Bike Components

When you think of lightweight XC wheels, aluminum probably doesn't come to mind. In reality, though, high-grade alloy wheels have all of the tremendous performance properties found in carbon, like light overall weight, durability, and resilience to impact. And when made with the right hands, they're perfect for competitive racers and everyday trail riders alike. The problem is that, while many carbon wheels can check these boxes with ease, most alloy wheels don't live up to these expectations. In the case of the Control 29 wheels, however, there’s finally an aluminum wheelset that's truly ready to race.

What sets the Control 29 wheels apart is that they share many of the same advanced technologies as our carbon version, the Control SL. They adopt the same rim shape with a 25-millimeter inner width, extensive on-trail testing, and our Zero Bead Hook technology.

Our Zero Bead Hook rim takes away the dated mountain wheel design known as a bead hook. This hook is the part of the rim that crests at the top, sitting several millimeters inward from the rim’s sidewall, and it catches the tire’s bead under its hook. We know this may not sound too bad, but the hook establishes a weak spot in the rim that's easily crushed or bent. Without a hook, a rim can be manufactured to much tighter tolerances and can be made lighter due to the hook not needing to be reinforced. For these wheels, this means that we're able to nearly equal the strength of carbon, while also making them lighter than many carbon wheels. More importantly, a Zero Bead Hook all but gets rid of the aforementioned weak spot in the rim that's plagued riders with flat spots and dents for decades. If you happen to be one of those riders that enjoys riding your four-inch travel XC bike like it’s a six-inch trail bike, you’re in luck.

Our objective of low weight and reliability, at an accessible price, also carries into the Control 29 build. We hand-build each rim to our alloy hubs, which feature DT Swiss internals at the rear and a design that allows for the same spoke lengths at both front and rear, via perfectly tensioned DT Swiss Revolution J-Bend spokes and Pro Lock nipples. We fully support the art of hand-building and do so with our wheels, knowing that real people can catch things that a machine simply cannot.

• Rim: Control Alloy Clincher, 29, Disc Brake, Tubeless Ready, Zero Bead Hook design
• Rim Details: 18.15mm Depth, 30mm External Width, 25mm Internal Width
• Hub: Roval JFM02, DT Swiss 360 3 pawl internals, 24t (15deg), XD Freehub, 110x15mm & 142x12mm thru-axle compatible, (Convertible freehub and endcaps)
• Bearing Type: Sealed Steel Cartridge
• Spokes: DT Swiss Competition Race J-Bend, F: Two-Cross 28 count, L: 287mm, R: Two-cross 28 count, L: DS 287mm NDS 287mm
• Nipple: DT Swiss Hex Prolock Al 2.0x14mm
• Tire Size: 1.95" - 2.6"; Max Pressure: XX psi
• Weight: Wheelset 1690g
• Assembly Method: Hand built at every step.
• Extras: 19 and 31mm OD end cap options included, Roval tubeless plugs and tubeless valve, System Weight Limit: 240lbs / 109kg;

• 3D-forged and CNC-machined, 6061 aluminum, road/MTB-compatible stem.
• 4-bolt oversized 31.8mm handlebar interface with relieved faceplate.
• Equipped with top cap and 4-degree, 2-degree, and 0-degree shims.
• Available in 12-degree, 17-degree, and 24-degree angles.
• 12-degree: 10 position angle range: +/- 8-degree to 16-degree, in 2-degree increments.
• 17-degree: 10 position angle range, +/- 13-degree to 21-degree, in 2-degree increments.
• 24-degree: 10 position angle range: +/- 20-degree to 28-degree, in 2-degree increments.
• Compatible with composite handlebars.
• Approx. weight: 188g (110mm)

The all-new S-Works Turbo RapidAir is our ultimate race day tire. The most efficient, lightest, best handling, and durable tubeless tire we’ve ever made. The original RapidAir is the tire that broke the World Tour’s addiction to tubulars with Tour de France stage wins, Green Jerseys, and Monument victories. Coaxing more speed and a longer life from our fastest race-day tubeless tire was no easy feat.

We knew we had an incredibly fast foundation – RapidAir’s unique construction. Instead of a traditional three-ply casing that masses material under the tread where it increases rolling resistance, the Rapid Air casing is just two plies that overlap at the side wall that not only rolls faster, but grips better as well, with a more supple contact patch.

