# Roval Rapide SL 45 Reviews?



## afdude

Hey all,

Search doesn't turn up much, but I'm thinking of purchasing a set of Roval Rapide SL 45's for my new Tarmac SL2 build. I know they come stock on the SL3. I read somewhere on the forums that they are Reynolds rims and DT Swiss hubs/spokes. Anybody confirm this? If so, sounds like a good deal for the price. 

Anybody got anything to say about them?

Thanks!


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## goneskiian

I kind of doubt they are Reynolds rims as they are a carbon fairing bonded to an aluminum rim. I do believe they are DT hubs though.

Sorry, no review here. Thought about buying some but went a different direction. 

Cheers!


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## afdude

So I decided to bite the bullett and get a pair of Rapide SL 45's for myself. I was going to go with a used set of 2005 Zipp 404 clinchers, but decided I wanted something new and with warranty. So other than a flat 5 miles into my first ride, I can say all is great. These are very strong and smooth rolling. Before this purchase I had the Shimano RS80's (DA7800 c24 carbon rim w/ ultegra hub 1550g, which were great) and the the Rapide SL 45's spin up just as fast. They are roughly the same weight too. 1595g for a Carbon clincher with aluminum brake track??? WHY NOT? I'm one happy customer. :thumbsup: I am certain with the 20/24 spoke build and aluminum track, that I can use these for training and racing. 

I only have about 60 miles on these in the past couple days so I'll be back with more updates since there really isn't much info on these wheels anywhere..

pics coming soon.


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## afdude

Sorry for the lame-o iphone pics.


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## rushton32

sweet ride. I have the 45's on my sl2 as well. very stiff and smooth. So the carbon is made in the same factory as the bikes. Reynolds made the older roval full carbon clinchers. the hubs have dt swiss internals with a roval shell. I just purchased the sl3 frame which is great. I switched everything over and the wheel make any bike look good. Good luck with the wheels.


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## hester6

Keep posting your feeling on the wheels. I just picked up my Tarmac pro today and I will be building it up. I was trying to decide between the Rovals and the Williams 38 Carbon (ceramic bearings). The weights are listed as the same. I like the durabilty of the aluminum braking surface of the Roval, but the price of the Williams $999. I have heard good feed back from other Williams owners.


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## jut8

Any updates on these wheels? I just picked up a left over 2010 S-Works Roubaix, it came with the dura-ace carbon tubeless wheels. I was thinking about picking up a set of these SL45's because I mostly do longer charity rides, and I am not the sprinting type, i mostly keep a pretty consistent pace, so the acceleration of a 1300-1400g wheelset is not that important to me, but i am thinking that i might benefit from an slightly heavier, more aero wheel on longer rides.....but we do have some hilly terrain where I train locally. I was thinking about dumping the D/A wheels and picking up a set of these.....any thoughts?


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## Gearhead65

Put a set on my Roubaix recently. Only have a couple hundred mi on them, but all is well. Here's a few crappy pixs.


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## goneskiian

jut8 said:


> Any updates on these wheels? I just picked up a left over 2010 S-Works Roubaix, it came with the dura-ace carbon tubeless wheels. I was thinking about picking up a set of these SL45's because I mostly do longer charity rides, and I am not the sprinting type, i mostly keep a pretty consistent pace, so the acceleration of a 1300-1400g wheelset is not that important to me, but i am thinking that i might benefit from an slightly heavier, more aero wheel on longer rides.....but we do have some hilly terrain where I train locally. I was thinking about dumping the D/A wheels and picking up a set of these.....any thoughts?


Your thinking is spot on. For saving energy, aero trumps light weight unless maybe you're doing a climbing stage in the Alps where the climbs are like 10 miles long and there are 4 or 5 of them to tackle on the same ride. :smilewinkgrin:

Cheers!


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## tyjacks

Any performance/ride updates on the Roval SL 45's? Thinking about ordering a set of the 2011's in red.


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## Travis

I raced them all this season on the road and really like them. Kind of a budget zipp. The specialised rep has our whole team racing cx on them. Six races into the season and no issues and they perform great and I weight 190
Pretty bomb proof I guess


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## ausdb

Travis said:


> I raced them all this season on the road and really like them. Kind of a budget zipp. The specialised rep has our whole team racing cx on them. Six races into the season and no issues and they perform great and I weight 190
> Pretty bomb proof I guess


Travis is there anyone in your team around the 200 mark? and if so how are they holding up for them?


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## Tagez

I'm just shy of the 200 mark. Have a 500 miles on them with out a problem.


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## 32and3cross

goneskiian said:


> I do believe they are DT hubs though.


I don't think those are DT swiss pretty sure those are Alex A Class hubs and likely the whole wheel is built by A Class who builds a ton of house brand wheels/rims and OEM stuff. The hubs look spot on like the hubs taht were on the the A Class tubless wheels I used last season on the road.

ADDED: Looks like they are using a Swiss Hub body or so says the website so that might be the DT Swiss tie in (along with the spokes and nibs which my A Class wheel had as well).


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## kacerrob

*Clydesdale - no problem for the Roval SL Rapide 45*

I have had a set on my bike for a year now. (thanks to my team raffle) They have held up nicely after about 1000 miles on them. I now use the Mavic Ksyrium SL's while I do my trainer work. According to Specialized there is no weight limit on these. My shop said 240 lbs was the limit and I weigh in at 205. I hit some nasty potholes over that time and no scratches and the rim is as straight as when I got them.

The hubs and bladed spokes are both DT Swiss and they sound nice when freewheeling. I liked them so much I purchased Roval's Control SL's for my mountain bike. 

jump on them if you can find a deal.


