Today Specialized announced a complete revamp of its S-Works Turbo tire range and along with that came news of another wheelset option from sister brand Roval.
In recent years, Roval has done an impressive job of reducing the key features of its top-tier technology to more affordable prices. Roval’s versatile Terra CL (US$1,750) off-road/gravel uses the same carbon rim as the top-of-the-line CLX (US$2,500), but double-point round spokes and DT Swiss 350 hubs carry it at a much more affordable level. Similarly, the Alpinist CL uses the same rim as the US$2,650 Alpinist CLX, but also switches to rounded spokes and DT Swiss 350 hubs for its US$950 price drop.
Do you want to guess the story with the Rapide CL II wheelset?
You got it. The Rapide CL II (US$1,750 / €1,800 / AU$2,600) uses the same, newly revised tubeless-ready carbon rims as the Rapide CLX II aero wheelset. It also carries the same generous warranty. Meanwhile, the US$1,050 price drop comes from DT Swiss 350 hubs (36T clutch) and DT Swiss Competition double-point, straight-pull round spokes.
Now, this set of wheels isn’t exactly new; previously you could get it for US$9,000 with a free Specialized Tarmac SL7 Pro, but now you can also get just the wheelset or even individual front and rear wheels.
Hubs include a central locking disk interface. The 350 hubs feature DT Swiss’ Star Ratchet system, making it the easiest hub to get replacements from.
Something that Roval doesn’t mention is that the loss of blade radii and airfoils is likely to introduce a small decrease in aerodynamic efficiency. Roval couldn’t provide an exact figure to our question, but it’s certainly a measurable difference. For example, Flo Cycling did such a test a few years ago and found that leaf spokes would save about 9 seconds in a 40km time trial.
A more tangible difference is seen on the scales, where this more affordable option adds about 80 grams over the CLX version (1,565g actual even weight including rim tape and valves. 706g front, 859g rear).
The wheels on the Rapide CLX and now the CL offer unique front and rear specific profiles, with the front edge more rounded at a depth of 51mm with an ultra-wide external width of 35mm. Meanwhile, the rear rim offers a more traditional profile with its 60mm depth and 30mm outer width. Both rims offer an internal width of 21mm.
We’ve covered the finer details of the Rapide CLX, including an in-depth review of the original Rapide CLX, and more recently took an equally deep dive with the launch of the tube-ready Rapide CLX II.
The front rim is one of the widest on the market and is designed to stick out to the outside of modern road tire widths. Specialized claims its 26mm wide tire is the fastest combination with this wheel.
As for how they move, well, basically the same as the Rapide CLX version. As expected, there’s no change to the fairly tight tire fitment, which requires good or even excellent fitment technique to avoid filling the swear jar. On the road, they feel just as quick at speed and well behaved in gusty conditions. And on the coast, the DT Swiss 350 hub has a much less unpleasant sound than the lighter Swiss company’s EXP design.
A well-proven recipe for a wheelset that we can recommend almost always includes reliable hubs (especially ones that are well compatible with all the different freehub options), a good mid-level spoke, and a competitive rim. And so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that we’ve had several positive experiences with Specialized’s current range of tier two carbon wheels. And while the round spokes are likely to hurt the overall performance of this aero-focused application, the Rapide CL II otherwise looks to continue a positive trend for Roval.