New Terra CLX II wheels lose weight, while Alpinist SLX wheels offer a lower priced lightweight wheelset
(Image credit: Roval)
Roval says that it’s shaved 50 grams off the weight of its previous generation of the top spec Terra CLX gravel bike wheels, lowering the weight to a scant 1,250g (570g F, 680g R) while still offering the robustness necessary for gravel bike racing.
A new lower-profile hub has shaved 50g off the Roval Terra CLX II wheelset weight (Image credit: Roval)
The weight saving comes from a swap of the wheels’ hubs to the same low flange design that is used in the latest generation Alpinist CLX II lightweight wheels. The hub internals haven’t changed though. They’re from DT Swiss 180 hubs, the lightest in that brand’s line-up, and use the Ratchet EXP freehub system with 36 points of engagement and SINC ceramic bearings.
The rim has a hooked bead and Roval rates it for pressures up to 80psi (Image credit: Roval)
Whereas the hub has had a makeover, the rim is the same as was used on the previous generation Terra CLX wheelset. The rim depth is 32mm and its external width 30mm.
Roval says that its 25mm internal rim width works with any width of tyres from 28mm up to 47mm. And because the rim is hooked, there should be no compatibility issues with the best gravel tyres. Roval reckons that you can run 28-32mm tyres safely at up to 80psi, dropping to 60psi for 47mm, with no risk of blow-off.
The rims are laced to the hubs with 21 DT Swiss Aerolite spokes front and rear. Roval quotes a system weight limit of 125g.
UK price for the set for the Roval Terra CLX II wheelset is £2,500, or you can buy the front wheel for £1,050 and the rear for £1,450.
Alloy Roval Alpinist SLX wheelset
The alloy rim adds a little weight, but the Roval Alpinist SLX wheelset still weighs a claimed 1,485g (Image credit: Roval)
Also today, Roval has introduced the Alpinist SLX alloy rim wheelset, designed to bring the ride qualities of the Alpinist CLX II and Alpinist CL II carbon climbing wheelsets to a lower price point. Roval says that the new wheels have a nimble feel and are supple but still stiff enough for high-powered efforts.
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The new alloy rim is 24mm deep and, unlike the first generation Alpinist CLX wheels, tubeless ready. Roval has shot-peened the alloy, which it says increases fatigue life. Rim width is 23.5mm external, 20mm internal. Roval quotes a maximum tyre pressure of 130psi.
The Alpinist SLX wheels also get DT Swiss 350 hubs with 36-degree engagement and run on DT steel cartridge bearings. They too are laced with Sapim spokes: 21 at the front and 24 at the rear.
Switching from carbon to alloy rims does add 100g to 200g in weight, with the Alpinist SLX claimed to weigh 1,485g (694g F, 791g R) as against the Alpinist CLX II’s 1,265g and the mid-spec carbon Alpinist CL II at 1,375g.
While the premium carbon Roval Alpinist CLX II wheelset will set you back a tidy £2,500 – the same as the Terra CLX II – and the mid-spec carbon Alpinist CL costs £1,500, the alloy Alpinist SLX is priced at £760 a set: £310 for the front and £450 for the rear.
Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages.
