Turbo Levo FSR comp, Wheel upgrade ?

[JayK]

Hi everyone,

I already broke a spoke on the front and got a big bump in my rear wheel after 900km. I know wheels are an important part as they are always moving (even if chasing weight isn't as important on a E-bike) but is it really worth it ?
How good are the stock Roval traverse ? What would be a great upgrade ? (both in efficiency and solidity, if they're looking good too, I won't complain )

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[ccrdave]

I do not like the 38mm roval wheels at all, too heavy and too wide and too bendy. Im probably wrong but I never understood why Spesh fitted 24/28 spoke wheels to a big heavy ebike!
At the moment I have roval treverse but with the dtswiss rear hub and 29mm inner rim width, they are very light but a bit twangy. When I can afford it I will fit either hope wheels or Hunts

 

[Brooky]

I’ve gone for the new DT Swiss HX 581 rims (32 hole) with Hope Pro 4 hubs, hopefully ready in a couple of weeks.

 

[JayK]

I do not like the 38mm roval wheels at all, too heavy and too wide and too bendy. Im probably wrong but I never understood why Spesh fitted 24/28 spoke wheels to a big heavy ebike!

So the problem would be the same with the carbon traverse ? I've been offered those but that would just mean carbon over aluminium for 1300.00 €.

 

[JayK]

What about one of those ?
Shop

 

[Witte300]

My previous came from 9th wave on my epic.
Was so happy with them I would go for these now:
9th wave

 

[levity]

Mrs levity and I wanted wider rims for riding desert sand here in So Calif wintertime. We had wheels built by Light Bicycle using 45mm inner width cabon rims (~450g each), DT Swiss 350 hubs, and 32 DT Revolution spokes 3-cross. They weighed in right around 1600g a set, similar to the 24/28 spoke Roval i38 SL carbon wheelset Specialized sells for more, and about 600g less than the Roval i38 alloy set. They've done well in
sand and have survived a lot of abuse on Moab ledges and Tahoe rocks.

The wide rims provide a nice footprint with 27.5x3.0 tires. Schwalbe Rocket Ron & Nobby Nic, Specialized Purgatory, and Vee Tire Bulldozer all play well with the rims and are lighter or about the same weight as the OEM 27.5x2.8 Butcher tires. They also seem more compliant and better rolling than the Butchers though perhaps with a bet less bite under some conditions.

 

[TorAtle]

How about DT Swiss XM 1501 Spline ONE 40? Looks like good value.

 

[ccrdave]

I like DTswiss wheels but those are too wide for my taste

 

[Al Boneta]

How about DT Swiss XM 1501 Spline ONE 40? Looks like good value.

Those are pretty close to what the stock wheels already are. But they look like a great deal and DT-Swiss hubs are some of my favorites
You broke a spoke and have a ding in the rear wheel after 900km? I have broken spokes in 9km before and bent wheels in half the same day I mounted them.
You have to ask yourself if a different wheel would have held up under the same circumstances.
I have Roval Traverse SL 38s on my bikes and they hold up with my 230lb body hucking off every drop I can find.

 

[Jeff McD]

Eight months ago I purchased an older pair of Roval traverse SL wheels, internal 30 mm, carbon but non-boost and very light weight at 1560 g for $775 and then for $50 bought the conversion kit to convert these wheels to boost to fit my 2018 levo carbon comp. At that time my LBS head mechanic said specialized had 37 sets of these wheels in stock so there still should be some. The wheels work great and are very lightweight compared to the stock wheels. With Maxxis DHF 2.6 WT 29" tires Front and rear the bike is awesome with very few pedal strikes (these wheels are almost a full inch greater diameter than the stock wheels). I don't like the stock wheels as they are clumsy and heavy when descending as fast as possible. The bike is just not flickable. I love my wheels and the way the bike handles with them. You should check this out. Can't beat the price.
This wheel set arrives stock with a Shimano free hub body and the Shimano cassette cogs can simply be slipped right onto it from the stock wheel. The conversion kit advises re-dishing the wheel 3 mm to the right but I should not have had the mechanic do that as, in retrospect, it was perfectly balanced when it arrived . I had to have him re-dish it back to the left. So if you do this slap the wheel on and ride it first and see if the bike is balanced. I wish I had done that because it is still a little off balance. The mechanic is tired of me asking him to re-dish it yet another millimeter. Apparently this is very tedious work, so I have just let it go but it pisses me off.