# Roval Wheels



## rward325 (Sep 22, 2008)

I just bought my wife a new 2010 Roubaix and I am trying to decide if the wheels it came with should stay. She is currently riding a Felt ZW3 with HED Kermesse wheels on it that she is used to. She is 5'3" and weighs under 130lbs. and is an excellent rider. Anyone have any input on these wheels?


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## stover (Apr 24, 2010)

rward325 said:


> I just bought my wife a new 2010 Roubaix and I am trying to decide if the wheels it came with should stay. She is currently riding a Felt ZW3 with HED Kermesse wheels on it that she is used to. She is 5'3" and weighs under 130lbs. and is an excellent rider. Anyone have any input on these wheels?


Is it the 2010 Roubaix Expert? If so, that is what I have. I have not put too many miles on these wheels yet but so far I have been happy with them. They seem solid but maybe a little heavy if she is racing the bike. Swap'em and see how they are on the Roubaix.


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## dougrocky123 (Apr 12, 2006)

*Roval*

I have the 2010 Expert and only used the Roval wheels a couple times before switching to Shimano Tubeless. No problems though. My much bigger friend with an Expert had his go out of true early on but seem to be ok now.


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## ksanbon (Jul 19, 2008)

Tarmac Pro SL w/ Fusee SL wheels
150 lbs
5600+ miles: still true


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## howhuman (May 24, 2010)

*Roval fusee el 28*

Bought my Specialized Roubaix Expert equipped with Roval fusee el 28.

Rode for 1200 km, before having a broken spoke on the rear chain side.

I guess broken spokes happen, however the down side is that no dealer in my city has the 
replacement spokes in stock, and I will be faced with a one week turnaround time for 
delivery. I live in Montreal, population 2.5 million, and I can't believe the dealers are so helpless to help me. Go for the Roval's if you must, they are way better than Mavic CXP22
(what I had before). But insist on getting a few spare spokes as part of the deal!!!


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## rward325 (Sep 22, 2008)

Good news then that the Specialized dealer I bought it from is a huge store and has 3 other locations. They have a great service department and sales staff. Now if only they could get rid of the rude manager we would be better off.


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## RockiesRoadie (Jun 28, 2010)

howhuman said:


> Bought my Specialized Roubaix Expert equipped with Roval fusee el 28.
> 
> Rode for 1200 km, before having a broken spoke on the rear chain side.
> 
> ...


I bought a 2010 Roubaix Expert in the middle of March. I now have 900 miles on it and have experienced drive side rear broken spokes on 3 seperate occasions. I ran into the bike shop not having spokes but they got spares after my second spoke broke.

I am wondering how these Roval Fusee EL28 wheels are holding up for other people. I weigh 205#.


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## rward325 (Sep 22, 2008)

Since purchasing the bike my wife has complained about not feeling stable on the bike and loosing confidence when descending. I took the wheels off of her old bike (HED Kermesse) and put them on the Roubaix. I had her ride the bike this weekend duing our normal 35 mile group ride. She told me she felt immediate relief from the change. She had ridden these wheels for well over a year on her other bike and seeing the change in her riding immediately is pretty impressive. The Roval wheels will remain in the garage as backups in case of a failure but I don't see her using them again.


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## dougrocky123 (Apr 12, 2006)

*Roval Breakage*

My large buddy (225?) on a 2010 Roubaix Expert had his rear wheel go out of true after a couple of months. After truing it lasted a couple of rides and then he got a broken spoke on the same wheel. I'd be careful if I were a larger rider on Roval wheels.


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## NealH (May 2, 2004)

I've got Roval Fusee SL's on my SL2 Roubaix, and its got right at 8K miles on it. No problems at all. I weigh between 175 and 180 depending on the season.


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## RockiesRoadie (Jun 28, 2010)

*Followup Roval Fusee EL28 Spoke Breakage*



dougrocky123 said:


> My large buddy (225?) on a 2010 Roubaix Expert had his rear wheel go out of true after a couple of months. After truing it lasted a couple of rides and then he got a broken spoke on the same wheel. I'd be careful if I were a larger rider on Roval wheels.


