Roval and Specialized put the cycling world on notice with the World Tour success of the Alpinist CLX clincher wheel system. Tubeless was ascending, tubulars still ruled, and clincher tires... were rare. Still, the engineers at Roval still considered tubeless to be the best option moving forward and the tire development team at Specialized believed that improvements to the Rapid Air race day tire design would combine with a hooked tubeless ready Alpinist rim to unlock the best combination of tire and rim. With no tube, even a latex model, could less friction between rim and tire be produced. The Alpinist CLX II improves ride quality, reduces rolling resistance, and allows the rider to choose lower pressures as desired for better ride quality, handling, and even less rolling resistance while enjoying a properly sealed tubeless tire to basically eliminate pinch flatting and shrug at small punctures. But it takes more than a lightweight rim to deliver the incredible reactivity and handling of the tubeless Alpinist CLX II. The wheelset has been designed as a system with Roval's engineers controlling and testing every part of that system - hubs, rims, spokes, lacing - and developing it hand-in-hand with Specialized's Tubeless tire team. The result is an approximately 1260 gram tubeless wheelset with an otherworldly ride quality designed for real-world road pressures.

The goal of the rim design was make the tubeless compatible model stronger, with a hooked bead that could also handle a tube and clincher tire. The engineers outdid themselves. The 33mm deep Alpinist CLX II rim is a work of art. It features the most precise carbon layup Roval has ever created; the result of over 50 different iterations, hundreds of impact tests, and countless hours on the road. The rims react to even the slightest increase in power with immediate acceleration and carve the purest of lines in the corners, yet can also handle almost double the impact standards of every certifying body. This is instant acceleration and supreme durability, two years in the making. The reduced rolling resistance of a tubeless setup is undeniable, as are the benefits of improved handling and incredible puncture protection. It took the most extensive and demanding engineering and testing program that Roval had ever undertaken, along with two years of exhaustive real-world evaluation to reach the point where the team could say that road tubeless was truly ready for prime time. As a result of this extensive development, the Alpinist CLX II features a hooked rim that can handle a huge range of pressures up to 110psi and offers an easier set up and mounting experience than ever. This is tubeless done right.

Making the Alpinist CLX II light, stronger, and faster meant assessing the entire wheel system design- not just the rim. Roval's all-new LightAF hubs are the spinning heart of the Alpinist CLX II. The designers carved 50 grams out of the previous Alpinist CLX hub with new low-profile hub bodies and machined Center Lock disc rotor mounts. Inside, DT Swiss EXP internals and SINC ceramic bearings deliver silky-smooth efficiency and outstanding durability. Enjoy minimum rolling resistance and maximum performance with SINC ceramic bearings by DT Swiss. Just as the wheelset is a system, the ceramic bearing design was developed as a system in concert with the hubshell, and in the case of the rear wheel, with the EXP hub internals. Every casue of friction and wasted energy in the hub was examined, but not at the expense of strength or function. This means the LIghtAF front hub for straightpull spokes has incredible durability and longevity in all conditions thanks to tolerances within a few thousandths of a millimeter.

DT Swiss also provides the spokes and nipples for the Alpinist CLX II, with their butted, and lightly bladed DT Aerolite T-head design ideal for high tension and resilience, along with their alloy Pro Lock hexagonal nipples. The front wheel carries 21 spokes, in Roval's 2:1 lacing process: doubling the spoke count on one side. On the front wheel, the disc mount is the dominant side and is laced 2x, with the other side being laced radial, rarity which can be safely achieved thanks to the exemplary engineering, stoutness of the rim and hub flange, as well as the incredible tension load borne by the Aerolites. The nipples allow for external true and tension service, should the need arise. The end result from the hub through the spokes and out to the rims is a superior attacking wheelset that is incredibly fast, smooth, and optimized for acceleration and forward motion while still maintaining the best qualities that the fastest descenders rely on to gap those who managed to hang with them up the ascent.