Conventional wheel design has followed a simple rule for decades: deeper rear rim, shallower front. Roval's engineering team questioned that assumption and arrived at a different conclusion with the Rapide Sprint CLX Rear Wheel, which runs 58mm deep while its partner front wheel sits at 63mm . The reasoning centers on where aerodynamic gains actually originate: roughly 90 percent come from the front wheel cutting through undisturbed air . That shifts the rear wheel's job away from pure aero and toward acceleration response, where rotational mass matters more than depth.

The shallower rear profile carries a 34.4mm external width and a 21mm internal width optimized for 28mm tires , following the wider-rim philosophy that has reshaped road wheel design over the past several seasons. The Rapide Sprint CLX rim is a carbon clincher with hooked bead construction, tubeless compatible, and disc-brake specific with a Center Lock rotor interface. Composite spokes with titanium fittings are 2.3g lighter and 63% stronger than steel equivalents, saving a total of 96.6g across the system when combined with the front wheel. The rear laces 24 Arris composite aero spokes in a 2:1 pattern, one-cross on the non-drive side and three-cross on the drive side.

The hub internals come from DT Swiss, with DT Swiss 180 EXP internals featuring 36T engagement and DT Sinc ceramic bearings reducing friction at the freehub and hub shell. Roval's Low Flange Road hub shell wraps those internals in a purpose-shaped housing that shortens spoke length and widens the bracing angle. The rear ships with an SRAM XD-R freehub installed and includes a Shimano HG 11/12-speed freehub with steel bearings and matching end caps in the box, so switching drivetrains after purchase requires no additional parts.... Read More