Mountain Biking

Roval launches Terra CLX & CLX EVO Carbon Gravel Wheels – Super Wide & Starting at 1,296 Grams

Kevin Curry

Oct 8, 2019 — 4 min read

There are few upgrades you can make to a bike that will have the same impact as a great set of wheels. While there’s no shortage of options out there, there’s a surprising lack of wide, light, aero rims. Enve Composites SES 4.5 AR Disc wheelset has stood alone for nearly three years, but Roval, a longtime leader in the space, appears to finally be introducing some stiff competition with not one, but two new high-end gravel wheelsets.

Here’s Roval’s announcement about the new wheels:

The Roval Terra Gravel Wheel Series

Wide, Light and Durable

Roval’s new Terra wheels bring leading-edge performance to the diverse needs of gravel and adventure riders. To create the models in the Terra line, Roval engineers carefully balanced the wide range of gravel riders’ needs to develop wheels with exceptional durability, class-leading weights, everyday functionality and uncompromising performance.

Leveraging decades of experience in composite wheel design and manufacture, Roval brought the Terra line to life. Designed as a system Terra wheels integrate lightweight carbon fiber rims with dependable DT Swiss hub internals and spokes. Terra wheels feature generous, modern internal widths – 25mm and 30mm(!) respectively, allowing riders to run a broad selection of widths, AND perform reliably over a huge range of tire pressures.

Developing the Terra line presented new challenges to Roval engineers as they strove to make an exceptionally lightweight series of rims with exceptionally controlled and comfortable ride quality which also pass their standards for MTB use.

In the end, they passed through 20 iterations of the layup before landing on the final result, which provides MTB-ready durability with road-bike weights and ride quality suitable for the diversity of challenges drop-bar riders face in the dirt.

Wide and Wider: The 25mm inner width of the Terra CLX and CL can safely accommodate tires from 28mm up to 42mm wide, at whatever pressure you might want to pump into them. The Terra CLX EVO measures a massive 30mm between the rim walls. That’s wider than any other road wheel on the market, allowing safety and performance with tires up to 55mm wide. In either width, the rims are sized to optimize tire volume. Basically– if your frame has the clearance for it, these wheels will let you run just about any tire you damn well please.

Get Hooked: Hookless rims have become increasingly popular in MTB and some gravel applications as composite rims have come to the fore. Roval feels that it’s best practice to have a hook holding the tire bead securely, given the wide differential in tire size and potential for high pressures. This means adding a machining step after an already complex hand layup process, but that extra step allows Terra wheels to run just about any size tire at just about any pressure.

Roval Designed, DT-Powered Hubs And Spokes: Terra CLX wheels feature DT Swiss’ new 180EXP internals, offering lighter weight, greater stiffness and more reliable engagement. Roval chooses DT internals for all premium models due to the reliability and serviceability of their Star Ratchet system. The internals are housed in Roval’s AFD hubs, paired with DT Aerolite t-head spokes in a 2:1 lacing pattern for balanced spoke tension and a stronger overall wheel system.

Terra CLX | One wheel to rule them all

Intertwining the DNA of Roval’s mountain and road technologies, the Terra CLX offers unsurpassed toughness to weight. 1296 grams for a wheelset is light by any measure, especially when the rims are laid up to deliver a smooth and durable ride. The 25mm internal rim width optimizes tire volume and profile, enhances ride quality, and allows riders to choose from a broad range of tire widths.

Terra CLX EVO | Tomorrow’s Wheels Today

The Terra CLX EVO features a massive 30mm inner width – wider than any other road or gravel rim on the market, wider than a lot of mountain bike rims, too. This makes it a perfect candidate for riders looking to run seriously meaty tires – up to 55mm / 2.2” – without having to pay the weight penalty usually associated with wide rims and high durability. 1303 grams a set in 650b, 1357 grams a set in 700c. What kind of terrain is best suited to these brutes? All of it.

Terra Key Points:

MTB-level durability
Road-level weights
Layup optimized for ultimate balance of ride feel, durability and weight
Tubeless-first design; the best fit and easiest installation
DT 180EXP hub internals offer light weight, stiffness, reliability and ease of service
Hooked bead for security with any tire choice
Tire compatibility for the widest range of options:
- CLX: 700Ã—28-42mm
- CLX EVO 700: 38-47mm
- CLX EVO 650: 42mm – 2.1 €³
Terra CLX and Terra CLX EVO Models will Retail for $2500