Specialised’s notoriously powerful carbon Roval Traverse HD wheels get a high-engagement DT Swiss 240 DEG improve, boosted virtually thrice to 90 POEs with out sacrificing DT’s confirmed Star Ratchet sturdiness. Not solely are they powerful sufficient to get spec’d on Specialised’s new prime, high-powered S-Works Levo eMTB, they’re additionally loads light-weight for any bike you may pedal to the highest of a mountain and smash down the gnarliest observe on the opposite aspect.
Roval Traverse HD 240 DEG quick & powerful carbon MTB wheels
From simply 1780g for the carbon mullet setup we’ve been using on and off since mid-January, Specialised says the brand new Roval Traverse HD 240 DEG wheels are usually not solely their hardest, it’s the “strongest carbon path wheel [they]’ve ever examined“!
A lot of their secret energy falls on Specialised’s patent-pending Flat Prime carbon rim design, with broad 5mm vast beads and easy radii that declare to “require 85% extra power to pinch flat” vs. a traditional bead. The 30mm inside hookless tubeless carbon rims stay light-weight with a light-weight fiber infill for these vast beads, and have a boxy 24mm deep trapezoid form for good general stiffness.
What’s new?
And now, DT Swiss 240 DEG ratchet internals ship fast 90 POE / 4° freehub engagement with out the sturdiness considerations of tiny tooth or fragile pawls. DT solved the puzzle of quick engagement and sturdiness final summer time by growing the diameter of their iconic Star Ratchet rings by 36% to create the brand new DEG ratchet – growing their variety of factors of engagement from 54T to 90T with out making their ratchet tooth smaller. And Specialised jumped on the likelihood to enhance reliability over their earlier fast-engaging Traverse HD wheels, whereas saving some weight on the identical time.
Tech particulars & pricing
Traverse HD uneven carbon rims with vast patent-pending Flat Prime beads
30mm inside hookless tubeless-ready
40mm vast exterior x 24mm deep
optimized for two.4″ Specialised Butcher or Eliminator Grid Path T9 tubeless tires
Roval ThreadBed Vale – distinctive Specialised tubeless valve threads instantly into an alloy insert co-molded within the rim (no exterior nut seen)
DT Swiss 240 DEG Increase 6-bolt hubs with sealed stainless cartridge bearings
90 POE / 4° freehub engagement
SRAM XD driver solely from Specialised (MicroSpline & HD accessible individually from DT Swiss)
entrance wheel 29″ solely, with 28 spokes laced 2x
rear wheel 27.5 or 29″, with 32 spokes laced 3x
handbuilt with DT Swiss RevoLite butted & fluted spokes and alloy DT ProLock nipples
1682g mullet wheelset weight, 1795g 29er wheelset weight (claimed weights with alloy tubeless valves & 32mm tape, included)
780g 29er entrance wheel, 902g 27.5″ rear wheel, 1015g 29″ rear wheel (claimed weights with valves & tape)
restricted lifetime guarantee (if registered inside 90 days of buy)
The Roval Traverse HD 240 DEG wheels are offered individually, so that you get the proper setup on your bike or eMTB. Both 27.5 or 29er rear wheels promote for $1300 with the brand new DT 240 DEG hubs. Matching 29er entrance wheels promote for $900, making this a $2200 wheelset. Get yours now out of your native specialised vendor bike store or delivered straight to your door from Specialised.com.
Using Assessment
These new Roval Traverse HD 240 DEG got here spec’d on the S-Works Levo 4 that we’ve been testing – first in Madeira, then on our dwelling trails, and even a sneaky enduro race a few days forward of their official launch. And we’ve put them by way of the ringer, with three completely different take a look at riders turning back-to-back laps, as quick as the brand new Levo’s Tremendous Charger may juice that highly effective ebike again up.
I already had a good suggestion the place we had been going to begin with the DT 240 DEG hubset, since I bought an unique likelihood to check out this new hub tech for greater than half a yr earlier than final summer time’s launch. The engagement of those hubs is fast and strong. Precisely what you need from a hub that’s going to see a whole lot of exhausting technical path using. Sure, there are different faster-engaging hubs on the market. However only a few can match the reliability of a DT Swiss begin ratchet, and virtually none ship ratchet reliability and quick engagement.
Keep Your Premium Hubs
The one difficulty I noticed with the Roval DEG wheels was not really alone setup. It was one other rider testing the identical wheels. You see, the tooth on these 90T DEG ratchets are fairly small – about the identical measurement as DT’s unique smaller-diameter 54T high-engagement ratchet rings. And so they’re a bit vulnerable to over-greasing. Even utilizing DT’s purple “Particular Grease”, protecting the tooth with an excessive amount of grease makes it doable to slide beneath load. If that occurs, it’s not the tip of the world. Simply pop the cassette off tool-free, wipe the surplus grease away with a clear, lint-free rag, and reinstall to experience. However too little, and also you’ll shorten the lifespan of these ratchets, too.
In fact, these are premium wheels, so you need to handle them, particularly the hubs. That doesn’t imply it’s essential go gently when you’re using. Simply on the finish of the season, clear & regrease the internals, wipe the seals and examine the bearings. And you need to get a few years out of them.
Parting Ideas
As for these Flat Prime carbon rims… Specialised additionally talks about these being almost indestructible. They formally price them for Aggressive Path, Enduro & full-power eMTB use, however then go on to say they are going to information you to bettering as a rider “within the bike park, on a path experience, or on an Enduro World Cup observe”. That feels like opening them up for actually any sort of mountain bike using.
We’ve been thrashing them on the brand new 24kg S-Works Levo. And that’s included loads of huge bikepark-style jumps (all the things is a bikepark with an eMTB that shuttles you back-and-forth to the highest of the mountain!) Plus, sketchy rock gardens, and even a dodgy e-Enduro energy stage by way of an deserted manufacturing facility. However as gentle as they’re, I wouldn’t thoughts swapping out the heavier aluminum wheels I’ve on my all-mountain path bike. And even these on my bikepark enduro bike.
It’s exhausting to seek out one other mullet mountain bike wheelset that weighs as little as these do, but instills such confidence which you could cost full-speed into any terrain. And the confirmed DT 240 DEG internals are only a fast-engaging bonus in my guide.
That is the type of carbon mountain bike wheelset that can simply make you cease worrying about damaging a carbon rim by simply using your bike.
Specialised.com