I took it to the LBS after my third spoke breakage. They talked to the rep and I just picked up my bike. Specialized replaced the wheels with the upgrades Fusee SL28 wheelset.

Cudos to Specialized for doing the right thing!


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## biorider (Jul 4, 2010)

Hmmm, I've got 60 miles in three rides, and one of the spokes on the non-drive side went slack, causing the wheel to go way out of true. I'm not a Clydesdale, at 168, by any stretch. The dealer 'fixed' it, so far, by tightening the offending spoke and applying Loctite. I just worked on the bike, and didn't note a slack spoke until the last ride. I'm worried the nipple is partially stripped.

When I asked, I can't buy a nipple wrench for the spokes as Specialized doesn't want the consumer working on them. Replacing a spoke requires slacking off the entire wheel, and even an eight shop chain doesn't have spare spokes.

The service guy at the shop says the Fusee ELs are the bane of his existence. A broken wheel has to go back to Specialized and takes several weeks to turn around, with an unhappy customer in his face. I noted that several of the spokes faced different directions, with concurrence from service.

I'm going to build a regular wheel, I can't trust the ELs.


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## RockiesRoadie (Jun 28, 2010)

biorider said:


> Hmmm, I've got 60 miles in three rides, and one of the spokes on the non-drive side went slack, causing the wheel to go way out of true. I'm not a Clydesdale, at 168, by any stretch. The dealer 'fixed' it, so far, by tightening the offending spoke and applying Loctite. I just worked on the bike, and didn't note a slack spoke until the last ride. I'm worried the nipple is partially stripped.
> 
> When I asked, I can't buy a nipple wrench for the spokes as Specialized doesn't want the consumer working on them. Replacing a spoke requires slacking off the entire wheel, and even an eight shop chain doesn't have spare spokes.
> 
> ...


I just got back from a 26 mile ride climbing some 2500 feet. I can't tell you the difference that the new SL's made! Not only do they corner MUCH BETTER but they seem to be spinning more freely. I am not very fast, ok I am very slow, at climbing and it seemed to me that I had a lower gear. That is a great improvement for me.


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## David60 (Jun 17, 2005)

*Roubaix wheel change-out*

I arranged with my LBS to take delivery of 2010 Expert with the Rovals directly replaced by Shimano 7850 CL 24 and immédiately lost atleast 300 grams of rotational weight. Wheelset is light and reponsive, not bling-bling material, but very good set. Never took the chance on the Rovals...


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## kuuk (Apr 29, 2009)

My 2009 Expert came with the Roval 322 set, which held true , but today I broke a spoke at the nipple on the rear wheel and it went out of true so bad that it couldn't even clear the frame without rubbing. After further inspection at home, I noticed hairline cracks around at least four nipple holes, probably over tensioned when built. Time for new wheels already, I've only gone through one rear tire so far.


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## SeattleRider (Jun 17, 2009)

My wife and I each have the 2010 Roubaix Expert with Rovals. I'm 210# and she's 145#. We've each ridden over 800 miles and haven't had any issues. Although now I'm a bit concerned after reading this forum and the fact that we're doing a double-century this weekend! 

The mechanic in the shop has these wheels on as his training set and he said he's beat them to heck and not had any issues. So, I'll just try to keep that in mind this weekend.


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## jpchamberland (Nov 2, 2008)

I got my Roubaix Expert 2010 in August 2009 and while I love the bike, I have had some issue with the Specialized Roval Fusee SE that came with it: after about 5000 miles I am now at my third spoke broken. On the other hand I am VERY happy with the service/support I am getting from my bike dealer (Gerks Ski and Cycle) and from Specialized. Every time a spoke broke my wheel was fixed and/or replaced and the last time it happened Specialized replaced both wheels (even if I never had any problem with the front wheel). I am a VERY HAPPY Specialized customer.


