Levo Gen 3 Roval - Crash Replacement Policy outside USA?

[BikeBert]

Hello EMTB crew!

I've got a Specialized Turbo Levo Expert rocking Roval Traverse wheels, and unfortunately, I damaged rear rim during my last ride.

Now, I've heard about Roval's "**It Happens" No Fault Crash Replacement Policy, which sounds pretty sweet, but there's a little hitch.

The official info I found says it's for wheels purchased in the United States after September 2019. I got my Turbo Levo in August 2022 in Croatia, so I'm not sure if I qualify.

Has anyone from Europe had any experience using Roval's "**It Happens" Policy? How did it go, and did you face any challenges with the whole U.S. purchase requirement?

Thank you in advance and happy riding!

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Do yourself a favour and just replace it with something decent, the roval wheels are shit.

 

[salko]

Agree, I also replaced mine with DT Swiss wheelset with a ratchet driver which are much more robust, Rovals rims are soft as a butter ...

 

[BikeBert]

Do yourself a favour and just replace it with something decent, the roval wheels are shit.

Appreciate your input! I'm curious to know more about your experience with Roval wheels. What specific issues or challenges have you encountered that led you to describe them as "shit"?

I've had a rather positive experience with Roval Traverse wheels. I use them on my Specialized Turbo Levo Expert, and they've pleasantly surprised me with their quality and robustness. Previously, I had Syntace wheels on my Liteville 601 analog bike, and despite using inserts, I faced quite a few rim dents and broken spokes. The Roval wheels, even with the added weight of an e-bike, have held up well under significant beating, I tend to ride in rocky terrain.

Would love to hear more about your perspective and any specific instances that influenced your opinion!

Cheers.

P.S. Here's a snap of my Liteville 601 tearing it up on the World Cup DH track in Maribor

 

[BikeBert]

Agree, I also replaced mine with DT Swiss wheelset with a ratchet driver which are much more robust, Rovals rims are soft as a butter ...

Hey, thanks for sharing your experience!

Interesting to hear that you opted for DT Swiss, I am myself considering HX 1700 wheels.

Just a quick note, Roval Traverse wheels actually feature the DT Swiss Ratchet LN system (see photo below). I've found this system to be pretty solid in terms of engagement and durability.

Regarding the softness of Roval rims, I see it as an advantage. Sometimes a bit of flex in the rims can actually absorb hits and take a beating more gracefully. It's all about personal riding style and the kind of trails you tackle.

Would love to hear more about your DT Swiss experience and any notable differences you've observed in your rides!

 

[salko]

Yes, higher speced Levos may already come with better rear hubs which have a ratchet driver, I have a Comp which originally came with 3-pawl driver ...

With Roval rims every rock that hit a rim resulted in pretty obvious and sometimes very deep dent, but with DT Swiss HX531 rims I have now and I have them on a bike much longer than Rovals, I basically see no dents, just paint scratches ... With Rovals I had to replace several broken spokes, with DT Swiss no spoke has been broken jet ...

I didn't go for stock DT Swiss wheelset, but I ordered custom made wheelset with 36H HX531 rims and 350 Hybrid hubs, which are emtb specific and have a 24t ratchet which is nice compromise for fast engagement and very good robustness and very easy maintanence ...

Regarding a ride when I swapped them I could feel a bit different/better ride but I can't really explain why ...
Regarding the flex, I didn't feel that DT Swiss rims are more or less flexable, I guess with properly tuned suspension it may be hard to fell the difference ...

 

[BikeBert]

Yes, higher speced Levos may already come with better rear hubs which have a ratchet driver, I have a Comp which originally came with 3-pawl driver ...

With Roval rims every rock that hit a rim resulted in pretty obvious and sometimes very deep dent, but with DT Swiss HX531 rims I have now and I have them on a bike much longer than Rovals, I basically see no dents, just paint scratches ... With Rovals I had to replace several broken spokes, with DT Swiss no spoke has been broken jet ...

I didn't go for stock DT Swiss wheelset, but I ordered custom made wheelset with 36H HX531 rims and 350 Hybrid hubs, which are emtb specific and have a 24t ratchet which is nice compromise for fast engagement and very good robustness and very easy maintanence ...

