First came the CLX 64. Then the 32s. And after racking up multiple wins in Grand Tours, Worlds, and everything in between, Specialized knews that their best bet was to take the line to new heights, or well, new depths. Specialized needed to design one wheel that was a true quiver killer. One wheel that had all the aerodynamic benefits of the 64 in a package that climbed like the 32, and that’s where the all-new CLX 50 comes in.
Specialized Roval CLX 50 features:
- Rim Type: Carbon clincher, 2Bliss Ready
- Rim Material: Carbon
- Braking Surface: Carbon fibre
- Brake Track Height: 12mm
- Rim Depth: 50 mm
- Rim Width: 20.7mm internal, 29.4 mm external
- Spoke Pattern: Radial
- Spoke Count: 16
- Spoke Type: DT Swiss Aerolite T-head
- Nipple Type: DT Swiss Pro Lock hexagonal
- Front Hub: Roval AF1, CeramicSpeed bearings
- Assembly Method: Hand-built
- Extras: Roval padded wheelbag, Roval steel quick-release, Roval tubeless plugs and tubeless valve, SwissStop Black Prince brake pads
When Specialized set out to create the CLX 50, they had clear goals in mind—create wheels that are 48 to 54mm deep, aerodynamically optimized, ultra-wide, and under 1400 grams. This meant that they'd have to borrow some weight savings techniques that we developed for the CLX 32, while taking some aero guidance from the CLX 64, if Specialized were going to create what they like to call “the unicorn wheel."
Even though the CLX 50 is similar in weight to many wheels in the “lightweight” category, aerodynamics came at the forefront of the development. With this, Specialized jumped headlong into Computational Fluid Dynamics computer modelling to arrive at various rim shapes that could make the CLX 50 as fast and light as possible. It took a while, but Specialized narrowed the rim shape down to three contenders that were then CNC machined into rims, built into wheels, and put into the Win Tunnel.
In the tunnel, Specialized tested every wheel with a 24C tire (measuring 26C), as tires can drastically affect testing. They chose a modern-width tire to design their rims around, because they not only allow for less tire pressure (which results in more comfort and less rolling resistance) but are also just as aerodynamically efficient when paired with the correct rim width.
After finding the optimized rim shape that supported the svelte weight requirements, Specialized opted to lace the rims, via 16 DT Swiss Aerolite spokes, to their Aero Flange (AF) hub with the legendary CeramicSpeed bearings. And when it was time for final testing validation, Specialized were left with a 50mm-deep, 1375-gram clincher wheelset that's not only ~200 grams lighter than the competition’s similar depth wheel, but is also measurably faster in every conceivable test than each wheel in its category.
