Tubeless has taken over nearly every corner of cycling, but walk through the pits at a cyclocross race, and tubulars are still very much alive.Theres a reason. A good tubular still offers a ride thats hard to match with tubeless, especially in cross. With no suspension to work with, much of the grip and compliance comes from the tire. Tubulars let racers run extremely low pressures while keeping a round, supple profile that works especially well on grass, off-camber, ruts, and loose terrain.The problem is that tubular wheels are getting harder to find.(All Photos/Jordan Villella)Tires are still available from companies like Challenge, FMB, and Dugast, but fewer brands produce dedicated tubular wheelsets each year. That makes the Rotation Engineering RaceLab CX35 interesting before you even ride it.The CX35 is a 35mm-deep carbon tubular wheelset built specifically for cyclocross. Rotation claims a weight of 1,150g 40g, with DT Swiss Aerolite spokes and the companys own Axis Pro hubs. Theyre proper race wheels with a proper race-wheel price: $1,950.Who Is Rotation Engineering?Rotation Engineering is a relatively young name in cycling, but founder Seth Carlson brings more than two decades of precision manufacturing experience from motorsports, including Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, and rally.Carlson started Rotation Engineering in Ellington, Connecticut, in 2021, initially focusing on bearings, bottom brackets, hubs, and headsets.Since then, the catalog has grown to include drivetrain bearings, chain wax and waxing equipment, wheel-building tools, hubs, and complete RaceLab wheelsets for road, gravel, mountain bike, and cyclocross. Rotation designs, engineers, and tests its cycling components worldwide, and hand-builds its RaceLab wheels in-house in Connecticut.The Competitive Edge Racing cyclocross squad also races the CX35, which makes sense. The Comp Edge Elite team boasts Nationals Champs, Pan-American champs, and a healthy group of up-and-comers. This group isnt racing on road wheels that happen to accept a cross tire (though they have those). They need a full-on, purpose-built cyclocross race wheelset.RaceLab CX35: Cyclocross SpecialistThe CX35 uses a dedicated 35mm-deep, 28mm-wide carbon tubular rim. The 35mm depth hits a nice spot for cyclocross. It gives the wheel enough structure and stiffness without making it overly deep, heavy, or awkward in windy races. Its near the Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 tubular depth that many cyclocrossers (and Team Baloise) use as their only wheelset for the season. Rotation uses a high-modulus carbon layup with extra material around the nipple bed rather than reinforcing the entire rim. The finished wheels use 24 DT Swiss Aerolite straight-pull spokes front and rear with DT Swiss Squorx nipples.We recommend glue and tape when gluing tubulars. (Photo/Jordan Villella)Why Are We Still Racing Tubulars?For most riders, tubeless makes more sense. Its easier to mount, easier to change, and far less intimidating than gluing tires onto carbon rims. Cyclocross remains one of the places where tubulars still earn their trouble.What the hell is a tubular tire? A tubular tire is sewn around its inner tube and glued directly to the rim. Theres no bead trying to stay seated, which lets racers run pressures that would be sketchy on many tubeless setups without worrying about burping the tire off the rim.A stockpile of Dugast Tires ready for glue prep in the Dutch Team camp at Cyclocross Worlds (Photo/Jordan Villella)A supple tubular also deforms beautifully over roots, ruts, bumps, and off-camber. The tire can move underneath the rider while maintaining traction, and its round profile keeps the tread working as the bike leans farther into a corner.Tubulars arent magic. Theyre expensive, they take time to mount, and changing tread usually means changing wheelsets. But when traction is limited and every second matters, theyre still hard to beat.Rotation RaceLab CX35 Wheelset SpecsRim depth: 35mmRim width: 28mmSpoke count: 24 front / 24 rearSpokes: DT Swiss Aerolite straight-pullNipples: DT Swiss SquorxWeight (XDR Driver): 1170g* Actual Weight (Pair); 640g rear, 530g front Hubs: Rotation Engineering Axis ProAxles: 12x100mm front / 12x142mm rearRotor interface: CenterlockWarranty: 3 yearsPrice: $1,950Mounting the TubularsFor testing, I mounted Challenge Grifo Team Edition tubulars using Vittoria Mastik and CX Tape.The 29mm-wide rim bed works especially well with a modern 33mm cyclocross tubular. Theres plenty of surface area to build a solid glue bed and get full contact with the tires base tape.The matte finish also hides the inevitable glue marks (and eventual battle scars) that come with mounting/racing tubulars. Its a small detail, but anyone who has spent an evening with Mastik knows the process rarely stays clean.Ride Review: Rotation RaceLab CX35Light Where It MattersThe first thing I noticed with the CX35s is how easily they get moving. The CX35s are about 500g less than the tubeless wheels I train on, and they felt like nothing to spin up. Since cyclocross is basically an hour of accelerating, braking, turning, and accelerating again. You dont spend much time sitting at one speed, which makes wheel weight more noticeable than it might be during a steady road ride.You feel the weight mostly coming out of slow corners, punching over short rises, and getting back on the pedals after a remount. They make the bike feel eager without bringing the nervous or overly delicate feel that can come with some ultralight equipment.They also make the bike easier to throw around when the course gets tight and to pick your bike up for barriers or carries. For cross, thats exactly what