Features

• Rapide Sprint CLX carbon clincher rim, 700c, hooked and tubeless compatible
• 63mm rim depth
• 35mm external width, 21mm internal width, 4.3mm bead hook width
• Optimized for 28mm tires
• Roval Low Flange Road Hub, 12x100mm thru-axle, 19mm OD end caps
• Center Lock disc rotor mounting
• DT Swiss 180 EXP internals with 36-tooth ratchet engagement
• DT Sinc ceramic bearings, 6802 (15 x 24 x 5mm) both sides
• Roval by Arris composite aero spokes with titanium T-head end pieces
• 18 spokes, two-cross/radial 2:1 lacing pattern, not tucked
• Arris MK4 alloy nipples, 6mm
• FlatStop bead hook design requires 39% more force to flat
• Includes Roval tubeless valve (80mm alloy), extra spokes and nipples, and wheel bag
• 640 grams

Deep front rims once carried a reputation for crosswind twitchiness that made riders hesitate on gusty descents, which is why aero convention long favored a shallower front paired to a deeper rear. Roval built the Rapide Sprint CLX Front Wheel to invert that logic entirely, running a 63mm rim at the leading edge where its engineers argue the aerodynamic returns actually concentrate. The reasoning rests on a single observation: the front rim runs deeper than the rear because Roval claims 90 percent of a wheelset's aero benefit comes from the front wheel.

The Sprint designation reflects intended terrain. Roval positions the Rapide CLX Sprint as its go-to for sprinting and fast, flat courses, with a 63mm-deep front rim and 58mm rear, deeper than either the CLX III or CL III. Concentrating depth up front, where the rim meets undisturbed air, lets the shallower rear trim rotational mass for acceleration rather than chasing pure drag reduction. According to Roval's internal testing, the Sprint model produced an 18cm lead in a 250m sprint simulation compared to its predecessor, the CLX II.

The rim measures 63mm deep with a 35mm external width and 21mm internal width, built as a hooked carbon clincher that runs tubeless. Roval optimized the profile around 28mm tires, and the wider internal channel supports the shift toward higher-volume road tires that rolling-resistance testing has favored. The 35mm external width lets the tire transition smoothly into the rim rather than forming a stepped junction that disrupts airflow. FlatStop bead hooks, which Roval calls the widest on the market, disperse impact and require 39 percent more force to flat, widening the margin between a rim strike and a pinch flat for riders racing rough pavement on latex tubes.

Spokes account for much of the weight savings in this generation. Composite spokes developed with Arris replace traditional steel, saving 2.3 grams per spoke while delivering 63 percent more strength, with titanium end fittings completing the connection to hub and rim. Across the wheelset, those composite spokes save a total of 96.6g compared to the previous steel build. The 18-spoke front laces in a two-cross/radial 2:1 pattern, loading more spokes on the disc-brake side to counter the asymmetric forces that come with disc braking and keep the wheel true under hard efforts.

Behind the rim, the wheel is built around DT Swiss 180 EXP internals housed in Roval's low-flange road hub with ceramic SINC bearings. The front hub runs a 12x100mm thru-axle with 19mm OD end caps installed and Center Lock rotor mounting. The 180 EXP internals sit at the top of DT's road hub range, and the 36-tooth ratchet delivers 10° of engagement pickup, while the ceramic bearings shave friction at the hub shell to a marginal but measurable degree over race distances.