# What do you think of your Roval Fusee Wheels



## NewTrekRoadie (Sep 13, 2004)

The Roubaix Pro comes stock with Roval Fusee wheels, not the ones with the star hub. Anyway, you guys like these wheels? I have a 2007 Roubaix Pro with about 500 miles on it and I busted a spoke pulling into my driveway this week after a 40 mile ride. Thank goodiness it happened when I pulled into my dirveway becasue the wheel got jacked up against the frame and I had a tough time even taking the wheel off. So naturally I took it to my LBS and they ended up saying the wheel was so out of true that they were not even going to try and fix it. They called specialized and had it shipped back to them. Specialized said they are going to either rebuild it and give me a new wheel. I've been riding for about 5 years now and this is the first time I've ever broke a spoke. The LBS told me there were problems with the carbon ones breaking spokes, but has anyone else had problems with the aluminum ones?


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## DaveK (Jan 8, 2006)

*Hubs*

One of my local riding buddies bought this wheel and had an issue with the hub and creaking. No spoke issues, a bad seal in the bearings, it did have a wobble.

Look...this is the first year for this wheel. Specialized will get it right and most likely send you a new wheel.


DK


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## kimio (May 5, 2007)

*Roval Fuse' Wheels*

Not me. Just got my new bike yesterday for the first time so no mechanical breakdowns yet! This was my first ride on a full carbon bike. Smooth, fast and comfortable-but noticed an annoying midrange hollow humming sound while riding. Sounds like it is coming from these wheels. It was driving me crazy. Any ideas? Or is this how carbon bikes sound? Never had that sound with my old Aluminum Klein.


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## paul F (May 20, 2007)

*Roval Fusee Wheel Feedback*

I have a 2007 Roubaix Pro with Roval Fusee wheels. I have had lots of problems with the back wheel. First off the hub had some sort of manufacturing defect. In the first 2 months I had the bike an excessive amount of play developed in the back hub effectively making the back wheel loose in its dropouts. Full credit to Specialized who warrantied the hub and rebuilt the wheel. But thats not all! While out on a ride this past weekend a spoke broke and the whole wheel went so far out of true that that the wheel would not go around. It was rubbing on the seat stay and chain stay. In the time it took me to stop (I was riding at 35km/ph) the wheel rubbed the surface off the chain stay. I was riding on a flat section of road, and hit no bumps or potholes when the spoke just exploded. I have never experienced or heard of a wheel go totally go out of true and become unridable with just one broken spoke like this. Anyway after getting a ride home I inspected the wheel and there is cracking around at least 4 of the spoke holes on the wheel. I can only assume the tech who did the wheel build after the hub was replaced got it wrong and over tensioned the wheel.
These wheels are great to ride however they don't seem that reliable to me. I will see what Specialized Dealer has to say today before deciding what I am going to do?


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## DaveK (Jan 8, 2006)

*More*

Paul-

My fellow rider that had these wheels has also had re-occurring rear hub issues. Recently a second bout of the rear hub making noise and creaking. The LBS has sent them back to Specialized. You are not alone then.


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## BLACKSHEEP54 (May 7, 2007)

Ive only put 65 miles on my 07 Roubaix Pro and have had no problems with the wheels so far. They are great. Smooth, stiff, responsive and light. Time will tell.


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## kimio (May 5, 2007)

*fusee wheels*

My issue- (which I suppose turned out to be a non- issue) was the humming sound from the wheels. Finally got in touch with the Specialized tech guy and he said bladed spokes make that sound. Since I never have ridden a bike with bladed spokes, it was news to me. Even though I'm not terribly happy with it, at least now I know what it is. No other wheel issues yet.


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## 2wheel-lee (Apr 23, 2007)

I just took my first ride on my Roval Rapid Carbon wheels, and they have a hum to them as well that I'm not familiar with. My other bike has Mavic Cosmic Elite wheels that have bladed spokes. They are nice and silent. If they're blaming the aero spokes on the hum, I think there is a turbulence issue they need to address.

Something else that bothers me about these wheels is the pulsing brake lever. Apparently, the carbon rims (basically same wheel as the Fusee, I think, but with carbon rims) have different thicknesses around the rim, which causes the brakes to pulse. It feels like a warped rotor on a car.So my suggestion is, don't have carbon envy with your Fusee wheels.


