# Bontrager Wheels?



## mdudek (Sep 6, 2007)

How do you Trek/Lemond folks feel about your Bontrager Wheels?

I’ve been shopping new bikes. In my area the two major LBS sell Trek or Specialized. The Trek shop is the most convenient and my favorite.

In my price range $2,000 and under, there are some compromises to be made. When I consider the price of a bike, also try to look at the long-term cost. I would like to avoid, or put off as long as possible, upgrading the shifters, crank and wheels. While I’ve read a lot of positive reviews about Trek and Lemond, many of the reviewers recommend upgrading the wheels ASAP. The Specialized Tarmac comes with Mavic Aksium which I can certainly live with. How do you Trek riders feel about Bontrager wheels?


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## zac (Aug 5, 2005)

I have a set of `05 Bonty race-lites. I would guess 10k+ miles and they are as true as the day they were new. I no longer ride them as they are relegated to garage duty, but they are as bomb proof as any set of Mavics I've owned. 

Hope this helped.
zac


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## lamazion (Sep 11, 2004)

In your price range, you will most likely get Bontrager Race wheels. While ok, they are a bit heavy at 1790gm. I would shugest upgrading on purchase to the Racelite wheels. Many shops will give you nearly full credit at puchase making this upgrade about $130.


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## filtersweep (Feb 4, 2004)

No matter what you buy, it is always nice to have extra wheels. 



mdudek said:


> How do you Trek/Lemond folks feel about your Bontrager Wheels?
> 
> I’ve been shopping new bikes. In my area the two major LBS sell Trek or Specialized. The Trek shop is the most convenient and my favorite.
> 
> In my price range $2,000 and under, there are some compromises to be made. When I consider the price of a bike, also try to look at the long-term cost. I would like to avoid, or put off as long as possible, upgrading the shifters, crank and wheels. While I’ve read a lot of positive reviews about Trek and Lemond, many of the reviewers recommend upgrading the wheels ASAP. The Specialized Tarmac comes with Mavic Aksium which I can certainly live with. How do you Trek riders feel about Bontrager wheels?


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

lamazion said:


> In your price range, you will most likely get Bontrager Race wheels. While ok, they are a bit heavy at 1790gm. I would shugest upgrading on purchase to the Racelite wheels. Many shops will give you nearly full credit at puchase making this upgrade about $130.


I have both Race Lites and Race X Lites (neither on a Trek or LeMond by the way.) My '04Race X Lites had a drive side hub flange failure after just 200 miles. Trek attributed it to a flawed forging of the DT supplied hub, which affected about 1-2% of the production. Regardless, they had a replacement wheel to our shop in 24 hours. The bonus is I got to keep the old wheel which gives me a load of replacement parts (spokes, bearings, axle, cassette body, etc) if ever needed. Now their warranty policy is to take back defective parts.

As to the wheels, two years plus on the X Lites, and over a year on the Lites - they have been bomb proof. The Race Lites are a definite step up over the Race - I think quite possible the best $400 retail wheelset out there. They are eyeletted where the Race's aren't and we've warranteed out some Races for stress cracks at the spoke drillings. The Axioms are also quite strong, but heavy.

The new '08 Race X Lites and Race Lites have a new hub which use standard J-bend spokes instead of the nail heads which can be hard to obtain if needed. Even Trek dealers don't stock all the lengths. As much as I like Mavic (and I do), they just have too many proprietary pieces in their range.


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## DougInRaleigh (Apr 25, 2007)

I had the Select wheels come on my Trek 1500. I weighed 200 pounds at the time and they were way flexy and made lots of noise. Upgraded to the Race Lite wheels for $400 and never looked back. They are a few hundred grams lighter with the aero spokes. They really seem to spin easier, especially at speeds above 17mph. They are much stiffer in all aspects especially when climbing and out of the saddle. Hope this helps.


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## Export A (Mar 18, 2007)

I have the cheap Selects on my 5000 , I find their quiet and stiff and very heavy, I have only trued them once after the first 1000 miles they've been good ever since.


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

I have the regular aluminum Race X-Lites in tubular version for my cross wheels. I am absolutely amazed at the quality of these wheels. I've taken them on mountain bike trails, hammered them down rocks, raced them for a full season of cross.

Not a single problem. Not one flat on the tubies. Top notch wheels, IMO. I'll get another pair.


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## ridebikes (Jun 7, 2005)

For 2 years I road the race lites that came on my '04 5200. I weigh about 190 and not once did they see a spoke wrench. For the money they are a great deal.


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## mtbdcd (Jul 7, 2002)

I ride about 10k miles per year. Over the last 10 years have used Ksyrium, X-lites, X-lite aeros, rolf prima Vigors and tried a set of Neuvations.

The X-lites have been my favorite by far. Responsive, durable, trouble free. Especially the Aero's. I think those wheels are good for 50,000 miles with only the bearings needing service. 
The Rolf Prima Vigors are nice riding wheels but require bearing adjustment, replacement periodically. The rear lasted about 15000 miles which is pretty good for such a light aero wheel.

Neuvation Aero's - not very good luck with them. Spoke nipple broke in the first 200 miles. Sold them at that point at a huge loss. No one wants to buy a used wheel that has a some trouble.

Kysriums were ok. Cassette had a wobble, but that not is a direct wheel problem. Did not feel lkie they were as responsive as the x-lites or Vigors.

Using the xxx-lite carbon clinchers now. Way...... nice. Light, responsive, stiff. Don't know about their durability yet. Only about 2000 miles on them.


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## 99trek5200 (Jan 26, 2007)

As a bigger guy (195#) I have found my Rolf Prima Elites to be superior to my Race-X-Lite Aeros. I notice that the RXL Aeros would flex and scrub the brakes going around corners. I attribute that to the lower spoke count (16). Other than that, I have no gripe with the Bontragers. They held true very well.


