mstateglfr 

First, Specialized/Roval were in on tubeless. They were in hard and pushed it in the press as well as at the pro level. https://cyclingtips.com/2019/07/spec...tire-unveiled/
Then they designed a rim that definitely looks tubeless and at the 11th hour declared it is tube only and stated that their position allows for the fastest combination, which is tube and clincher for the wheel. https://cyclingtips.com/2020/06/rova...st-clx-wheels/
They were laughed at by commentators for taking such a position since the rim was so clearly designed to be tubeless and guesses as to the real issue(s) were made. Their 180 position change was confusing.
The tube wheelset was a failure for DQS at Roubaix and the tube/tire combo resulted in multiple punctures. This was again well documented in the press and a direct link between punctures and tube use was the overwhelming narrative.
The new rim still looks the same, but is now tubeless.

It appears Specialized managed to properly design the rim to handle what it was originally intended to handle- tubeless.
An initial writeup on the potential new rim- https://cyclingtips.com/2022/02/spot...-roval-wheels/
Discussion about how Roval Rapide is now tubeless- https://cyclingtips.com/2022/02/nerd...hate%ef%bf%bc/

Specialized did cover themselves when they said that 'at the time' the tube and tire combo is fastest and that they would continue to invest in road tubeless, but that it wasnt ready for primetime(even though they had introduced road tubeless tires the year prior at the World Tour level. So they have finally managed to catch up to most everyone else. It feels fitting to list Specialized's motto here- "Innovate or Die".

WhyFi

Shocking turn of events.

nomadmax 

Next up, rotational weight matters.

PeteHski

This was inevitable. No manufacturer in their right mind would deliberately make their wheels tubeless incompatible at this point. Especially not Specialized who had been promoting tubeless for ages. Truth is they f***** up, spun up some BS to cover it up and then got their act together.

msu2001la

Makes sense. I wouldn't even consider buying a non-tubeless wheel at this point.

Chandne

Agreed. I would no longer buy a non-tubeless wheelset or a pricey bike with a non-tubeless wheelset. I don't really need hookless rims but tubeless is a must, with or without me running tubeless tires.

eduskator

rim brakes and tubes... both has-been! pfffff

Seattle Forrest

I don't know why anybody would care how Special keeps air in their tires.

smashndash

because a few (thousand) people buy bikes from Special. Imagine being the poor sap who ended up paying $15,000 for a bike with tube-only wheels in 2022.

msu2001la

It's probably because people like to discuss popular bike products on bike forums.

mstateglfr 

It's a huge brand and the debacle has been a multi-year long story in the cycling world.

I am not going to buy a specialized bike or wheels regardless of their tubeless status, but that doesnt make it less relevant as an update.

Seattle Forrest

I don't see the relevance at all. Guess it's a question of relevant to what? It doesn't change how I ride my bike, and I don't consider Roval wheels to be the best in my price range.

Seattle Forrest

Ok, now that's a thought!

mstateglfr 

Using this approach to commentary, almost nothing on the board is worth posting or discussing. There would be no discussion of any new tech or industey news.

Overdraft

I was in a Giant shop a couple of days ago and I was interested to hear them say that 100% of their road bikes are now sold tubeless... (not sure how true that was as I was shopping for parts not a bike and I didn't research it)

Seattle Forrest

I'm not trying to discourage you from posting about this. "How important is it?" is a natural question to ask in response to an announcement like this. My opinion is it isn't very important, but that's an opinion not a fact. I think Spesh would like us to think their decisions will control the future of cycling and this makes tubeless ok for road again.

WhyFi

For context, there was a big hubbub when a couple of their best wheelsets were released and it was announced that they weren't tubeless compatible. Spec basically threw tubeless under the bus, saying that tubeless rim construction sacrificed weight, that (latex) tubes were faster, yadda, yadda, yadda. The anti-tubeless and/or retrogrouches loved it and gloated over their victory. The tubeless crowd pointed to the rim bed shape, which was very obviously intended to be tubeless compatible, and declared that Spec simply ****ed up and was retconning their intent.

This is less a matter of import than a matter of pointing and laughing while Spec eats crow.

Rides4Beer

It's true, has been for a while. Giant was one of the first big names to go all in on tubeless. Not just tubeless ready, they come setup tubeless.

smashndash

these sorts of threads are a check against the raw corporate propaganda that media outlets tend to amplify. We should mercilessly roast Specialized for shamelessly trying to lie to the public.

Seattle Forrest

Why didn't I pick up on this from the start? I must be losing my edge.

Thanks for putting it in context, I guess my outburst is a few years too late and should have been directed at the first act.

Meanwhile, my tubeless wheels have been riding beautifully this whole time, with and without Spec's approval. But mine are Enves so Spec probably doesn't like that.

Chandne

Well, not road bike but I did buy some gravel wheels for my gravel bike- Specialized Terra CLs (DT350 hubs). They are very light and the tubeless WTB Resolutes went on easily enough. I deflated them (to add sealant) and the beads still held but are not difficult to pop off by hand. Let's see how they hold up. The warranty is great anyway. If they hold up well, I'd be tempted to buy their disc road wheels when the time comes. If they are quite a bit less expensive than ENVEs and Zipp, I'd consider them now. Their durability will be key.

PeteHski

I crossed off both the Roubaix and Aethos from my new bike shortlist because of their tube-only wheelsets last year.

mschwett 

The big question is whether the design of the rim (either the rapide or alpinist) actually changed/will change… or are all of them now “OK” to use with the “correct” tubeless tire!

PeteHski

Yeah, that's a good question to ask. Have they actually tweaked the design or just approved the existing one?

mschwett 

right, approved the existing one or tested it with some specific tires (maybe their own new ones) and stand by it.

there’s a guy over on ww forum who is testing alpinist CLs tubeless, he says so far so good.