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## kimio (May 5, 2007)

*Roval Wheels*

Thats interesting. He basically said bladed spokes do that- he even mentioned Mavic wheels doing the same thing. I had also spoken to another guy at Specialized a few weeks back, and he had not heard of any humming issues- but thought it could be due to the stiffness of the wheels, but that seemed to just be his theory. Same company 2 answers. 
No problems with pulsating yet, but I'll have to keep an eye on that. I would check with Specialized on that issue. I know I wouldn't want to live with that especially with what you pay for these wheels. Seems to me they ought to swap them out for you.
Thanks


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## BLACKSHEEP54 (May 7, 2007)

I am not hearing the hummin sound. This is my first road bike and im used to the howl of my mountain bike tires on the street so that may have something to do with it.


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## alexrising (Apr 26, 2006)

11111


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## paul F (May 20, 2007)

*Roval Fusee Wheels*

My earlier email posted on this thread was not factually correct. 

So I will give you a quick summary of what actually happened.

1. Rear hub loosened off(approx 3 weeks from new). The dealer thought it was faulty and sent it back to Specialized who adjusted it and sent it back 3 weeks later. The Dealer didn't tell me that they didn't know how to adjust the hub so I assumed that the hub had been replaced and the wheel re-spoked.

2. 3 weeks later, a spoke in the back wheel broke and the whole wheel went completely out of true. The rim also had cracks around approx 5 spoke holes. Specialized gave no indication to why one broken spoke had caused so much damage. I can only guess it was poor manufacturing, damage in transit or stress related to riding the wheel with a loose hub

3. Specialized replaced the wheel (full warranty) with no explanation. 

4. Two weeks after I received the new wheel the hub loosened off again.

5. Anyway the dealer has since adjusted the hub with the promised of if it loosens off they will replace the wheelset with another brand.

I like these wheels however I am not that confident they are going to last. Specialized have always been good in the dealings with me so I will see how they go in the next few months.


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## 2wheel-lee (Apr 23, 2007)

I wouldn't really complain about the hubs going out of adjustment. If you've ever used a set of Chris King hubs, they need constant adjustment for the first 1000 or so miles while everything seats itself. Maybe the Roval wheels are the same. And although I don't know about how to adjust those wheels (yet), perhaps if the shop doesn't do it correctly, they could come loose again...until the shop figures out how to do it properly (they sound a bit questionable for sending in a wheel with loose bearings).


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## his dudeness (Jun 18, 2007)

paul F said:


> My earlier email posted on this thread was not factually correct.
> 
> So I will give you a quick summary of what actually happened.
> 
> ...



When you bought the bike you SHOULD have recieved some sort of owners manual for your wheels. if not, then your LBS didn't provide you with the proper paperwork and owners materials and this issue should be brought up with Specialized.

The hubs are actually really easy to completely dissassemble and re-build. if you get loosening, remove the end cap off the don-drive side and you can internally tighten the hub with either an 8mm or 10 mm allen wrench. if the shop you bought your bike from doesn't know this then I'd stop doing business with them as they do not properly know how to maintain your bike. 

The issue of having a spoke break during a ride and then finding cracks around other spoke holes after the ride is simply due to the fact that you were riding on a wheel with a broken spoke. These wheels have a minimal amount of spokes for aerodynamics, weight, and rolling resistence... in essence they are designed for racing. If one spoke breaks you will adversely stress other spokes if you keep riding it. Further, the rims themselves are designed to be light weight and roll fast, not to be very durable. if you want a durable wheelset I'd go for the tried and true Ultegra/Mavic Open pro combo. They will definately add a pound to your bike but they roll smoothly, take a ton of abuse to break since they have 28-32 spokes depending on the model you get, are easy to true, and are nice and stiff in corners.

I have the fusee wheels and I've put over 2,000 miles on my pair in the few months I've had them and they're still holding strong with minor truing and hub maintenence. I'm 6 foot 3 and weight about 200 pounds so I put my fair share of torque and abuse on them but they still hold up. Maybe you've just had bad luck? Maybe you just need a burlier wheel?


