This is a question for anyone who has had some experience with high end wheels.
I recently installed a pair of Roval CLX 50 wheels to my tarmac all went fine pretty straight forward procedure. They are amazing, the only strange thing about them is the free hub is silent… !?
My one concern and this is where I am wondering what other peoples experience is… The spin down on the rear wheel doesn’t seem quite as free as the front. It feels as though there is a some amount of drag somewhere in the hub to the point where they push the cranks forward if I wind them up and let them go and or spin the cranks backwards stationary… Is this normal or have I missed something.
It doesn’t feel as though anything is excessively tight in terms of the cassette or the skewer I even slightly backed that off just to see the effect it had…
At the end of the day if this is causing me to lose watts to the drivetrain free hub system I need to rectify it somehow. Any Roval users out there with some thoughts or input would be great.
This is not normal. The bearings in the hub are problematic. Could be as simple as needing servicing (perhaps they were damaged in shipping) or it could need a full replacement.
If you spin your rear wheel forward and it moves your cranks you have a major problem with your rear hub bearings and should get it fixed.
If these are brand new you should probably just exchange the wheel for a new one
Sounds like the freehub bearings rather than the wheel bearings. You could probably achieve this draggy effect by pumping the whole thing full of viscous grease, so if these are secondhand wheels with no seller comeback then I’d look into taking the freehub apart, but if they are new ones then don’t do that - return them to the shop and let them sort it out!
The CLX50s have Ceramicspeed bearings. I wouldn’t be filling them full of grease, plus if you did I suspect you’d void the warranty. They’re not a cheap wheelset. If you reckon there’s a problem, I’d suggest taking them back to the retailer.
The roval hubs are DT Swiss internals, so I’m surprised to hear about the misfortune. It definitely wouldn’t be a hub bearing issue.
I have the CL50’s and while I’m coasting, my freehub isn’t loud, but it isn’t quiet. (Essentially the same wheel). I have the 18t ratchet that came stock with it, and I have friends with the 54t ratchet installed, and the coasting noise is much higher.
My recommendation - service the freehub and check for anything out of the ordinary.
I have owned the CLX64 and had exactly the same experience. When you’ve ridden them a while the noise increases as the grease beds in. However, I’ve always found that my cranks will spin slightly after winding up and coasting on a work stand. This only translates to a problem on the road if it makes the chain go slack across the top.
