I received a Ropvall Rapide CLX II from a customer for inspection.
I inspected both the front and rear wheels,
but I only photographed the front wheel.
The difference between the previous Rapide CLX and this II version
is that it now supports tubeless,
and the splines on the hub's center lock disc
have a shape where part of them are cut away.
The hub dimensions haven't changed.
The Alpinist CLX did change dimensions when it became II.
There's some centering deviation.
↑About this much
When there's a lot of adjustment needed
but the nipple has high sliding resistance,
for even just truing and centering,
you'd normally peel back the rim tape and grab the nipple from the outer side
to adjust it.
But I managed to complete the work
without damaging the inner grip area at all,
not even leaving a trace of where I touched it.
On the rear wheel, the rim had shifted slightly toward the non-drive side.
The Rapide CLX pursues aerodynamics on the rim sides in the front wheel only,
matched to the tire profile,
so the rim flanges are quite thick.
This wheel came with a complete bike,
and the Specialized Turbo tire that was originally on it
couldn't be removed even after the rider developed water blisters on their fingers,
so they had to cut it off with a knife.
It's fortunate that happened at home and not on the road.
It doesn't bear thinking about if they'd discovered in the mountains
after getting a flat that this was equipment beyond their ability to handle.
Mavic's Road UST tubeless tires—
the first generation was marketed as so easy that women could remove and install them,
which meant they were quite loose,
but the second generation apparently had some issues,
because they changed the specs to be difficult even for amateurs to install and remove.
The current third generation is reasonably normal,
and recent wheels have wider internal rim widths compared to when Road UST tubeless first came out,
so installation and removal is easier now.
With those second-generation Mavic tires though,
I've heard several stories of people getting flats on the road, being unable to handle it,
and having to call a tow truck through their car insurance's annual free towing benefit—
or having family come pick them up in a car.
Equipment like this that you can't handle alone if you get stranded
probably shouldn't be used in the first place.
Sometimes people only realize that after something goes wrong,
so I'm not blaming anyone.
Oh, but in this customer's case,
they switched to Continental Grand Prix 5000,
and got improvements in both tire installation/removal ease
and riding performance.
I inspected both the front and rear wheels,
but I only photographed the front wheel.
The difference between the previous Rapide CLX and this II version
is that it now supports tubeless,
and the splines on the hub's center lock disc
have a shape where part of them are cut away.
The hub dimensions haven't changed.
The Alpinist CLX did change dimensions when it became II.
There's some centering deviation.
↑About this much
When there's a lot of adjustment needed
but the nipple has high sliding resistance,
for even just truing and centering,
you'd normally peel back the rim tape and grab the nipple from the outer side
to adjust it.
But I managed to complete the work
without damaging the inner grip area at all,
not even leaving a trace of where I touched it.
On the rear wheel, the rim had shifted slightly toward the non-drive side.
The Rapide CLX pursues aerodynamics on the rim sides in the front wheel only,
matched to the tire profile,
so the rim flanges are quite thick.
This wheel came with a complete bike,
and the Specialized Turbo tire that was originally on it
couldn't be removed even after the rider developed water blisters on their fingers,
so they had to cut it off with a knife.
It's fortunate that happened at home and not on the road.
It doesn't bear thinking about if they'd discovered in the mountains
after getting a flat that this was equipment beyond their ability to handle.
Mavic's Road UST tubeless tires—
the first generation was marketed as so easy that women could remove and install them,
which meant they were quite loose,
but the second generation apparently had some issues,
because they changed the specs to be difficult even for amateurs to install and remove.
The current third generation is reasonably normal,
and recent wheels have wider internal rim widths compared to when Road UST tubeless first came out,
so installation and removal is easier now.
With those second-generation Mavic tires though,
I've heard several stories of people getting flats on the road, being unable to handle it,
and having to call a tow truck through their car insurance's annual free towing benefit—
or having family come pick them up in a car.
Equipment like this that you can't handle alone if you get stranded
probably shouldn't be used in the first place.
Sometimes people only realize that after something goes wrong,
so I'm not blaming anyone.
Oh, but in this customer's case,
they switched to Continental Grand Prix 5000,
and got improvements in both tire installation/removal ease
and riding performance.