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## 32and3cross

kacerrob said:


> I have had a set on my bike for a year now. (thanks to my team raffle) They have held up nicely after about 1000 miles on them. I now use the Mavic Ksyrium SL's while I do my trainer work. According to Specialized there is no weight limit on these. My shop said 240 lbs was the limit and I weigh in at 205. I hit some nasty potholes over that time and no scratches and the rim is as straight as when I got them.
> 
> The hubs and bladed spokes are both DT Swiss and they sound nice when freewheeling. I liked them so much I purchased Roval's Control SL's for my mountain bike.
> 
> jump on them if you can find a deal.


Once again the hub shells are not DT swiss, the hub body maybe but its is not the star ratchet system. That said the hubs do roll nice and if they are in fact A Class hubs (which I think they are) have very good enduro bearings in em.


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## ausdb

32and3cross said:


> Once again the hub shells are not DT swiss, the hub body maybe but its is not the star ratchet system. That said the hubs do roll nice and if they are in fact A Class hubs (which I think they are) have very good enduro bearings in em.


That's different to what it says here?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/photos/specialized-roval-rapide-sl-45-road-wheelset/117390

I have a 2010 Roubaix Expert which came with the Fusee EL28's that have a similar looking hub body but without the "DT Swiss technology inside" labels on them. So I would say that the hub body is A-Class and the upper end wheels get the DT Swiss freewheel

I had issues with rear drive side spokes breaking and after a replacing spokes a few times and then a new back wheel, each time there was less than 500km between failures. After the last breakage Specialized gave me a set of Rapide 45SL's which have given me no trouble for the last 1000kms.

The freewheel ratchet on the Rapide's sounds significantly different to the freewheel ratchet on the Fuesee's so there is definitely a difference.


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## zach.scofield

Having been inside the sl 25's and the sl 45's they are definately DT internal mechanisms inside. The hub bodies are labeled roval and I am not sure who the manufacturer is of the hub body.


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## rcjunkie3000

On the Roval Rapide white logo wheels are the logos removable or are they laminated onto the wheel? Thanks.


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## Gearhead65

Laminated to wheels


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## toshi

anyone with follow-up comments on ride quality and durability? Thanks!


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## sibette

*hi*



Travis said:


> I raced them all this season on the road and really like them. Kind of a budget zipp. The specialised rep has our whole team racing cx on them. Six races into the season and no issues and they perform great and I weight 190
> Pretty bomb proof I guess


Anybody around 215...


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## kamrankhan

I've just purchased a new pair of these in the black and white silhoutte decals. Awesome wheels and they roll pretty well but my only concern is the dangy noise it makes when free rolling. 

Anyone else have the same problem? It might not be a problem, I'm just not used to the loud dangy noise it makes


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## RkFast

kamrankhan said:


> I've just purchased a new pair of these in the black and white silhoutte decals. Awesome wheels and they roll pretty well but my only concern is the dangy noise it makes when free rolling.
> 
> Anyone else have the same problem? It might not be a problem, I'm just not used to the loud dangy noise it makes


Those are the valve stems vibrating. Wrap a piece of electrical tape around them. A lot of aero rims suffer from this.


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## GrayBlack

I just picked up a set for my Tarmac Expert. The wheels seem pretty durable and they look great. They do have a loud freehub compared to the Fulcrum's I swapped out.


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## Sworker

I have a set on my 2007 S-Works due to the first two sets of wheels crapping out (thanks Specialized for the free rims). I like them, I have about 1.5k on them and still in good shape. They are very noisy when free wheeling (and I have Fulcrum 1's on my Tarmac Pro which are much quieter) but these are a good "poor mans' Zipps. IF you can find them sub 1200 bucks I would buy, if not might look for something different.


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## terrabyss

anybody have tried roval rapide sl45 and fulcrum racing speed ? any comparison between this two ?


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## Sworker

I have a set that I got about 1 year ago. They have about 3k on them now. I can tell you the build quality is very good, the description as a budget Zipp is spot on, I call them the "poor mans Zipps". I had two sets of rims before these that Specialized had to replace due to issues. I think with this rim Specialized got it right, this is a mid-aggressive aero wheel that is strong and stiff and while not a feather weight is light enough.

You just have to know that with these types of rims that when you get hit with side winds that your going to blown around alittle. Also as mentioned they are loud, I have Fulcrum Racing 1 on my Tarmac and if I had to make a choice I might buy those instead as they are quieter, same weight and do not have the noise and wind issues. That said if you want Aero wheels these are very good in their price category.


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## storm_rider67

I recently purchased a used Specialized Roval Rapide SL45 wheelset. I'm wondering what's the maximum tire pressure limit for this wheelset, as it is not stated in Specialized website. Any idea? I'm currently running Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp tires which recommend minimum tire pressure at 115psi and maximum 175psi. I do not want to destroy the wheelset by pumping too high pressure to these tires.


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## Sworker

I think you can go with whatever you want, more the tire than the rim. I can tell you these are very ticky with brand new tires as I have ahd a few explosions after I put brand new tires on, I am much more careful with these than I have to be with Fulcrum 1's. I personally never run more than 115 on any tires, I have just seen too many blow-ups on long rides and I used to run more, but I like 115-120 max. I think the tires are more the limit than the rims.


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## storm_rider67

Thanks. Zipp posted 125psi max for their 404 alu clincher, whereas Mavic and FFW has no specific maximum tire pressure. I think I will stick with what Zipp recommends to be on the safe side of things.


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## stringcatt

*anyone around 215*



sibette said:


> Anybody around 215...


Why not lose 40 lbs and then select wheels? As for these wheels they suck unless you are riding in a church picnic 25 miler. 1550 grams with most of the weight on the rim (600 grams) get something else if you are serious or get these if you are just plain stupid.


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## RunningW

Check out my thread about the cracked Roval Carbon wheels!


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