the same experience with the Michelin power cup and the rapide clxII?

Coming back from retirement just to spread a word on safety regarding these tyres.

I've had some very bad experiences with these.

One keen (very handy) crit rider has had some nasty crashes on full tilt on these. Described as sliding out on ice when at max lean angles (essentially cornering on the sidewalls). 28mm Classics on Roval Rapide CLX.
He is now on 28mm Corsa Pros and loving life.

Also had a few customers in where the tyre tread has completely detached from the casing, and large slits / gaps in the tyre.

Even after having good personal experiences with these tyres (for around 1,000km), from what I've seen, I would not recommend these at all.

[K4m1k4z3]

Bearing longevity depends heavily on the bearing seat machining tolerances. Who does the machining on the Roval hub shells? I know the higher end 180 and 240 DT Swiss hub shells are machined in Switzerland and the lower end 350 and 370 hub shells are machined in Taiwan.

AFAIK the internals are DT SWISS but the Hub Shells are proprietary and made by Roval/Specialized.

This is the other reason (apart from price) for why I opted for the CL-line of wheels which uses standard DT hubs. Virtually all of the weight savings between CL & CLX are located in the hub. This is the lest effective place to shave weight on a wheelset and I'm afraid it might impact longevity.

[Toasterthief]

Am I wrong in thinking that there aren't a ton of meaningful upgrades to the Gen 1 CL wheelset on my SL7, at least from Roval? The CL Gen 1 weighs 1534 grams. Seems like the CL II/CLX II are heavier and marginally lighter (although I would gain official tubeless support) with similar internal width.

Enve 4.5s are in the low 1400s, tubeless, and have a higher width.