# Bontrager Approved wheels - how good are these?



## .je (Aug 25, 2012)

My Trek 1.1 has Bontrager Approved 32h wheels and 'alloy hubs'. They are pretty tough and durable, but I am considering to upgrade. I think they come on the 1.5 and maybe 2.1 and 2.3 as well. They don't seem too heavy compared to some other low-mid wheels, but I question:

Can someone upgrade for under $300?
Are the hubs good enough to keep - or do they roll slow?

I had the chance to ride a Diamondback Podium 3 for a bit, and it seemed SO.MUCH.FASTER. Its wheels, though 20h/24h, didn't seem really lighter than the Bontrager.

I dont know a lot about wheels. Are these things worth upgrading?


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

Upgrade for $300? No, just keep what you have if they still work just fine. I would save some money and get a decent wheelset, you can get really nice wheels for under $800 that would weigh under 1500 grams that would be very aero with high quality hubs. I would save some money up, get better wheels if you want faster wheels. Keep in mind though, if you were to ride the same bike $15,000 that Lance Armstrong rides you would only see your average speed increase by no more then 1.5 mph...point is it's not about the bike, you can dump tons of money into a bike and be depressed when its all done because you didn't get an extra 10 mph out of it. So if that's what your thinking then don't don't bother spending the money, but if your wanting to do some faster club rides or get into local racing then get the wheels.


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## dcgriz (Feb 13, 2011)

.je said:


> I had the chance to ride a Diamondback Podium 3 for a bit, and it seemed SO.MUCH.FASTER. ?


The operative word here is "seemed". Newer, slicker looking, grass is greener on the other side type of thing etc. all help to give you the "so much faster" feeling.

My suggestion is to periodically check the following:
a. take the wheel off the bike, remove the skewers, hold one end of the hub steady with one hand and rotate the opposite end with the other. If you feel any play, skipping, binding or suspect undue friction its time to readjust/refurbish the hubs
b. keep the wheel on the bike, hold the bike steady with one hand and grab the top of the wheel next to the brakes. Try to move the wheel sideways; if you have too much movement its time to readjust the hubs (too much movement is a relative term; to me it means no more than 2 mm on either side)

If you find that your hubs are in need of attention then the choices would be either to refurbish/readjust them or get new wheels. Personally, I would not spent more than $50US in parts/labor on that set.


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## echo7 (Sep 7, 2010)

.je said:


> My Trek 1.1 has Bontrager Approved 32h wheels and 'alloy hubs'. They are pretty tough and durable, but I am considering to upgrade. I think they come on the 1.5 and maybe 2.1 and 2.3 as well. They don't seem too heavy compared to some other low-mid wheels, but I question:
> 
> Can someone upgrade for under $300?
> Are the hubs good enough to keep - or do they roll slow?
> ...


bontrager approved wheels,, if im not mistaken they are ALEX rims..
if you're a casual rider, ligther rims wont make any difference..


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Depends some on the "alloy" hub.

Basically, performance of wheels doesn't vary all that much, especially at lower speeds. Very small changes are worthwhile for some people, and some people just want cooler-looking or more prestigious wheels. So it's all about your goals.

Durability and longevity of wheels can vary quite a lot. If your hubs are the complete garbage that shows up on some bikes, they're not going to last all that long. The rims are probably not bad. While people sometimes like to malign cheap rims, most inexpensive double-wall aluminum rims are actually perfectly good components within their appropriate use.

You can certainly get some good everyday/training wheels for $300. I generally haven't bothered until there was something actually wrong with the previous wheel.


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## jamesdak (Aug 22, 2010)

All I know is that my Bontrager Wheels weighed in at around 2300 grams for the set. The change to a set of Williams Systems 30s for under $500 gave a much livelier ride. May not have made me faster but the riding experience was greatly improved.


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## Rekless1 (Aug 23, 2012)

I've ran them before. It's an OK entry level wheel, I'd run them till you wear them out then upgrade them to budget. Don't replace a perfectly fine entry level wheel with another one.


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## echo7 (Sep 7, 2010)

Rekless1 said:


> I've ran them before. It's an OK entry level wheel, I'd run them till you wear them out then upgrade them to budget. Don't replace a perfectly fine entry level wheel with another one.


+1 .. ride it to the ground.. by that time you'll get fitter and stronger.. then its time to upgrade to a new wheelset..


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