royal wheels are crap

[nobbyq]

anyone else have problems , 4 rides in on my levo and there's so much play in front wheels that it knocks , utter crap !

 

[deanphoto]

The hubs are terrible. You find them on all sorts of new bikes but branded to the manufacturer (I can't remember who there made by), I've had them on a Santa Cruz before and they did the same. Just keep tightening the cones until you can get rid of them.

 

[Slowroller]

Roval wheels have long been garbage

 

[Styou8]

My front wheel has been surprisingly durable. The back wheel lasted 6 weeks. Roval really are terrible.

 

[Mcharza]

I have on my both Spesh Roval Traverse wheels Evo 30 mm, Kenovo 35 mm), so far good

 

[Jaygam]

Any wheels or freehubs that use cones are in my opinion not good enough for e-bikes. Cartdrige bearings are a must.

 

[ccrdave]

Roval wheels dont use cones, they used sealed bearings at least the one off my base levo do

 

[kungdog]

The rims are terrible, started getting dents in them after 1st week. Looking pretty bad after 4 months.

 

[deanphoto]

The rims are terrible, started getting dents in them after 1st week. Looking pretty bad after 4 months.

You should try the carbon.

 

[Truckeemtb]

Stock rear wheel on expert done after 5 days of riding. I suspect in part due to poor tensioning from factory. After flat spot I noticed spokes are all very loose. I am 145 lbs and haven't ruined a wheel in 15 years and we have quite a few bikes that get quite a bit of use. Oh well not totally surprised, I think there are a few areas where they skimp or use house branded products to save a few bucks. I wouldn't mind on a low end bike but not as happy on a $8k bike. Not going to spring for it on the expert but I have WR1 composites with dt 240s on my Pivot, hammer them and never even touched a spoke wrench.

 

[Sandy]

Aren't the Roval wheels covered by Specialized lifetime cover? Presumably only if they fail though.

 

[Mcharza]

Strange, I have Roval Traverse on both bikes (Kenovo 35 mm, SJ Evo 30 mm) and they have worked well. And I will not save them, full blast in every place.
Weight about 85 kg with backpack

 

[SwissDH]

OP “Royal wheels are crap” - nice try for click bait. I assume you mean Roval.

My traverse SL are great so far, so no, Roval wheels in general are not crap. Yours specifically may be.

 

[AndyActual]

The hubs are terrible. You find them on all sorts of new bikes but branded to the manufacturer (I can't remember who there made by), I've had them on a Santa Cruz before and they did the same. Just keep tightening the cones until you can get rid of them.

Formula hubs and yes a few manufacturers spec them. I snapped a rear axle on my Levo a few months back, so obviously not up to the demands of ebiking.

 

[Al Boneta]

I have never had a rim failure on any Roval wheel or a hub failure on any Roval wheel that uses the DT-Swiss Star ratchet.
I have had the same Traverse SL 38 carbon wheels for 3 years and have never had an issue. I weigh 252 lbs and they are on my Kenevo which I use at the Skypark bike park.
What am I doing differently?
I have know clue, but my evidence to the contrary is purely anecdotal, just as the OP’s opinion is anecdotal.
But I am not letting Roval off the hook here either. The Formula hub they use in the rear wheel needs to be replaced by something else, because I have been replacing axles, frrehubs and bearings pretty routinely for my customers.
One thing that has been common in just about half of these cases is rust in the bearings. Yes bearings don’t last forever and will need to be replaced from time to time, but some of my customers seem to think they can powerwash or jetwash their bikes with no consequences.
Another reason, and I hate to side with the so-called “Traditional” or “Real” mountain bikers; a lot of Emtb riders aren’t very skilled riders. Yes I know we all think we ride like Danny Hart or Loic Bruni, but I have seen it time and time again. Heavier bikes with regular mountain bike wheels that are run into roots and rock gardens without proper technique or riding fundamentals.
This just happened to me a couple of days ago.
“Why does my wheel have a flat spot?”
Who am I kidding, they would never say flat spot.
“Why does my tire go up and down?”
“Because I just watched the run the back wheel into a curb in front of my shop”
“But it has a shock in the back, it should have went up the curb without hurting my tire”
“Yeah, well that’s not really how the rear shock works”
“That’s why I should have bought the bike that had the Fox shock, hey where are you going?”
“Down the street to start drinking again”
End scene