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## kneejerk (Feb 2, 2007)

Bontrager wheels are nice. One other thing I didn't see mentioned is that with all wheels, spoke tension is very important to proper and best performance.


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## Caravelle (Jul 6, 2005)

*Hub flange failure after 5 years*

I have a 2002 Lemond Maillot Jaune with Bontrager Race X-Lite wheels. These are excellent wheels in all respects (weight, feel, butter smooth bearings, etc.)

However, now I have my doubts about durability. I walked into my garage one day and saw that, while hanging from the ceiling, the front wheel hub flanges spontaneously failed (see pictures). The spokes tore out the flanges. Thank God it didn't happen while riding!


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## mdudek (Sep 6, 2007)

I ended getting a really good price on a 06’ Klein Q-Pro.
It came with Race Lite wheels and I’m pretty happy with them.
Those with deeper pockets may scoff at me, but on a smooth surface the bike rides like a razor blade. On rough surfaces the bike is kind of harsh. Not sure if I can blame that on the wheels.

Happy surprise is the Race Lite case tires. I planned on upgrading the tires asap. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve pulled all kind of debris out of the tires but never had a puncture. I think I’ll ride these tires until they wear out.


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## kneejerk (Feb 2, 2007)

The hub flange failure above could be a result of excessive or improper spoke tensioning, not sure what the story is on that one, but that kind of failure is extremely rare at the moment. 

Yeah,....... Klein Q-Pro rides like a razor!...... that is oversized Aluminum tubing (super stiff!), sure it has some cabon fiber bits (fork, seat stays). You could soften it up a bit with 32 hole 3 cross wheels. I remember my old Aluminum 3.0 Cannondale well....... I loved it!

Those Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase tires are on the heavy side (300+ grams, compared to average 220 grams for others), they are tough and stiff, great for heavier riders, I got a few flats with mine and gave up on them. I like the lighter, similarly composed Race Lite Dual Compound folding tires, pretty much the same performance but lighter.


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## kneejerk (Feb 2, 2007)

Caravelle said:


> I have a 2002 Lemond Maillot Jaune with Bontrager Race X-Lite wheels. These are excellent wheels in all respects (weight, feel, butter smooth bearings, etc.)
> 
> However, now I have my doubts about durability. I walked into my garage one day and saw that, while hanging from the ceiling, the front wheel hub flanges spontaneously failed (see pictures). The spokes tore out the flanges. Thank God it didn't happen while riding!


something more must have happened there?!...... bicycles are more commonly damaged by sitting on top of cars (racks) than riding down the road!........???


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## celeste55 (Aug 15, 2007)

I work in a trek exclusive shop. The mechanics hate the 07 race lites. they were crap. the 05-07 race x lites were awesome i have a pair and they are my race only wheels. I actually feel the differnce, something i didnt think would happen. Race's are solid. the new 08 wheels are solid as hell. the race lites are 105% better. race x lites are awesome.


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## johnstone3 (Feb 3, 2007)

One nice thing about Bontrager wheels is that they come with a 5 year warranty!


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## kai-ming (Oct 3, 2002)

mdudek said:


> How do you Trek/Lemond folks feel about your Bontrager Wheels?
> 
> I’ve been shopping new bikes. In my area the two major LBS sell Trek or Specialized. The Trek shop is the most convenient and my favorite.
> 
> In my price range $2,000 and under, there are some compromises to be made. When I consider the price of a bike, also try to look at the long-term cost. I would like to avoid, or put off as long as possible, upgrading the shifters, crank and wheels. While I’ve read a lot of positive reviews about Trek and Lemond, many of the reviewers recommend upgrading the wheels ASAP. The Specialized Tarmac comes with Mavic Aksium which I can certainly live with. How do you Trek riders feel about Bontrager wheels?


Brontrager wheels ? No way, especially if you are from Hong Kong.
Below is my experience.
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=104106


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

mdudek said:


> How do you Trek/Lemond folks feel about your Bontrager Wheels?
> 
> I’ve been shopping new bikes. In my area the two major LBS sell Trek or Specialized. The Trek shop is the most convenient and my favorite.
> 
> In my price range $2,000 and under, there are some compromises to be made. When I consider the price of a bike, also try to look at the long-term cost. I would like to avoid, or put off as long as possible, upgrading the shifters, crank and wheels. While I’ve read a lot of positive reviews about Trek and Lemond, many of the reviewers recommend upgrading the wheels ASAP. The Specialized Tarmac comes with Mavic Aksium which I can certainly live with. How do you Trek riders feel about Bontrager wheels?


If you are going to put on more than 3000 miles a year, you might want to increase your budget 


I had a rear hub flange failure on my 2003 trek madone 5.2 (race lite?) after 7000 miles and 4 years.. bought a mavic krysium sl .. i've been happy with both wheel types.

You'll be happy with the Bontrager Race LIghts.


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## johnstone3 (Feb 3, 2007)

Deleted


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## johnstone3 (Feb 3, 2007)

*Aerodynamics?*

Has anyone ever seen any aerodynamic studies on any of the Bontrager wheels? I recently replaced a warranty issue rear 04 Race Lite with a new rear 08 Race X Lite. I still have my 04 Race Lite in front, and am looking to eventually replace it. I know this wouldn't exactly match my rear wheel, but I was thinking about replacing the front Race Lite with the Race X Lite aero version rather than the regular Race X Lite version, but I have never seen any aero studies on either of these wheels.


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

$2000 for a set of wheels?


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## WhiskeyNovember (May 31, 2003)

Dinosaur said:


> $2000 for a set of wheels?


I know, it's an amazing deal compared with the offerings of Zipp.


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