# Bontrager Aeolus Comp 5 TLR



## Sweet Lew (Jun 24, 2014)

Hey All,

Been a while, but needed some advice\opinions. I currently run H Plus Son Archetypes with White Industries T11s on my road bike, but have a lead on a new set of Bontrager Aeolus Comp 5 TLRs for an awesome price. Would it be worth swapping out the wheels for the aero properties and tubeless ready? Or not worth the extra weight (The Bontragers are ~400 grams heavier).

Thanks,

Lew


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## veloduffer (Aug 26, 2004)

I think you have to ask yourself if you want these more for performance gains or bling (nothing wrong with either)? 

And if the former, do you ride in a mostly flat area or hilly? In reality, the performance gains are not substantial for most riders (non-elite), especially from a value proposition. It would often be better to lose body weight.

As for tubeless, I don’t find them any better than a good clincher and latex inner tubes. Plus, if you really need to change a tire (hole too big for sealant to plug), it’s a bit messy and sometimes difficult to mount the tire and tube on a TLR rim. Tubeless is a great application for offroad, though, as you can use some very low tire pressure.

There’s no right or wrong answer. If you can afford it, then why not try them (note, you’ll need carbon specific brake pads assuming these are rim brakes). You can always sell them if they don’t impress you.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

What kind of speeds do you ride? And what kind of climbing do you do?

Aero benefits are exponential. The faster you ride, the more you benefit from aero reduction. Someone averaging 15mph isn't going to see much benefit from aero wheels. Whereas someone averaging 25mph is going to see a huge benefit.

If you do mostly flat riding, 400g is mostly irrelevant.


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## Sweet Lew (Jun 24, 2014)

Thanks for the responses! Mainly flat riding usually averaging 17-19 MPH. I do group training rides during the week, and long distances on the weekends. Sprinkle in a few centuries and that's it. No crits or tris. For the price, I'm extremely tempted to pick them up and try them out, but I see where y'all are coming from. It might be better to pocket the money for another bike later.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

I'm of the opinion, if you only have one bike, having an extra set of wheels is invaluable. If you ever break a spoke, dent/damage a rim, you've got an extra set of wheels to ride on while your others get fixed. 
Also, if you've got a set of deep aero wheels, having a set of lower cross section wheels is handy for those days with high cross winds.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

tlg said:


> Aero benefits are exponential. The faster you ride, the more you benefit from aero reduction. Someone averaging 15mph isn't going to see much benefit from aero wheels. Whereas someone averaging 25mph is going to see a huge benefit.


It could be argued that aero benefits are more important for slower riders because they spend more time to cover a given distance. The percentage improvement due to any aero benefit reduces the overall drag, and if it reduces drag 1%, that's 1% at 30 mph and 1% at 15 mph.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

If I owned them I would trade you for your current wheels in a heart beat.

Tubeless is different topic. As far as that goes if it's something you really want to do you can get otherwise similar rims to what you have for about $50 each plus labor to go tubeless.

I think you already own what IMO is about the best possible all-around rim/hub combo. I can see getting deep(er) carbon wheels to compliment them but not to replace them.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Kerry is right about the aero drag benefit...a slower rider will see more benefit time wise than a faster rider. 
As much as I love mtb tubeless I hate road tubeless. You'll never get the ride quality you will from a good clincher or 'open tubular' and a good quality lightweight tube. And _you will flat at some point..._it will be a mess and you will use language not safe for childer or religious types.


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## Sweet Lew (Jun 24, 2014)

Jay Strongbow said:


> If I owned them I would trade you for your current wheels in a heart beat.
> 
> I think you already own what IMO is about the best possible all-around rim/hub combo. I can see getting deep(er) carbon wheels to compliment them but not to replace them.


Thanks for the comments. With that said, I would NEVER let my current wheelset go! I figured for the price of the Bontragers, I would pick them up and run them this season, but if they aren't a good performer, then I'd pass. From what I've read, these are an "entry level" aero wheel which comes on the Trek Madone 9.0 and are an aluminum rim with carbon fairing.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/...heelsets/bontrager-aeolus-comp-5-tlr/p/21803/


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## Sweet Lew (Jun 24, 2014)

Thanks everyone for the response. I picked up the wheels on Friday. For $300 new, I couldn't pass them up.


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## Pyruvate (Mar 18, 2021)

Sweet Lew said:


> Thanks everyone for the response. I picked up the wheels on Friday. For $300 new, I couldn't pass them up.


how are you liking them? would you recommend them?


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