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## paul F (May 20, 2007)

*Cracks in rear rim*

When the spoke broke the wheel went completely out of true and would not even turn. Consequently I was not able to ride the bike at all. In addition in the time it took to stop the bike the wheel rubbing on the frame caused minor cosmetic frame damage.

You may be right, it might be bad luck. Specialized didn't provide a manual or training to its dealer so they were not able to service the hub of the first wheel.

I really like Specialized bikes and will continue buying them but I am a not that confident about of these quality of wheels. I am little lighter than you at 170 lbs and I have done about 2000 miles on the bike.


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## alexrising (Apr 26, 2006)

*cracks in rims*

11111


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## his dudeness (Jun 18, 2007)

They look and ride great. I've had nothing but good luck with them. it just seems that others haven't.


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## ronjon10 (Dec 25, 2006)

paul F said:


> While out on a ride this past weekend a spoke broke and the whole wheel went so far out of true that that the wheel would not go around. It was rubbing on the seat stay and chain stay. In the time it took me to stop (I was riding at 35km/ph) the wheel rubbed the surface off the chain stay. I was riding on a flat section of road, and hit no bumps or potholes when the spoke just exploded. I have never experienced or heard of a wheel go totally go out of true and become unridable with just one broken spoke like this


Word for word, this is exactly what happened to me. Broken spoke, immediately out of true to the point of rubbing the chainstay raw. 

To the credit of Specialized, they had a new wheel for me in 3 days. 

I put on a set of Mavic Open pros I had around for now. I'll probably swap the Roval's on for supported centuries and the like, but I don't trust them for everyday riding anymore.


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## cld12 (Jun 28, 2006)

*Had them with my Roubaix Pro*

I had the Roval Fusee wheels with my Roubaix Pro. This was my first new bike in about 10 years. I thought that they were very light, and seemed stiff. Basically, I thought they were fine. The rear wheel went out of true in the first 30 miles. I got that fixed and really had no problems for the next 400 or so miles. I had incredible neck pain from day one with my Roubaix, and it ends up that I had one size too small. My bike shop was awesome and allowed me to switch bikes. I now have a bigger Tarmac Pro. I had the wheels upgraded to Mavic's Ksyrium SLs. Now to the point...The ride with my new Tarmac Pro with the Ksyriums is noticeably smoother. I was really surprised, because I thought that the bike would change the ride more than the wheels. This has really opened my eyes. I can honestly say that the ride on my Tarmac is significantly smoother than the ride was on the Roubaix, and I feel like the wheels are the difference.


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## paul F (May 20, 2007)

*Roval Fusee: Theory about broken spokes*

I have this theory about why the spoke broke and rim cracked in my first Roval Fusee rear wheel. 

I have been riding a warranty replacement wheel for a few weeks now and I noticed that the back wheel flexes laterally when put under extreme load like doing big gear training like jump starts or riding up a hill in a big gear. The reason I know the wheel flexes is it rubs on the back brake in these situations. It only does this when under extreme load and not under normal riding conditions.

When I first noticed this, I checked my back hub and the adjustment which was fine. The wheel was installed correctly in the back drop outs and the brake calipers aligned correctly. I weigh about 170 lbs, pedal relatively smoothly. I don't regard myself as a very powerful rider so it seems strange to me that I can get the wheel to flex laterally like this? 

I may be wrong but I think it will only be a matter of time before I break another spoke or crack the rim.


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## DaveK (Jan 8, 2006)

Mavic ES Wheels...My bud now rides them...they look great and his Heart Burn over the Specialized Fusee wheels is now over. The fron hub seperated during assualt on Mt Mitchell and he finished anyway, then last week he developed more creaking of these wheels and after inspection revealed 5 cracks at the spoke entry on both the front and rear wheels. So, Hub issues, Spoke issues and Structural issues with the rim, I think Specialized missed on the entry into the wheel market. Do you all a favor and go Mavic....

DK


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## alexrising (Apr 26, 2006)

11111


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## TchmilFan (Dec 30, 2005)

Two separate spoke failures on front wheel at the rim in less than 300 miles.

Not confident in these Rovals at all now. Had first generation Nucleons for 5 years - no problems whatsoever (not counting accidents and only rear was rebuilt with due to bearing wobble) until I rode them to rear hub and front rim destruction.