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## trent816 (Aug 21, 2010)

I bought my Roubaix Expert 2010 two months ago and I experienced 5 broken spokes in less than one month. After the third times, the dealer changed the rear wheel and it's still happening. I weigh 170 pounds which is not to heavy. And now I'm trying to get a new wheelset with my dealer, hope it will not be Roval again.


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## ausdb (May 20, 2009)

My wife bought me a 2010 Roubaix Expert for my birthday about two months ago and I love it, I saw this thread just after I had got the bike and thought no this can't/wont happen to me but unfortunately it has 

I was out for an 80km ride last weekend and was within a few km of my home when I heard a tinging sound and something rattling around in my back wheel. When I got home I found a drive side spoke had broken. Looking at the broken spoke I can see that it has sheared off on the first thread after the bladed section where it goes through the rim. I didn't take the tyre and rim strip off to have a look at what remained of the nipple as I thought best not to disturb it. But I suspect the breakage has occurred because the threaded part of the spoke seems to be resting against the edge of the rim, which is a stress raiser if ever there was one.

Today I took it back to my LBS where I bought it, the guy makes a phone call about availability of a white bladed spoke and then starts saying that the new spoke will be $20. At that point I said what $20 for a new spoke this is surely a warranty issue considering the bike has dones less than 800km and is less than two months old. I then got the spiel about spokes "not really being warranty items blah blah". The local Specialized rep is supposed to be looking at it tomorrow, I am going to be really interested to see what he says. I'll admit I'm not the lightest rider around (200lbs) but I am a long way from the 250lb weight limitation in the Specialized's owner documentation. And to quote their own sales pitch for the wheels: 
*"The Roval Fusee EL 28 offers the same efficiency advantages as the Fusée SL, with a greater emphasis on stiffness and durability"*

BTW I just thought I should add that I am in Australia so we get gouged on price of almost anything that is cycling related compared to you guys


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## trent816 (Aug 21, 2010)

I got exactly the same problem... 4 times in a month... but the spokes were less than 2 $ each. After a meeting with Specialized Canada, my store ask me to chose another wheelset in the same price range, so I received a brand new Shimano Ultegra Wheelset and now I can ride without thinking about broken spokes.


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## harpster (Sep 26, 2010)

Same here with the broken spoke problem. I put on 1500 miles then started breaking rear spokes on the Roval EL 28's. I'm not sure why I wasn't breaking them earlier but as I got stronger I was standing up a lot more on hills and that might have caused the breakage. I'm 225 and when I got the bike I did ask about weight but it was more in regards to the frame and no one said anything about the wheels and they probably didn't know so I'm not blaming the LBS.

However that being said what I quickly learned shocked me.... not only were the spokes nearly impossible to get and required special orders of a whole box at $70, but Specialized customer service said I shouldn't replace the spokes myself. They basically told me that these wheels were not intended for riders over 200 lbs and that the tensioning was so critical that if a spoke broke that all the spokes would need to be loosened and retentioned using a spoke tension tool. To replace a spoke at a bike store properly it would be $30+ due to the time it took and if you didn't do it properly than one of the spokes next to the one the previously broke would probably break next because it took the extra tension from the spoke that did break.

So the cost, lack of replacement spokes, special tools (including the special spoke wrench needed for inside of the rim to spoke adjustment) & downtime was totally unacceptable to me. I mean I just love the bike but now I have very little confidence in the wheels from a safety standpoint and it was affecting my riding. After talking the Specialized Customer Service several times I found that all they can do is try to defuse the problem. They can't actually do ANYTHING to correct it. You need to work through your LBS so they can in turn work through Specialized Warranty Dept. This is inefficient because if you need to ask a rep a question it need to be passed through the LBS.