I want from a light wheelset.The Right Amount Of GiveThe other half of the equation is the rim. The CX35 is stiff and responsive under power. Sprinting out of corners or getting on top of the gear doesnt produce that vague feeling where the wheel winds up before the bike responds.You put power in and the bike moves. That stiffness pairs especially well with a tubular tire because the tire is handling the compliance. You get a precise, responsive carbon rim underneath a supple casing instead of asking the wheel itself to smooth out the course.The CX35 feels appropriately race-focused without beating you up, and I never wished the rim were softer or less responsive. Why not run a deep rim if you want stiffness? A deeper rim will also be less compliant. For cyclocross you need to make a trade-off: sprinting stiffness and compliance over bumps and (when the time comes) frozen ruts. Most cyclocross wheelsets land in the 25-40mm range. But youll see some deeper on grass crit-style courses.The Tubular Bed Gets It RightThe 28mm-wide tubular bed also works well with a modern 33mm cross tire. With the Challenge Grifos mounted, the tire gets a broad, supportive base while maintaining the rounded profile you want from a tubular. At low pressure, the casing can move and conform underneath you while the wheel itself stays precise. It doesnt feel like its going to roll off the rim the way a 34mm tire would on the 17mm tubular rims we had back in the day. That combination is where the CX35 really shines. On off-camber and loose corners, you get the predictable movement and grip of a good tubular.Axis Pro Hubs: Nothing to Fix HereRotation started out making bearings and rotating components, so I expected the hubs to be good. They are.The Axis Pro hubs are smooth, engage quickly, and feel appropriately high-end for the wheelset. Theres no noticeable drag or slop, and engagement is plenty quick for the constant on-off pedaling that comes with cyclocross.More importantly, they disappear underneath you.They dont have the very specific personality of something like a Chris King or Industry Nine hub, where the hub itself becomes part of the experience. The Axis Pro hubs are more restrained. They simply work very well without demanding attention or extra pampering.Thats probably the best compliment I can give a race hub.I never wished for quicker engagement, smoother bearings, or any other real change. Theyre light, precise, and very well suited to the wheelset.How Do They Stack Up?The CX35s belong at the top of the cyclocross wheel pile. Id put them in the same conversation as the best tubular wheels Ive raced from ENVE and Bontrager. The ride is very similar, almost as if Rotation pulled the best attributes from each.Theyre light enough to notice immediately, stiff enough to respond when you jump on the pedals, and the Axis Pro hubs are excellent. More importantly, the package feels cohesive. Nothing stands out because something else is holding it back.The rim, spokes, hubs, and tubular bed all feel like they were chosen specifically for cyclocross, not assembled into a wheelset that could theoretically work for it.The Catch: $1,950Theres really only one part of the CX35 thats hard to get excited about: $1,950 is a lot of money for cyclocross wheels. Thats especially true with tubulars. A tubular wheel is effectively tied to the tire glued onto it. Racers who want a dry tire, mud tire, and intermediate option often end up with several wheelsets. Suddenly a nearly $2,000 wheelset becomes the beginning of the expense, not the end.The CX35 absolutely performs like a premium race wheel, and the price isnt out of line with other high-end carbon tubulars. But it still limits how many racers can realistically build an entire cross setup around them.Id love to see Rotation take what it got right with the CX35, particularly the Axis Pro hubs, spoke package, rim dimensions, and build quality, and offer an alloy tubular version as well.A high-quality alloy tubular built around the same hubs could make a great second wheelset for mud tires or serve as a more attainable way into Rotations cross lineup.Race the CX35s on your main setup, then use the alloy pair for mud or pit duty. That would be a killer combination.(All photos/Jordan Villella)Rotation RaceLab CX35: VerdictRotation Engineering didnt make a gravel wheel that happens to work for cyclocross. It made a cyclocross wheel. And it shows.The RaceLab CX35 is one of the best tubular wheelsets Ive ridden for cross. Theyre properly light, accelerate quickly, and pair a stiff, responsive rim with the supple ride you want from a tubular.My biggest complaint is still the price. At $1,950, these are unapologetically premium race wheels, and building multiple tubular setups at that price gets expensive quickly. Id also change a couple of small things.At this price, Id rather see etched or molded-in graphics instead of decals. Stickers and cyclocross dont always mix well once pressure washers, cleaners, and a seasons worth of abuse get involved.If were not worrying about price, Id also like to see a DT Swiss 240 hub option. The Axis Pro hubs are excellent, but the DT-240 remains something of a gold standard for serviceability and parts support. For team mechanics or racers with multiple wheelsets, standardizing on a familiar hub platform makes sense. None of that changes how good the CX35 is on course. Judged purely on performance, I wouldnt change much.If Rotation eventually adds a more affordable alloy tubular option alongside it, the CX lineup would become even more compelling. As they sit, though, the RaceLab CX35s are top-shelf cyclocross wheels built for racers who still know exactly why tubulars matter.Rotation-Engineering