Regarding a ride when I swapped them I could feel a bit different/better ride but I can't really explain why ...
Regarding the flex, I didn't feel that DT Swiss rims are more or less flexable, I guess with properly tuned suspension it may be hard to fell the difference ...

Thanks for the detailed info on your setup – it's super insightful!

I'm curious, where did you order your custom-made wheels with the 36H HX531 rims and 350 Hybrid hubs? Finding a reliable source for custom wheels can be a game-changer, and it seems like you've nailed it with your selection.

Appreciate any recommendations or insights on the ordering process and the experience with the supplier.

Cheers!

 

[salko]

I ordered it here: WHEELPROJECT
If you don't find what you're looking on the page try to send him (Paul) an email and he well let you know what he can build for you and what he has on stock ...

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

Appreciate your input! I'm curious to know more about your experience with Roval wheels. What specific issues or challenges have you encountered that led you to describe them as "shit"?

I've had a rather positive experience with Roval Traverse wheels. I use them on my Specialized Turbo Levo Expert, and they've pleasantly surprised me with their quality and robustness. Previously, I had Syntace wheels on my Liteville 601 analog bike, and despite using inserts, I faced quite a few rim dents and broken spokes. The Roval wheels, even with the added weight of an e-bike, have held up well under significant beating, I tend to ride in rocky terrain.

Would love to hear more about your perspective and any specific instances that influenced your opinion!

Cheers.

P.S. Here's a snap of my Liteville 601 tearing it up on the World Cup DH track in Maribor

View attachment 131887

View attachment 131888

I would say not ALL roval wheels are shitty, just the ones they put on Levo's
I've had three Levos and I had one replaced for free on the first one but the other two I just replaced them with the Hope Fortus 30's
so I have 4 roval wheels laying around, all destroyed within 6 months of owning the bike.
the Hopes are two years+ old and I havent even had to true them up yet, they have had a fair bit of abuse too.

it probably helps that the Hopes have more spokes, the rovals are only 28 hole IIRC.

 

[Dax]

I'm curious to know more about your experience with Roval wheels. What specific issues or challenges have you encountered that led you to describe them as "shit"?

This one cracking on the weld after a rock garden hit elsewhere on the rim, roughly 5 rides old, is why I say specilized wheels are soft as shit. I’m fairly svelte and this is the first time I’ve split a rim on the weld since I had a Raleigh Activator, despite a lot of bike park laps and off piste rock gardens in the last 20 years.

This was before the ‘it happens’ policy, the bike shop just laughed and said theres no way specilized would warranty it. Replaced with hope/dt Swiss combo, which is going much better (I.e it’s done more than 5 rides and hasn’t catastrophically failed).

 

[BikeBert]

I ordered it here: WHEELPROJECT
If you don't find what you're looking on the page try to send him (Paul) an email and he well let you know what he can build for you and what he has on stock ...

After long consideration I'm closer to purchasing either DT Swiss HX 1700 set or going for custom built wheels: 350 Hybrid hubs, HX 581 rims and 32 Sapim Force spokes. I'm a bit worried about low(ew) spoke count (28) of pre-built HX 1700 wheels.

I'm curious about your experience with the WHEELPROJECT store and the ordering process. Could you share your thoughts on the quality of the built wheels and if you're aware of the method they employ for pre-stressing wheels in the hand-built process? How are your wheels holding up?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Oldandslowguy]

Do yourself a favour and just replace it with something decent, the roval wheels are shit.

I recently purchased a Turbo Levo and immediately replace the wheels with an i9 305 set. These wheels are awesome, straight pull spokes, Hydra hubs, I think they’re the best!

 

[JP-NZ]

My mate destroyed his Roval traverse's on his 2nd ever lap of the bike park. They are very well known as being made of cheese.

 

[BikeBert]

My mate destroyed his Roval traverse's on his 2nd ever lap of the bike park. They are very well known as being made of cheese.

Did he use crash replacement policy to get a new wheel(s)?

 

[JP-NZ]

Did he use crash replacement policy to get a new wheel(s)?

The specialised dealer didn’t accept any warranty responsibility so he purchased some hope fortus wheels. Safe to say he now rides commencal bikes.