Specialized Roval CL 50 Disc Road Wheelset - Satin Carbon/Black

Specialized paired their quiver-killing CLX 50 Disc rim with DT Swiss Competition round spokes, Aero Flange Disc hubs with DT Swiss 350 internals, and steel bearings to deliver you an exceptional wheelset at a more than accessible price.

Why disc you ask? With a disc-specific rims, you not only ditch the brake track, but you get a stronger, more impact-resistant rim. This comes at the hands of a disc-specific carbon layup that optimises stiffness and keeps weight as close to its rim-brake brethren as possible. All the while, you get incredible brake modulation and power in all conditions.

Sharing rims with the CLX 50s, the CL 50s feature many of the benefits as their higher-end siblings. Even though the CL 50 is similar in weight to many wheels in the “lightweight” category, aerodynamics came at the forefront of the development. With this, Specialized jumped headlong into Computational Fluid Dynamics computer modeling to arrive at various rim shapes that could make the CL 50 as fast and light as possible. It took a while, but the rim shape was narrowed down to three contenders that were then CNC machined into rims, built into wheels, and put into the Win Tunnel.

In the tunnel, Specialized tested every wheel, theirs and the competition's, with a 24C tyre (measuring 26C), as tyres can drastically affect testing. A modern-width tyre was chosen to design their rims around, because they not only allow for less tyre pressure (which results in more comfort and less rolling resistance) but are also just as aerodynamically efficient when paired with the correct rim width.

Now it was time for final testing validation. The result? A 50mm-deep, 1515-gram clincher wheelset that's race-ready and wallet-friendly.