# Wheel conundrum: Aksium vs. Bontrager Select?



## Kung Fu Felice (Apr 17, 2007)

Ok, so I have a road bike that's on the stock Aksium and I have my commuter that's on stock Bontrager Select. I want to upgrade one set of these wheels, here are my options with my $400 budget:

1. Upgrade the road bike's Aksium (to Crane Creek Volos, $400) and transfer the Aksium to the commuter and hide away the Bontrager. My reasoning is that the Aksium is supposedly durable enough for regular commuter use as long as the streets aren't too rough, but with the Aksium I'm limited to 700x25 tires I believe (the road is mostly paved, with ocasional rough asphalt, nothing too "rough", just uneven here and there) ; or

2. Keep the Aksium on the road bike to be upgraded at a future date, but replace the Bontrager first to a more durable commuter wheel that can hold 700x28 tires (Marathon Plus), such as the Mavic Open Sport with 32/36 spoke/Wheelsmith/Ultegra hub wheelset ($360)


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Performance has Ksyrium Elites for $399 right now. Good price. I use a set of traditional wheels and a set of Specialized Roval Pave wheels for commuting. My commute is over rough terrain, muddy MUTs, and daily rain. Your commute may vary.


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## Mr. Peabody (Dec 8, 2005)

Just curious, why do you want to upgrade? Are you having problems with your current Aksiums or Selects, or do you just want something new/lighter/etc.?

I have Aksiums on my commuter, and I run Continental 32C contacts on them; I've been running this setup for a while now, and I haven't experienced any problems. They've been reasonably true, and I haven't had to touch them yet. I have a set of the Selects as well on my road bike, and they've been great. I live in the great white north, where each winter the snow plows rip up giant holes in the road; I've hit some of the minor potholes using my select wheelset (with 25C tires), and they're still true as can be. 

Hope this input helps.


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## Kung Fu Felice (Apr 17, 2007)

Yep, your input has helped greatly. I've had true my Selects once since I've had them the last year, and was afraid that the Selects simply weren't up to the task of commuting. But it's possible that the wheels were not properly calibrated to begin with, so your experience with them has convinced me to give them another chance. Also, I was not certain whether road wheels could handle the 700x28 sized tires, but it appears that since you're running larger tires fine on your Aksium, I can try running larger tires and see.


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## SRay (Mar 15, 2005)

I have been looking at a wheel set from neuvation, a friend has a set and likes them. They are not priced to bad, $200-$300 range.

http://www.neuvationcycling.com/index.html


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