Elevating this already formidable performance is our all-new Gripton T2 compound - the fastest, most efficient compound we’ve ever created. We’ve combined this with the legendary grip of our Gripton T5 compound on the shoulders. With this dual compound a set of 26mm S-Works Turbo RapidAir 2BR tires saves two watts of rolling resistance over the previous tire and adds approximately 1000 kilometers of life to a set. Oh, did we mention they are lighter? Just 230grams in 26mm.

As a tubeless tire, the new RapidAir has ‘leave the spare tube at home’ performance when combined with RapidAir sealant, but the protection doesn’t end there. With new hybrid-Kevlar Blackbelt protection under the tread, you’ve got 12% more puncture protection with lighter weight and more flexibility for a more supple ride.

The new S-Works Rapid Air is also compatible with both hooked and hookless rims for the flexibility to ride the wheels and pressure you want. Our new Zylon reinforced beads also exceed hookless burst pressure standards by 200% for ultimate peace of mind. The win-win’s keep on coming with new RapidAir.

• Casing: 120 TPI
• Bead: Foldable 2Bliss Ready
• Dual Compound: GRIPTON® T2/T5
• Flat Protection: BlackBelt
• 700 x 26mm, psi 70-110, approximate weight 230g

Since 2020, Rapide CLX wheels have won more races on the World Tour than any other wheels, and we just made them faster. Meet the new Rapide CLX II. Combining the aerodynamics of a deep-section TT wheel with the light weight of a shallower climbing wheel and mixing in the superior efficiency and sublime handling of a tubeless system—the Rapide CLX II delivers maximum speed for real-world riding.

We developed distinctly different shapes for the Rapide CLX II front and rear rims. The result is a wheelset that catches less drag than most 65mm wheelsets and brings a dramatic 25% improvement in stability over 50mm rims in wind gusts.

The Rapide CLX II utilizes a hooked rim (allowing for real-world riding pressures up to 110psi, if that’s your thing) for secure tire bead retention and an easier set up and mounting experience than ever before. All in a wheel that almost doubles current industry impact standards while managing to achieve the lightest weight possible.

Our AeroFlange hubs are aerodynamically optimized, with wide bracing angles for increased strength and reduced spoke weight. They also benefit from the reduced weight and increased strength of ceramic SINC bearings and the legendary durability of DT Swiss’ EXP freehub internals.

• Rim: Rapide CLX Cabon Clincher, 700c, Disc Brake, Tubeless
• Rim Details: F- 51mm Depth, 35mm External Width, 21mm Internal Width: R- 60mm Depth, 30.7mm External Width, 21mm Internal Width
• Hub: Roval Aero Hub (AFD01/AFD02R) Center Lock, DT Swiss 180 Ratchet EXP 36t internals (10 degs), 100x12mm & 142x12mm, Shim. RD. 11SP HG freehub
• Bearing Type: DT Swiss SINC Ceramic Bearings
• Spokes: DT Swiss Aerolite T-head, Front: Radial/One-cross (2:1) 18 count, DS: 257mm, NDS: 252mm; Rear: One-cross/Two-cross (2:1) 24 count, DS: 243mm NDS: 249mm
• Nipple: DT Swiss Hex Prolock Al 2.0x14mm
• Tire Size: 24mm - 38mm; Max Pressure: 24mm-35mm: Tubeless (110psi) Tubed (130psi), 36mm-38mm: Tubeless (60psi) Tubed (60psi)
• Weight: Wheelset 1,520g, Front 710g, Rear 810g (including 15g, tubeless rim tape and tubeless valve)
• Assembly Method: Hand built at every step; from rim layup to the last nipple turn.
• Extras: Roval Rim Tape, Spare Spoke & Nipple Kit, System Weight Limit: 275lbs/125kg

We all love to stop and smell the roses, but like they say, every rose has its thorn. And as we all know, there's no better way to ruin a beautiful ride than with a thorn in the tube. No need to worry, though, because we designed our Thorn-Resistant Schrader Valve Tubes to combat pesky pricks of all shapes and sizes.

Starting at the basis of the construction, we designed the tube to be thicker at the outer side (the part against the tire) in order to stop pesky bits from puncturing all the way through the tube. Then, at the inner side (the part against the rim), it's actually thinner in order to reduce weight. This way, you don't have to sacrifice performance in the name of protection.

• Thicker construction on the outer side (against the tire) enhances puncture protection.
• Thinner construction on the inner side (against the rim) maximizes weight savings.

