On A Roll

Well, it's official - I'm jumping to that next level of insanity in cycling. I always thought carbon wheelsets were excessive. Why spend all that money? Are they durable enough for a 200-pounder? Will I need to have them trued every other ride?

After watching my buddy Josh make the move - and seeing how much he enjoyed his - I started to consider this. And, when Josh decided it was time to upgrade to Zipp's, I scored a deal on a lightly used pair of Roval Rapide CLX 60's.

My current wheels are great, but they were built purely for strength with little thought given to weight. Aluminum rims, standard spokes, and Shimano 105 hubs. Not fancy, but functional.

The new hoops are LIGHT. I mean like REALLY light. Hand them to a non-cyclist and they're shocked at how little they weight. Aero spokes cut some more weight and some drag. And the hubs feature Roval shells, with proven, bulletproof DT Swiss internals and sealed ceramic bearings. Yeah, I with they were Chris King's, but they'd have been triple the price I paid to build up new ones with King hubs. One feature I really like? The LOUD clicker. That was one thing that bothered me about my Shimano hubs. Too quiet.

Oh yeah, and they look effing cool...