Pros
- Very fast
- Light weight
- Fast to accelerate
- Tubeless ready
- Versatile despite their depth
Cons
- Handling and twitchiness
Price as reviewed:
£2,000
The Roval CLX 64 Disc wheels are the deeper siblings to the Roval CLX 50 Disc wheels that I rated very highly last year.
>>> Buy now from Tredz: Front £800, Rear £1200
The extra depth gives these wheels an aerodynamic advantage over other 50mm deep wheelsets which is why you’ll find them fitted on the Specialized S-Works Venge as standard, which was the bike I tested them in.
64mm deep rims
I tested these wheels on a particular tough Kent loop (amongst others) that had well over 1700m of climbing and I’m happy to dispel the myth that deep section wheels can’t climb. With deep section wheels I tend to find that descending is where the extra depth can cause problems, catching crosswinds more easily. Even on still days I found the Roval CLX 64 Disc wheels to be quite unstable, adding a twitchy-ness to the ride that was disconcerting on descents. It was even noticeable when reaching down to take a bottle out, with the bike prone to slight speed wobbles. To combat this I found myself loading the front end with slightly more weight, especially on descents.
The wide internal rim seats tyres very well
Interestingly, despite the extra depth I found the wheels quick to accelerate – faster than the Hunt 50 Carbon Aero Disc wheels – without feeling like I had to overcome the levels of inertia usually felt with wheels of this depth. I’m sure this is helped by their light weight – 1580g for 64mm deep wheels is impressive.
In a straight line these wheels absolutely rocket along, pushing my pace far higher for the same effort, and I’m sure the S-Works Turbo Cottons I used helped, too. I’m not surprised that my Strava activities were littered with PBs when using these wheels – including on climbs.
Along with Zipp, ENVE and Hunt, Roval has long been pushing wide internal rims, the better to seat tubeless tyres. These Rovals are tubeless ready, although I didn’t run them as such. Even so, my 26mm Turbo Cotton tyres sat flush with the rim – thanks to the fat 20.7mm internal width – at least giving me a bit of extra aero help. I’m sure the wheel’s CeramicSpeed bearings, DT Swiss internals and DT Swiss spokes helped keep the Rovals rolling along nicely.
At £2000, the Roval CLX 64 Disc wheels are firmly a luxury item, but they closely match Zipp’s competitor wheels and come in well under the price of Enve wheels of a similar depth.
Verdict
The Roval CLX 64 Disc wheelset's rolling speed is unquestionable and their acceleration is impressive, just be careful of their twitchiness.
Details
Front wheel price: £800
Rear wheel price: £1200
Weight:
