WGB 

I got this at auction (manly for the Gatorskins and the Ambrosio rims) and then discovered that it's a tubular wheel set. I was just about to set up my first tubular wheel set anyway and two tubulars I had didn't match.

First plus, I thought the bag was just a random bag the PO had used to store the wheel set but to my surprise this is a purpose built bag for wheel sets.
I googled Roval but all the sets I saw used Campagnolo hubs. Was Roval a custom wheel maker? The rims are Ambrosio but what little I found suggests they are an old set from the 70's so presumably no collector value and if that's true I will put them on my next nice frame. Hubs simply say Dura Ace and I assume they are 7400 as I found similar hubs marked 7400 for sale on eBay and this is where a problem may arise. I looked on Velo base and it said that some of the 7400s used Uniglide and some used Hyperglide cassettes. based on the photos I believe this hub is an FH-7402 or HB-7402. Can anyone advise if I am right and if so do I just look for any "Uniglide" cassette?

Ex Pres 

That's a later Hyperglide, not a 74xx UG series.
Might possibly be a 10 speed only DA cassette with the taller splines - that I'm not sure. 7800 series.

This is not a [pre-Specialized] Roval wheelset, but the bag is cool.
Yes, Roval did build integrated wheelsets, not using other mfgrs components.

https://chuck.kichline.com/bikes/Rova...s/DSCN3189.JPG

dddd

The OP received a 2004/2005-vintage set of tubular road wheels using the (dedicated 10s only) Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 hubset.

Wheels with these hubs sell cheap because it can only use a Shimano 10s cassette.

Have fun with the wheels, they look like good pro "climber's" wheels or for training on tubulars (does anybody but pro's do that(?), yes there are a few).

WGB 

Wondered why it was cheap!

Which cassette does it need? Any 10 speed cassette with "7800" in the description?

T-Mar

Roval was French company that started manufacturing aerodynamic wheelsets in the very late 1970s. For the era, the wheels were very advanced, with low spoke counts, bladed spokes and aero profile rims. The spokes used a proprietary T-head to fit the Maillard manufactured hubs. While relatively sedate looking compared to some modern wheelsets, they were state of the art when the aero revolution arrived in the early 1980s.

When Shimano went 10 speed with Dura-Ace 7800 they reduced wight by making the cog carrier bodies of the out of aluminum. To prevent the body splines from shearing and excessive wear, they made the splines for the inner 7 cogs taller to distribute the torque over a larger area of the weaker aluminum. This meant that earlier cassettes would would not fit. Even though 10 speed Ultegra 6600 and 105 5600 used shorter steel splines, they still used the tall splines for the cogs, so 10 speed Ultegra and 105 cassettes will fit the Dura-Ace 7800 hubs. To save further weight, the larger 3 or 4 cogs (depending on the cassette combination) were fabricated from titanium, so the Dura-Ace CS-7800 cassettes can get quite expensive. Checking back in my last distributor's catalogue, they had an MSRP of $354.00 - $404.00 CDN, For the price of a single CS-7800 cassette you could buy three compatible 105 CS-5600 cassettes, though at a 46g (0.1 lb.)weight penalty per cassette.

dddd

In the context of today's market, the bummer about these hubs is that the Shimano 10s MTB cassettes will not fit these hubs, while the largest suitable 10s road cassette ever offered is I believe an Ultegra 12-30t.

jeirvine 

I assume on these you can't just swap out the freehub with a more compatible model? I've swapped 8 to 7 sp and vice versa many times on old 105 and 600 hubs.

T-Mar

The Dura-Ace 7800 freewheel unit is incompatible with earlier versions in terms of mounting. It is not entirely self contained like earlier units. The freewheel unit contains only the pawls, with the ratchet teeth being part of the hub shell.

RobbieTunes

Ditto to all said before.

The best available cassettes will be pricey DA 7800 cassettes or some Ultegra's, which I used to use on those types of hubs. During the 10-sp "only" era at Shimano, other firms also offered that type of freehub, such as Formula, Alex (Equation models) and Zipp. As others said, those hubs are cheap now due to the lack of flexibility as far as finding cassettes.

The 7800 splines should not be filed down, rather, if a person were adapting a cassette, they'd be better off to make the notches in the 7 cogs a bit deeper. It could take a while, but is not difficult with a file "just the right width" and a way to hold the cogs.

During this era and prior, during the 7400/7401/7402/7403 era, Dura Ace regularly stepped in it, from the brake levers to the freehubs.

I'll give you $50 for that wheel bag, though. I'd love to have those wheels, too.


Roval was the OEM equipment on a lot of Specialized bikes, as well as some being sold at bikesdirect.com. The $6000 Alias Pro Tri in 2016 had carbon Rovals that were pretty good wheels.

WGB 

Thank you for the updates.

I guess if I keep them I'll have to find a cheap cassette, and then an FD and RD and shifters or sell the set and look elsewhere. I expect I can get $100 for theset???

I have 6/7/8 speeds covered nicely but can't see adding a 10 speed to the mix.
If I do move them I will see if I can carefully remove the tubulars without causing damage to the rims.

WGB 

Robbie - I didn't see your post till now. I'll pm you

Wesley

Chombi1 

HHere's what 80's Roval wheels look like as I have on my Vitus Carbone. Roval used all proprietary components on their wheels. Hubs, spokes and rims. Everything came from them. Nothing from other manufacturers.
Oi!.... love that Roval double wheel bag!!

dddd

The Roval's hubs were produced by Maillard, who also made hubs for EDCO.
The give-away that all of these hubs came from the same factory is the axle assembly, proprietary fine-threading with distinctive chromed hardware.

The hubshells were a new design for the T-head spokes, as were the rims with their nipples supported internally on large polymer rings.

Does anyone recall when Roval wheels first came out? Guessing 1981 or so(?).

non-fixie 

Thanks for reminding me. And yes, it's a perfect fit.

BTW, where did the "1" come from?

T-Mar

Designed and developed by Claude Lehanneur during 1975-1977, the ROVAL wheel prototypes had their first appearance at the Salon de Paris bicycle show in the autumn of 1977. The first commercial units became available in Europe during July 1978, though it took several years to obtain a USA distributor.

Hubs were manufactured by both Maillard and Perrin (Pelissier). Rims were manufactured by both AVA and Pellet (Super Champion). The spokes were manufactured by Robergel.

While not the first aerodynamic wheels, they were the first spoked wheels to address the aerodynamic interactions between the hub, spokes and rims as a synergistic unit.

styggno1

Wrote a bit about the original Roval wheels here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/20546967-post56.html

They came in both tubular and clincher versions and in dark anodized or clear/silver. There were a lot of spoke count versions also.

And some pictures:







Thirty spoke clinchers



And with an 18 spoke front wheel

trainman999

Is there any way to tell the mfg date of a set of Roval wheels?

dimini

I’d like to know this, too, as I just came upon a pair of black anodized Roval 700c tubulars, similar to the ones pictured on the 3Rensho bike above. Thrown in for free was a 2nd set, but 26” tubulars, which had been on a vintage Quintana Roo Tri-bike. Does anyone out there ride 26” tubulars with Dura Ace 13-21 7speed freewheel? I’m happy with the 700c wheels, but wondering how hard it might be to find a home for the 26”ers.