 

[SwissDH]

I have never had a rim failure on any Roval wheel or a hub failure on any Roval wheel that uses the DT-Swiss Star ratchet.
I have had the same Traverse SL 38 carbon wheels for 3 years and have never had an issue. I weigh 252 lbs and they are on my Kenevo which I use at the Skypark bike park.
What am I doing differently?
I have know clue, but my evidence to the contrary is purely anecdotal, just as the OP’s opinion is anecdotal.
But I am not letting Roval off the hook here either. The Formula hub they use in the rear wheel needs to be replaced by something else, because I have been replacing axles, frrehubs and bearings pretty routinely for my customers.
One thing that has been common in just about half of these cases is rust in the bearings. Yes bearings don’t last forever and will need to be replaced from time to time, but some of my customers seem to think they can powerwash or jetwash their bikes with no consequences.
Another reason, and I hate to side with the so-called “Traditional” or “Real” mountain bikers; a lot of Emtb riders aren’t very skilled riders. Yes I know we all think we ride like Danny Hart or Loic Bruni, but I have seen it time and time again. Heavier bikes with regular mountain bike wheels that are run into roots and rock gardens without proper technique or riding fundamentals.
This just happened to me a couple of days ago.
“Why does my wheel have a flat spot?”
Who am I kidding, they would never say flat spot.
“Why does my tire go up and down?”
“Because I just watched the run the back wheel into a curb in front of my shop”
“But it has a shock in the back, it should have went up the curb without hurting my tire”
“Yeah, well that’s not really how the rear shock works”
“That’s why I should have bought the bike that had the Fox shock, hey where are you going?”
“Down the street to start drinking again”
End scene

I sort of agree. That is why I think this type of original post title is just bad "royal wheels are crap".

Roval make loads of aftermarket wheel sets, as well as OEM ones. These range from cheap $ to boutique $$$$. Aluminium to carbon. Some using cheap hubs, some using top DT Swiss hubs.

I am sure that some are average or below average, but many are excellent. Plenty of people have won plenty of road races (they are good enough for Peter Sagan), Cross Country races, Enduro races and DH World Cups on Rovals. Just probably not the cheap OEM ones that the OP had! That doesn't mean that all Rovals are crap.

 

[davarello]

Have to admit at 120kg/265lbs I was a bit dubious of the 28 spokes alloy Roval wheels on my Levo Comp, but after six months and nearly 2000km, the only issue has been one bearing on the rear axle, the rims are totally straight, dent free, and all spokes are evenly tensioned.

 

[Jamsxr]

“Why does my wheel have a flat spot?”
Who am I kidding, they would never say flat spot.
“Why does my tire go up and down?”
“Because I just watched the run the back wheel into a curb in front of my shop”
“But it has a shock in the back, it should have went up the curb without hurting my tire”
“Yeah, well that’s not really how the rear shock works”
“That’s why I should have bought the bike that had the Fox shock, hey where are you going?”
“Down the street to start drinking again”
End scene

To be fair you should be able to run an E-MTB into a curb at full chat without causing any bother..

 

[Al Boneta]

To be fair you should be able to run an E-MTB into a curb at full chat without causing any bother..

With proper technique it wouldn’t cause any bother

 

[CjP]

Ive now destroyed two hubs on my Kenevo and while I am not by any means a pro rider, I do know how to ride. Some of the tracks I have taken my Kenevo on are way worse than a street side kerb. This bike is a gravity oriented bike and it should have the right gear from factory.
I would expect on a top of the line Kenevo they should at the very least fit them with the dt swiss hubs as they have now upgraded me to.
Up until this bike I have never broken a hub so it is obviously an issue as it’s happening world wide.

Just my 2cents

 

[hbakken]

Complain to your LBS and have them run warranty claim to Specialized!