Bontrager Race Lite wheels.. Anyone have 'em?
- Thread starter Jakey
- Start date
The Race Lites come standard with the Trek 5200 and as such... I have them
They are a good "all-around" wheel, nothing remarkable, nothing bad... I think Bicycle magazine featured them a few months back in a comparison with other wheels that spanned the spectrum from similarly priced to much higher end...
If I remember correctly they praised the wheels as being solid performers and an excellent value for the pricepoint... for weight, they are average, but have better than average lateral stiffness. They are of mild aero design (you'll have to use long stem tubes) but not so deep as to add weight...
The one thing I remember about the review of them is the pro and con section, it went something like Pro's: No notable weaknesses, Cons: No "stand out" strengths
Jeffrey has it right in his reply, they are of very similar construction, though the Race X-lite version relieves some material from the rim in strategic places that reduces weight by a good margin without reducing strength appreciably, also the braking surface is of much higher quality... This elevates the x-lites to "something to write home about" status, but at much higher cost...
I've ridden thru some fairly signicant potholes including two that were hard enough to blow the front tire and even done a sliding crash where the rear impacted the curb almost laterally (I did a nice version of a high side catapult) and even with this the wheels are both still true (the rear had an extremely small sway, but I dialed that out in less than 2 minutes on the truing stand) given the force of the impact it was still an extremely impressive result...
Not certain if the x-lites would have fared as well in those incidents, but I think they are intended more for racing and the race-lites for training and everday riding...
I like them, but to qualify that statement, I've ridden very few other wheel offerings...
Good luck to you!
I can attest to their strength. I was out for a ride with a friend, (he has a 5200) we were screaming down a hill (each at about 45 mph) he was drafting me, came around on my left, didn't notice the culvert until it was too late and had a double blow out! (I was sure his front rim would collapse). He is not exactly a light weight at 185 lbs. Other than a very nice dent in the front rim and 2 flats he was fine. He ultimately replaced the front wheel only because he didn't like the aesthetics of a big dent in the front rim.
I can attest to their strength. I was out for a ride with a friend, (he has a 5200) we were screaming down a hill (each at about 45 mph) he was drafting me, came around on my left, didn't notice the culvert until it was too late and had a double blow out! (I was sure his front rim would collapse). He is not exactly a light weight at 185 lbs. Other than a very nice dent in the front rim and 2 flats he was fine. He ultimately replaced the front wheel only because he didn't like the aesthetics of a big dent in the front rim.
I have a Trek 2000 with matrix aurore rims. I have been looking at new rims also. I was told by the lbs that deals in Trek that there is no advantage to go for the race lite. You have to, at minimum, step up to the race x-lite, which is still not a big enough step to replace the wheels. With that in mind I will go for the ksyriums.Jakey said:
I just purchased a new Trek 5200 with Race Lite wheels. I have not enough miles to say for sure...but so far so good!jonsachs said:
I have ridden the Kysirium SL's before...and they are the best wheels I've ever ridden. But these Race Lites are not too bad at all.
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