Specialised has been operating an all-new, mega lightweight cross-county wheelset proper underneath our noses. For 2024, the Specialised Manufacturing facility Crew was once a profitable cell check lab, experimenting with new XC rim shapes, carbon/titanium spokes, and up to date hub designs. In consequence, the brand new Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels had been designed without delay with the Specialised Manufacturing facility Racing Crew athletes and the design crew.
Running cooperatively to get the wheelset as mild as imaginable with out sacrificing sturdiness and dealing with, the brand new feather-weight wheels tip the scales at a scant 992g/pair with valves and tape. Specialised sees it as redefining what’s imaginable for a manufacturing, race-ready mountain motorcycle wheelset.
The brand new Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels are only one a part of the Specialised cross-country pace replace. The wheels wanted new treads to be correctly despatched into the 2025 XCO combat. Meet the up to date and tweaked XC tires from Specialised: The Air Trak and Speedy Trak.
There’s a lot to unpack right here, so let’s get started with the Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels.
Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels
Didn’t Specialised unencumber a loopy mild XC wheelset closing 12 months? Sure, it was once known as the Keep an eye on SL Crew Version and it kind of feels they used that wheel as a proving flooring for the carbon spoke addition to the Roval Keep an eye on line. The principle variations will be the rim and hubset. The Roval SL Crew Version used the similar Roval rim as others within the XC line; this new wheelset is every other layup and design altogether.
How did they Save the Weight? The brand new design reduces weight via over 250g in comparison to earlier fashions. Each gram was once analyzed and optimized, resulting in a 44g-lighter rim form that also meets off-road sturdiness and trip high quality requirements.
Specialised went all-in on carbon spokes, and the effects discuss for themselves. Carbon spokes with titanium fittings are 1.7g lighter and 63% more potent than metal (weighing about 3g according to spoke, together with nipple), slicing a large 101.6g whilst boosting total energy and longevity. After 9 months of trying out, spoke reinforcement, ply overlaps, and fiber angles had been all fine-tuned, getting rid of 18 plies and dropping every other 36g.
How’s the Sturdiness?
Mild and “World Cup race ready” don’t scream longevity to the common shopper. However the Specialised Manufacturing facility Racing Crew ran all the 2024 season design with out a unmarried damaged rim.
A key design characteristic is a 4mm-wide rim wall and hookless design that minimizes pinch apartments, distributing affect forces around the rim for higher resilience. Optimized torsional stiffness lets in the rim to flex with the terrain, protecting keep an eye on excessive and fatigue low—one thing we’ve observed on rims like the brand new ENVE MTB line and Reserve wheels.
Up to date Hubs and Spokes
Specialised says the brand new Roval LF hub (swapped out from the DT-240 straight-pulled design) and carbon spokes went thru 25 iterations, all to dial in the very best steadiness of acceleration, braking precision, and total smoothness.
There’s no point out of hub internals, however according to the unfastened hub design, it’s very with reference to those used at the Crew Version Wheels. The notable distinction is the brand new hubs are relatively extra sculpted and use a middle lock disc somewhat than a 6-bolt design like the former.
Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels – Technical Main points
Rim outer width: 36mm
Rim internal width: 29mm
Rim peak: 26mm
Spoke subject matter: Carbon/Titanium
Value: $1,300 (entrance), $1,700 (rear), $3,000 (pair)
Availability: Now
Weights: 446g (entrance) 546g (rear), totaling 992g
Communicate Tires to Me – Specialised: Air Trak & Speedy Trak XC Tires
Specialised says its 2025 XC tire lineup is the quickest, lightest, and maximum sturdy they’ve ever created. They narrowed the scope in their cross-county choices relatively and appeared to get as environment friendly as imaginable. To Specialised, a lean line approach two tires, two treads, to be had in two casing designs to fit your cross-country wishes.
Specialised Air Trak – Most Pace
The Air Trak is a fast-looking tire. Its tread takes the fast-rolling tread cluster from the Renegade it replaces. It boasts a twin GRIPTON T5/T7 compound and Flex Lite casing. This tire is constructed to be the quickest off the road and during the activates hardpack tracks. The up to date tread design has strategically positioned, and sized knobs shave 60g in comparison to the Renegade, which weighs in simply 575g.
But when the paths and races you common aren’t ski hotel blank or tremendous rapid clay, don’t concern. The Air Trak comes to be had in two casing choices;
Flex Lite: Without equal light-weight XC casing for minimum weight and max pace.
Grid Lite: The similar supple trip however with added coverage in opposition to pinch apartments and sidewall cuts, with further weight.
Specialised Air Trak Main points:
Terrain: Hardpack
Casing: 60TPI Flex Lite
Compound: GRIPTON T5 heart strip, GRIPTON T7 shoulders
Kind: Tubeless
Dimension To be had: 29 x 2.35
Weight: 605g
Value: $65.00
Specialised Speedy Trak: The Do-It-All XC Weapon
The Speedy Trak is same old when the route has numerous terrain. Suppose rainy roots, rocks, some damp sections—otherwise you simply need that additional push in corns. This tire provides keep an eye on, pace, and light-weight functionality. It’s a private favourite of mine, and I’m excited to look this replace. Specialised says it’s been delicate to ship probably the most well-rounded, high-performance XC tire you’ll be able to trip, however we’ll pass judgement on that later.
