The CLX 50 were created to be 45 to 55mm deep, 2Bliss Ready, aerodynamically optimised, ultra-wide, and under 1400 grams. This was achieved by borrowing some weight savings techniques developed for the CLX 32, while taking some aero guidance from the CLX 64. Every lightweight trick in the book was implemented without sacrificing anything to durability. From there, Roval performed a variety of studies on different wheel depths, ultimately deciding that meeting their strict weight and stiffness targets would be a big gamble with something too deep, which is why 50mm was chosen. Next, Roval jumped headlong into Computational Fluid Dynamics computer modeling to arrive at various rim shapes that could make the CLX 50 as fast as possible. The rim shape was narrowed down to three contenders that were then CNC machined into rims, built into wheels, and put into their Win Tunnel.
In the tunnel, every wheel was tested, Rovals and their competition's, with a 24C (measuring ~26mm wide) Specialized S-Works Turbo tyre inflated to 100 PSI, as tyres can drastically affect performance. Testing wheels by themselves, not on a bike, is often seen as malpractice, but in their years of testing experience, the numbers have shown that the deltas between bike and wheel, and wheel alone, to be consistent. After finding the most optimised rim shape that supported the svelte weight requirements, the rims were laced to the Aero Flange (AF) hub with DT Swiss 240 internals, which features the legendary CeramicSpeed bearings, via 21 DT Swiss Aerolite spokes. Next was time for final testing validation. The result was a 50mm-deep, 1375-gram wheelset that's not only ~200 grams lighter than the competition’s similar depth disc wheel, but is also measurably faster in every conceivable test than every wheel in its category.