Anyway the options given to me were to get the EL 28 wheels replaced or to get the Pave SL25's which are stronger wheels made for cycle-cross. I did some research and found that thew EL 28's are being discontinued (no kiddin) and the 2011 Roubaix will now use a version of Fulcrum Racing wheels. I asked for those wheels but they did not have them as a warranty item. I figured that if I got he EL 28's again I'd just have the same problem so I really had no choice but the get the Pava SL's. This was annoying too because those wheels are heaver and a down grade price wise ($550 for the EL28 vs. $400 for the Pave SL). I bought 2 Roubix this summer one for me and my wife and the best replacement they can give me (for there problematic wheels) down grade wheel set... that kind of sucks don't you think?

I got the Pave SL's a few days ago and put 100 miles on them. I can tell the weight difference... to me the bike don't seem as lively with these wheels but they are not bad either but maybe a little slower and don't look near as cool as the EL 28's did. However I know they are stronger and I don't have to worry about the spoke breakage problem now.

My closing thoughts are if specialized never intended for people over 200 lbs to ride on these wheels that there should have been a big tag on the bike saying so. It's ridiculous to learn this after the purchase and not responsible either. I really don't think the EL 28's are bad wheels if built right but I question the QC at manufacture (one of my spoke blades was turned 90 degrees the wrong way) and the DT Swiss spokes themselves are questionable. Finally if you want to make a customer happy so they recommend and buy more of their products don't give them something of less value as a warranty repair. Give them the opportunity to upgrade to a better product. -A


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## BluesDawg (Mar 1, 2005)

This post in another forum suggests there was a material problem with the wheels.

"The LBS received a response from Specialized. I don't understand the issue, but Specialized indicated that thread locker with incorrect pH was utilized on the spokes. Specialized offered a set of new Reynolds Shadow wheels or to rebuild the Rovals at the factory. I opted for the factory rebuild. "


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## ausdb (May 20, 2009)

Well its over a week since I took my wheel into the LBS and I still don't have it back, I called them last Thursday and they sad yes Specialized were warrantying it and they had the replacement spoke and it was going to be repaired that day and would be ready by 4pm. So at 5:30pm I go in to pick it up to get told, "Yeah we have the spoke but we couldn't fix it as this wheel has internal nipples and Specialized didn't send us a spoke hey for internal nipples". I didn't say much at the time but I was pretty pi$$ed off. After taking $4k off me for the bike they cant even spend $0.30 on a phone call to tell me to not waste my time coming down to pick up the wheel as its not fixed?

They could see the wheel had internal nipples, had to deal with Specialized to get it warrantied and they don't even bother to check if they have the tool to do the job??

So far I am less than impressed with the LBS and I still love the Roubaix if I could ride it


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## harpster (Sep 26, 2010)

ausdb said:


> "Yeah we have the spoke but we couldn't fix it as this wheel has internal nipples and Specialized didn't send us a spoke hey for internal nipples".
> 
> They could see the wheel had internal nipples, had to deal with Specialized to get it warrantied and they don't even bother to check if they have the tool to do the job??


Surprising that they are a Specialized Dealer and didn't have that $10 tool.. anyway make sure they retention the whole wheel not just the spoke that's being replaced. The same thing happened to me and the spoke next to the one that was replaced broke within 100 miles. These wheels get completely out of whack when a spoke breaks so whole wheel needs to be adjusted and fixed properly. If you call Specialized customer service they will tell you the same thing - I think some LBS are better suited and experienced to do this than others.


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## ausdb (May 20, 2009)

harpster said:


> Surprising that they are a Specialized Dealer and didn't have that $10 tool.. anyway make sure they retention the whole wheel not just the spoke that's being replaced. The same thing happened to me and the spoke next to the one that was replaced broke within 100 miles. These wheels get completely out of whack when a spoke breaks so whole wheel needs to be adjusted and fixed properly. If you call Specialized customer service they will tell you the same thing - I think some LBS are better suited and experienced to do this than others.


Well its finally fixed, I will wait with baited breath as to how long it lasts and the LBS got an extra spoke key which they gave me which I hopefully won't have to use. I intend to give these wheels a solid workout to make sure any more things happen within the warranty period not out of it 

I am not sure whether they droppped the tension on the whole wheel and then redid it but I went round the whole wheel with a Park TM-1 and they were within 1 graduation of each other on both the DS and NDS. I haven't converterd them to actual tensions yet, but will keep my notes for future reference.