Within the period in-between, listed below are the up to date tech main points. The design crew up to date the tread relatively with Block-In-Block outer knobs for higher predictable dealing with in combined prerequisites. The compact heart knobs have a GRIPTON T5 heart strip to decrease rolling resistance with out sacrificing grip. It arrives in each Flex Lite or Grid Lite casings and a couple of.25″ and a couple of.35″ sizes.
Terrain: Blended XC Terrain
Compound: GRIPTON T5 heart strip, GRIPTON T7 shoulders
Casing: 60TPI Flex Lite or Grid Lite with sidewall coverage
Compound: GRIPTON® T5/T7
Kind: Tubeless
Dimension & Weight: 29×2.2 Flex Lite – 605g, 29×2.35 Flex Lite – 615g, 29×2.2 Grid Lite – 676g, 29×2.35 Grid Lite – 690g
Value: $65
First Impressions: Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels and Up to date XC tires
The Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels arrived in a field very similar to the Crew Version wheels however in a relatively much less grand bundle.
The wheels arrive with a top rate bag (every wheel arrives with its personal bag), alternative spokes (every 304mm), and nipples in case of path mishaps. Additionally they include Roval Keep an eye on stickers to stay you recent for the clicking and in several colorways to check your trip.
In contrast to the Crew Version wheels, the Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels don’t arrive with alternative bearings, another freehub frame, or a laugh additional tools. To check, the Crew Version wheels are $3,300 for the set, and the Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels are $3,000.
What About Weight
The load of the Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels is startling, even for anyone who ceaselessly sees high-end motorcycle tools. Those are surely the lightest 29″ wheels that I’ve examined, they usually are living as much as the load hype.
The Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels weighed in at 992g on our scales, together with rim tape and valves.
Setup
I went with my non-public favourite race setup with the brand new Specialised: Speedy Trak within the entrance, Renegade… I imply Air Trak within the rear. The tires fixed simply, and I may just really feel a slight distinction within the casing whilst mounting. In comparison to the former type, the 2025 model feels extra pliable and relatively softer to touch.
Experience Impressions – Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels
The elements in Pittsburgh has been…crap. So our trails haven’t been very usable, however I used to be fortunate to sneak in a few rides, they usually had been sufficient to get a glimpse into what the Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels are all about.
My preliminary trip was once to the paths and again, which gave me some great avenue time and path time. First off, the Roval Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels felt very good and balanced at the avenue, and the tires rolled very successfully. The brand new tires have a pleasant spherical form, no flattop over uncovered facet knobs. They felt completely paired with the Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels, as they must. I inflated them to 18/19 PSI to start out my adventure and felt assured that this drive can be OK for lots of the using.
At the Motorbike
My path to the trailhead is lumpy, riddled with fast climbs that pop out of the blue. On those climbs, I may just really feel the springiness of the Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels. The lightness provides every other size to hiking (a minimum of to me). They spin up rapid and dangle the velocity over the terrain, like a pleasant mid-depth (30mm) avenue wheel.
At the trails, the entirety clicked. The tires and the wheels (the truth that I haven’t been at the trails that a lot this season) all felt nice. The primary affect was once, “These are light,” after which, “These are fast.” In fact, the primary affect is the load, however the second one is the tires. The paths had been frozen, with some ice and ruts. I may just hook up at the path and rumble over the ruts with out feeling squirmy.
I fixed the Speedy Trak at the entrance and the Air Trak at the rear, and it was once the appropriate transfer for the prerequisites. The Speedy Trak may just dig into the path with a bit of luck when diving downhill, and the Air Trak had sufficient chew to claw up the frozen unmarried monitor.
The load of the wheels transfers to the total feeling of the motorcycle—the hopping, the wheeling over stumbling blocks, the small vibration damping—the entirety. However what do you are expecting from a $3,000 Global Cup race-level wheelset?
I’m nonetheless feeling out of the Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheelset and the Speedy/Air Trak combo, however I’m excited. The wheels might be a real asset to the race and performance-focused riders.
What about the fee? Smartly, it’s about $3/gram for the Keep an eye on Global Cup Wheels at $3,000 according to set. Their closest manufacturing (giant field) competitor is the Bontrager RSL (1200g) at $2,700 and the DT Swiss XRC 1200 (1,300g) at $2,900 for the set.
Keep Tuned
We plan on trying out those this season with loads of racing (my hip keen), and we’ll record again quickly. Till then, we will with a bit of luck say those wheels are mild, rapid, and costly. But it surely might be price it in the event you’re on a quest for a Stars and Stripes jersey or to construct without equal XC race rig.
www.Specialised.com
