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