• Casing: 60 TPI, light and supple trail construction with additional sidewall protection for exceptional durability and sidewall stability.
• Bead: Foldable
• Butyl wrapped bead = 2Bliss Ready
• Compound: GRIPTON®
• 26 x 2.3", psi 25-50, approximate weight 710g
• 27.5 x 2.3", psi 25-50, approximate weight 785g
• 27.5 x 2.6", psi 20-40, approximate weight 970g
• 27.5 x 3.0", Max Ride 25 psi / Max Install 35 psi, approximate weight 1100g
• 29 x 2.3", psi 25-50, approximate weight 810g
• 29 x 2.6", psi 20-40, approximate weight 900g

In the early design phases of our Traverse Fattie 27.5, we recognized that the number of aluminum wheels that had the prowess to both shred rowdy descents and to provide the efficiency required of our Northern California testing grounds' relentless climbs were far and few between. We also came to realize that trail riders expect certain features in a super nimble, send-it-ready wheelset. And for the price, we found that alloy hit many of these expectations, while also keeping enough jingle-jangle in your wallet for a post-ride beverage.

Along with light overall weight, stiffness, and durability, another top priority for the Traverse was ease of use. First off, we got rid of the creaky straight-pull spokes and corrosion-prone alloy nipples. Next up, we landed on 28 J-bend spokes, for front and rear wheels, that are all the same length—making it easy to find replacements if needed. And finally, we engineered a new hub design, with a wider profile and higher flange to aid in overall stiffness.

We took the traditional 19- to 23-millimeter standard and moved it out to what we found worked best in testing—a whopping 30mm “Fattie” width. A wide rim does a variety of things for ride performance—it better supports the tire for increased confidence and grip, it affords you the ability to run lower pressures, and it spreads impact out over a larger surface area to reduce the risk of damage. We also added our Zero Bead hook design to the mix, and this ultimately aids in preventing “burps” during hard cornering, while also making tubeless set up quick and easy.

After developing what we found to be the perfect alloy trail wheels, we went farther down the perfection path, hand-lacing the rims to our own alloy hubs that allow for the same spoke length throughout the entire wheelset, via 28 DT Swiss Revolution J-Bend spokes and Pro Lock nipples. Inside our hubs, you'll find sealed cartridge bearings and DT Swiss 360 rear internals that'll keep you rolling smoothly for miles. We also wanted to ensure that each wheel was built correctly, so we built them by hand.

Each wheelset comes packaged with a SRAM XD-driver and a tubeless valve stem in order to make tubeless set-up a touch easier. Please note that Shimano freehubs are sold separately.

• Rim Material: E5 high-strength alloy
• Rim Width: 30mm internal
• Front Spoke Pattern: Two-cross
• Rear Spoke Pattern: Two-cross
• Spoke Count: 28h Front, 28h Rear
• Spoke Type: DT Swiss Competition Race J-bend
• Nipple Type: DT Swiss Brass Pro Lock hexagonal
• Front Hub: Alloy body, 15mmx110 thru-axle, 19 and 31mm OD end cap options included.
• Rear Hub: CNC-machined alloy body, high-quality DT 360 internals, includes SRAM XX1 11-speed freehub and 148 end cap.
• Bearing Type: Sealed cartridge

• Rim Type: Carbon clincher, 2Bliss Ready, Zero Bead Hook 4mm FlatTop design. Compatible with tire inserts.
• Rim Width: 29mm internal
• Front Hub: Alloy body, 15mmx110 thru-axle, 19 and 31mm OD end cap options included. Max Rotor Size <200mm
• Front Spoke Pattern: DT Swiss Aerolite Straightpull 294mm, 24-hole, Two-cross
• Rear Hub: CNC-machined alloy body, SiNC Ceramic Bearings, premium-quality DT 180 internals and 36T quick engagement ratchet system cassette, includes Shimano MicroSpline freehub and 148 end caps. Max Rotor Size <200mm
• Rear Spoke Pattern:DT Swiss Aerolite Straightpull 294mm, 24-hole, Two-cross
• Bearing Type: SiNC Ceramic Sealed cartridge
• Nipple Type: DT Swiss Pro Lock Hexagonal Alloy 14mm 2.0mm
• Total Wheelset Weight: 1240g
• System Weight Limit: 275lbs / 125kg

Convert existing Roval wheels with 142mm or 142+ to be used with Boost spacing (110/148mm) suspension forks and frames.

• Kits include front and rear hub end caps, rotor spacers, and kit-specific rotor bolts.
• Compatible with select 2013 to 2017 Roval wheels. Choose the appropriate SKU for each wheelset.
• Each conversion kit requires the existing rear wheel to be re-dished to center. Consult an authorized Roval dealer to perform this operation.