Ok, you can argue that it's the luck of the draw but not two failures likes this. Try and get LBS to take them back: I'll complain loudly - they talked me into buying them over Neutrons as I needed to get back on the road. 

Back to Neutrons.


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## BLACKSHEEP54 (May 7, 2007)

Well after only 240 miles the rear hub on my Roval Fusse wheels took a dump on me during a ride. 15 miles into the ride it started creaking. 2 miles later it started griding and it felt like i was riding with the brakes on! The bike is now at my LBS pending a wheel replacment from Specialized. Specialized needs to go back to the drawing board with the wheels. :mad2:


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## paul F (May 20, 2007)

*Warranty Rear Wheel Update*

Here is an update on my warranty replacement Roval Fusee rear wheel. The rear hub has lossened off for the second time. It has been three weeks since it was last adjusted. The LBS has now put lock tight on the lock nut to see if that will prevent it from loosening off again. In addition there are very faint stress marks around several of the spoke holes on the rear rim. The stress marks are not really significant enough to send the wheels back to Specialized yet but they are definately something to keep a close watch on. I wonder how long it will be before there is a general recall on these wheels?


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## BLACKSHEEP54 (May 7, 2007)

Specialized needs to recall these wheels, there is an obvious design flaw in the hub. LBS tried to tighten my hub but it was still moving when we put it back on the bike. We will see what happens.:mad5:


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## woogie11 (Jul 16, 2006)

Do you know from which distribution "hub" these malfunctioning wheels are coming from? Specialized has three for North America, I believe. Our shop has sold quite a few of these wheels and I've never heard any complaints. I have almost 1K miles on these wheels and I think they're the best thing since bubble gum. I wonder if somebody isn't hitting the pipe a bit too much in one of the factories building these wheels.


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> I wonder if somebody isn't hitting the pipe a bit too much in one of the factories building these wheels.


Yeah, that seems to be my impressions too. 

And personally, while not specifically wheel related, I'd say just about everything I've purchased from Specialized in the last 6 months has had some quality control issue. They're about to lose a formally loyal customer.


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## TchmilFan (Dec 30, 2005)

More...
Have a trusty old 32 spoker in the front for now as I can't get to my LBS. Specialized UK have sent a replacement front and I'll go and pick it up on Saturday.
BUT now the rear is getting crappy. Strange clicks coming from it - I'm guessing that I've now got a loosening hub. The rim's rubbing under sprint or out-of-seat climbing loads.
AND does anyone know how the hell you get water out of the damn things without taking them off and removing the tyre and elastic rim tape? After rain on Sunday I was riding with a huge amount of water inside the rear.. most of it has come out... today (Tuesday) a further 100ml came out but I've still got some in there. Didn't anyone think of this?!?!?!

AAAAAAAAARGH :mad2:


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## BLACKSHEEP54 (May 7, 2007)

I have no idea what distubution center my bike came from. I live in Houston so whatever center serves this area is were they came from. My rear started making the same noises as you have described above.


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## mrjwf (Jul 28, 2007)

MY rear Roval Fusee broke a spoke after 3k miles. Factory rep claims it was due to a crack in the wheel, Sure enough he was right. Replaced under warranty. Rep claims spoke may have been tightened too much. Sounds like they have a big problem.


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## Bike N Gear (Jan 30, 2007)

So has anybody successfully kept the rear hub tight? Mine loosened after about 500 miles. Tightened & Locktited everything. Creaking again less than 75 miles later. It seems that even when everything is properly tight, there is still play on the non-drive end-cap. It noticeably wiggles (and creaks) if you rock the wheel from side to side.


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## BLACKSHEEP54 (May 7, 2007)

Im on my second rear wheel and so far it is good and tight. My old wheel did the same thing you are describing. They tightened it up and it was still wobbling so they sent it back to specialized and got me a new wheel. I only have about 50 miles on the new wheel so far. We will see what happens


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## Bike N Gear (Jan 30, 2007)

Specialized recommended replacing the stock q/r with a steel one. Since the q/r clamping pressure holds the non-drive cap in place, the Ti one may just flex too much. They also said it was redesigned for 08.

I'm going to try this. We'll see.


