Specialized’s wheel brand Roval has launched a new version of the all-rounder Roval C38 wheelset and priced it lower than the previous one.
With brands such as Zipp with its popular 303S upping the ante in the hard-fought £1K carbon all-road wheel war and smaller British brands such as Hunt, Parcours and Vel entering the fray and gaining ground very fast, Specialized has responded by firing off a new Roval C38 that drops £100 off its price, bringing it to £1,150 in the UK/$1,000 in the USA per set.
“All too often the performance advantages that carbon-fibre provides are out of financial reach for most,” says Specialized.
Image: Specialized
“The Rapide C38 de-escalates the high-tech carbon arms race; merging our incredibly light but incredibly tough, sensibly aerodynamic, workhorse C38 rims with the dependable, affordable performance of DT Swiss 370 hubs and J-bend spokes.”
Specialized goes on to attribute leading-edge aerodynamics, proven reliability and light weight combined with superb durability to the new wheels, claiming: “These are the go-to training wheels for the world’s fastest racers, and about the highest performance per dollar you’ll find anywhere.”
As with the earlier model, the rim is tubeless-ready with a 21-mm internal width and optimised for use with wider tyres. Rim depth remains at 38mm.
Weight also remains the same at 1,560g or 1,600g with the rim tape.
Image: Specialized
The main difference is that the previous Roval C38 wheels used DT Swiss 350 hubs; the new versions use DT Swiss 370s, which use the brand’s star ratchet system in the rear hub rather than the older three-pawl system.
As before, it’s a disc-only wheelset.
Here’s the full specification:
21mm internal rim width
Carbon clincher
Tubeless ready
New DT Swiss 370 Centerlock Hub – 18t Ratchet System LN
Thru-axle: 100x12mm & 142x12mm
Weight: Front 714g; Rear 886g; Set 1,600g with tubeless rim tape
Simon Smythe is a hugely experienced cycling tech writer, who has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2003. Until recently he was our senior tech writer. In his cycling career Simon has mostly focused on time trialling with a national medal, a few open wins and his club's 30-mile record in his palmares. These days he spends most of his time testing road bikes, or on a tandem doing the school run with his younger son.
