Cantu Rova Wheelset: At The Finish- by MG
It seems like forever ago that we introduced you to the Cantu Rova wheelset we’ve been testing, but in reality it’s just been a bit over six months. In that time, I’ve ridden them on four different bikes – today running single speed on one of my all time favorite drop bar bikes, the Singular Gryphon.
This post will focus on my final impressions of the Rova wheelset. For weights, specs and technical details, check out my earlier Getting Rolling and Checkpoint posts.
Things I Loved
Without a doubt, there is a lot to like about the Cantu Rova wheelset. The weight is competitive, at 1567 grams for our set. While it’s true there are lighter options available, most aren’t using 35mm section, 30mm wide external/24mm internal width rims. The Enve G23 wheelset Guitar Ted tested recently is a good example. At 1290 grams, they’re 273 grams lighter, but at $2,800, they are more than $1,200 more expensive. The Enve wheels also use a lower profile rim, which I’m pretty sure would be less aerodynamic at speed than Cantu’s 35mm profile rim.
Your mileage may vary, but after riding the Rova wheelset back to back with lower-profile wheels on the same bike, I’d bet money the Cantu wheels were faster in virtually every situation. Part of this very well could be the ultra-smooth stainless steel cartridge bearings in the hubs, but I feel like the rim profile had something to do with the wheels’ speed as well.
Yes, I can feel strong crosswinds a little more at times, but it’s never felt sketchy or out of control. On the flip side, crossing tailwinds made the bike distinctly faster, a feeling I’ve come to appreciate very much on fast rides and during events. And the overall ‘quiet’ composure and excellent ride quality the wheels display in rough gravel conditions is as good or better than any other wheels I’ve ridden to date.
The other thing I like about the Rova wheelset, and all of Cantu’s wheels, is that they’re crafted by an incredibly talented, experienced wheel builder. John Wilmeth is not only a pleasure to work through the process with, he also has the perspective to be able to tweak his wheels’ “stock” build to maximize their performance for virtually any rider type, size, bike or terrain. With great wheels, one size truly doesn’t fit all, or even most, so John’s experience and wheel building expertise are well worth the time and investment.
The Final Word
There’s no denying $1,595 is a lot of money to pay for bicycle wheels, but you get what you pay for with the Cantu Rova wheelset. They look incredible and have been 100 percent reliable. After more than six months of rough riding on multiple bikes, they’re as straight as they were on day one. Every time I ride them, I’m impressed. That’s value to me.
Looking for a way to spruce up the performance of your favorite gravel bike? Head over to CantuWheels.com and check out their entire line of gravel, ‘cross, off-road and road wheels. They’re top notch.
Please Note: Cantu Wheels sent the Rova wheelset to RidingGravel.com for test and review at no charge. We are not being paid or bribed for this review and we will give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.
Got more interested in the Singular Griffon and the Ti Salsa prototype than the wheels. Cool bikes!
Awesome review! I’ve been eyeing the Cantu Rova wheels for my gravel setup, and your feedback on their durability and smooth ride really seals the deal. Sounds like a solid long-term investment!
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I appreciated the long-term angle here. Hearing that the wheels stayed straight after six months across multiple bikes is the kind of detail that makes a review useful beyond the spec sheet. For ride videos or post-race interviews, searchable transcripts can make it much easier to pull out notes like QR end-cap swaps, crosswind feel, and the Land Run setup later.
The six-month follow-up angle is what made this useful to me, especially the notes on the wheels staying straight after rough riding on multiple bikes and the comparison to lower-profile rims in crosswinds. For reviews this detailed, searchable transcripts or captions for any ride video or podcast follow-up would make it much easier to revisit the weight, setup, and ride-feel details later.
I enjoyed reading this post. The examples around “Cantu Rova Wheelset: At the Finish – Riding Gravel” gave me a useful perspective on the topic.
Thanks for calling out the quick end-cap swap between through-axle and QR; that small compatibility detail is easy to miss. I would weigh that flexibility against a lighter, lower-profile wheel option differently depending on whether a bike stays on one frame or gets shared across older bikes, since the QR convenience matters most when compatibility changes. I keep MD Viewer nearby when comparing bike setup notes and exporting a clean copy for a ride plan, so this review’s practical focus on real-world use was especially helpful.
Your comparison of the 1,567g Rova with the 1,290g Enve G23 captures a tradeoff I just ran into: our mixed-rider team wants the lighter setup, but crosswind confidence and predictable handling matter more than a spec-sheet win. From a manager’s perspective, would you standardize the deeper 35mm rim for a fleet, or reserve it for calmer routes and faster riders? I’ve used Number Wheel to allocate limited demo slots transparently, yet the handling-versus-weight decision still resists a one-size-fits-all process.
As someone new to gravel wheelsets, I read the tradeoff between the Rova’s 35 mm profile adding speed and its greater crosswind sensitivity as a reminder to choose for the routes I actually ride; while planning a rough-gravel event setup, I would use a quick Hearts Game round to unwind between equipment checks, which makes the review’s performance-versus-control framing feel practical.
After six months of rough riding, the 1,567-gram Rova sharpened my own wheelset choice: I would take its 35 mm profile over a lighter low-profile set when reliability and speed must be balanced, the same low-variance tradeoff I use in trick-taking play. In your back-to-back test, did the deeper rim still feel faster on steep climbs, or did the lighter wheels become the better choice there?
Is the Rova’s 35 mm profile worth its 273 g penalty over the Enve G23 on your usual routes? I agree that the quieter, reliable ride can justify the tradeoff, but when a setup disappoints I’d log crosswind behavior and recheck wheel trueness after several rough rides before changing components. That same evidence-first check is useful in Oh Hell too: inspect the round-by-round bids before blaming strategy.
I’d choose the Rova’s 35mm profile over lighter rims for rough gravel.
Could the 1,567-gram weight hold up for a team’s mixed gravel fleet? Probably, provided the deeper rim’s crosswind behavior is checked before race day.
The 35mm rim sounds fast, but our team should test crosswinds before race day.
Six months on multiple bikes supports the claim that the wheels stayed straight, though $1,595 sets a clear boundary. How did it fare at Land Run 100?
The quiet ride on rough gravel stands out, so I will test them on my next ride.
The six-month test across four bikes, especially the current single-speed setup on the Singular Gryphon, gives these wheels a lot more credibility than a quick first impression. I’m curious how the Rova’s ride feel and durability held up once the initial novelty wore off and they were used in such different setups.
I enjoyed reading this post. The examples around “Cantu Rova Wheelset: At the Finish – Riding Gravel” gave me a useful perspective on the topic.
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At 1,567 grams, these wheels sound faster than my lower-profile set, but crosswinds worry me. Did the 35mm rim stay predictable on exposed descents?
Crosswinds changed my rim preference; I will test lower profiles next.
I enjoyed reading this post. The examples around “Cantu Rova Wheelset: At the Finish – Riding Gravel” gave me a useful perspective on the topic.
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The 35mm profile seems to reward tailwinds, so logging crosswind handling is sensible.
The 1567-gram weight versus 35mm depth now makes sense for race gravel.
I enjoyed reading this post. The examples around “Cantu Rova Wheelset: At the Finish – Riding Gravel” gave me a useful perspective on the topic.
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