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## BLACKSHEEP54 (May 7, 2007)

That is interesting, i might have to look into that if i have any more problems with these wheels.


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## kimio (May 5, 2007)

I have only about 200 miles on my Roubaix and have started to notice some clicking from the rear.. Is that the creaking you are referring too? Although it seems to sound like the chain skipping I did push my wheel from side to side and I did get it to make that same noise.


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## BLACKSHEEP54 (May 7, 2007)

Yep thats the noise. I suggest you take your bike to your LBS and get that wheel checked out.:thumbsup:


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## alexrising (Apr 26, 2006)

*Follow up 1/29/2008*

11111


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## paul F (May 20, 2007)

*Followup 1/30/2008*

Alex, good to hear your wheels are going well. My second Roval Fusee replacement rear wheel did not last that long. After about 2000 km the rim started cracking around the spoke holes. It was exactly the same as what happened to the first rear rim. I was offered replacement set of 2008 wheels but decided Roval Fusee wheels were not for me. I got a custom set of wheels built up and have had trouble free riding for just over 4 months.


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## speedingblue (Feb 10, 2008)

I too have a set of Fusse wheels with about 3000 miles. The hub has needed adjustment and I recently broke a spoke at low speed which caused the wheel to jam against the chain stay. Good thing that I was not riding very fast or riding with a group. I have also noticed a creaking sound which I thought was my botton bracket, but I believe now is coming from the hub. At this time I do not have confidence in the wheels. They are currently at my LBS for repair.


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## paul F (May 20, 2007)

Hi SpeedingBlue,

I had various sounds that appeared to be coming from the hub on my back wheel and or bottom bracket, however they were caused by other factors. Perhaps your noises are the same. The source of these creaks were: 1. There was excess paint under the rear Derailleur hanger which caused it to creak when under load. The solution was too remove the excess paint with a knife so the hanger could seat properly. 2. The 27, 25, 23 rings of the rear cassette come in one piece. They were faulty and also creaked when under load. The solution was to replace the top part of the cassette. Mine was replaced under warranty. Hope this helps!


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## kb1dqh (Oct 28, 2007)

I just got a S-Works Tarmac SL w/ the Fusee SL wheels. Do they have the same hub, and thus the same issues as the Fusee wheel? Niether have the start hubs. This one has a carbon front hub and a DT Swiss rear hub.

Trying to decide if I should sell these for some Easton EA Aero or Williams 30 wheels.

Thanks!


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## tahaye (Aug 14, 2007)

I just bought a 2008 Tarmac Pro. I took the bike out for a solid ride today, and found the Fusee Wheels flexed so much in the turns that I was incredibly uncomfortable turning the bike. I have already ridden with a set of Shimano 560s on the bike, and there was no handling concern with them.

Anyone have a comment on this? I thought these wheels were supposed to be stiff and good for criteriums.

I checked the flex on the wheels by pulling them towards the chainstays. The Shimano 560s were super stiff. The Roval Star Fusee rear wheel flexed like it was going out of style.


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## alexrising (Apr 26, 2006)

I have the Roval Fusee non-star wheels. I have only ridden road bikes for 2 years, 2 different kinds of wheels (shimano 550 and Fusee) and haven't noticed anything weird about my current Roval Fusee lateral stiffness. You will see that I have posted on the cracks found in my Fusee wheels. I hope that with my new asymmetrical rear rim problem is past for good. Is your rear rim asymmetrical?


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## tahaye (Aug 14, 2007)

Yep, my rear rim is asymmetrical. I'm not worried about the cracks.

Update on the flexing. While the Stars may not be as stiff as my 560s, they are no longer a problem in the turns. I swapped out tires, and the worries went away. It appears that the mondo pros I had on there handled differently than I am used to. I put on a set of conti 4000s, and the stars are stars again.

I had a road race in the wind today. The stars slipped through the wind with absolutely NO problems. They didn't react to cross winds at all either. They are quickly rising in the ranks in my books.

I just bought a set of the new Ellsworth road wheels. All I have to say is SWEET!!!!! 1450 grams, tough as mountainbike wheels, roll like a dream, and look absolutely amazing. Beautiful wheels!

Rio Rider


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## alexrising (Apr 26, 2006)

. 11111


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