One thing I find interesting is that for 2011 Specialized have ditched their own Rovals in favour of Fulcrums for the Expert and Elite Roubaix models.


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## SeattleRider (Jun 17, 2009)

ausdb said:


> Well its finally fixed, I will wait with baited breath as to how long it lasts and the LBS got an extra spoke key which they gave me which I hopefully won't have to use. I intend to give these wheels a solid workout to make sure any more things happen within the warranty period not out of it
> 
> I am not sure whether they droppped the tension on the whole wheel and then redid it but I went round the whole wheel with a Park TM-1 and they were within 1 graduation of each other on both the DS and NDS. I haven't converterd them to actual tensions yet, but will keep my notes for future reference.
> 
> One thing I find interesting is that for 2011 Specialized have ditched their own Rovals in favour of Fulcrums for the Expert and Elite Roubaix models.



What is the warranty on these wheels? I haven't had any issues in 2000 miles on my rovals, but I am interested in this thread and the warranty period. Thank you.


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## BluesDawg (Mar 1, 2005)

ausdb said:


> One thing I find interesting is that for 2011 Specialized have ditched their own Rovals in favour of Fulcrums for the Expert and Elite Roubaix models.


Actually, it is the Expert and Comp that come with Fulcrum wheels in 2011 and only the Expert (and higher) had Rovals in 2010.


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## blackjack (Sep 7, 2010)

ausdb said:


> Well its over a week since I took my wheel into the LBS and I still don't have it back, I called them last Thursday and they sad yes Specialized were warrantying it and they had the replacement spoke and it was going to be repaired that day and would be ready by 4pm. So at 5:30pm I go in to pick it up to get told, "Yeah we have the spoke but we couldn't fix it as this wheel has internal nipples and Specialized didn't send us a spoke hey for internal nipples". I didn't say much at the time but I was pretty pi$$ed off. After taking $4k off me for the bike they cant even spend $0.30 on a phone call to tell me to not waste my time coming down to pick up the wheel as its not fixed?
> 
> They could see the wheel had internal nipples, had to deal with Specialized to get it warrantied and they don't even bother to check if they have the tool to do the job??
> 
> So far I am less than impressed with the LBS and I still love the Roubaix if I could ride it


Nice wife. Your LBS is clueless about cycling customer service though.

This

"not really being warranty items blah blah". 

is complete bs.

Were you bikeless or did you have a spare rear?


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## ausdb (May 20, 2009)

blackjack said:


> Nice wife. Your LBS is clueless about cycling customer service though.
> 
> This
> 
> ...


Yes the wife is a keeper for sure 
And my impressions of the LBS and their service so far only confirm the reasons why I have stayed away from LBS's in the past and bought online and done my own maintenance but you can't get Specialized bikes online so I had to buy from somewhere.

Anyway their customer service is going to be severely tested tomorrow when I take the wheel back. I have clocked up less than 200kms since it was fixed and two more spokes broke on the weekend   

Luckily I have a spare bike to ride so I am not bikeless.

Bluesdawg yeah I got them a bit mixed up but I still find it interesting that they have moved away from their own product family to Fulcrum's


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## pdainsworth (Jun 6, 2004)

harpster said:


> Surprising that they are a Specialized Dealer and didn't have that $10 tool.. anyway make sure they retention the whole wheel not just the spoke that's being replaced. The same thing happened to me and the spoke next to the one that was replaced broke within 100 miles. These wheels get completely out of whack when a spoke breaks so whole wheel needs to be adjusted and fixed properly. If you call Specialized customer service they will tell you the same thing - I think some LBS are better suited and experienced to do this than others.


The tool is actually free, It comes with any set of Roval wheels with the hidden nipples. We have several of them hanging about the shop for that very reason.


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