Rebuilding Bontrager Racelites



T

Travis

Guest
Comments from Bleve, and stuff I've seen elsewhere, have been rather
disparaging of the quality of certain Bontrager components.

I've also heard that Bontrager have a weird spoke configuration which
means their hubs are only compatible with their rims, but that might be
BS...

The rims on my Bontrager wheels are at the end of their life. Several
spokes look a little dodgy and some of the spoke nipples are broken,
making it impossible to retrue the wheels.

So I'm definitely getting some new wheels, or rebuilding the ones I've
got.

The question is, could I, or should I, recycle the hubs when I rebuild
my wheels with Mavic Open Pro rims, as is often suggested here, and
some decent DT Swiss spokes (or something), or should I get some
Ultegra hubs (or something)?

Travis
 
Travis wrote:

> The question is, could I, or should I, recycle the hubs when
> I rebuild my wheels with Mavic Open Pro rims, as is often
> suggested here, and some decent DT Swiss spokes (or
> something), or should I get some Ultegra hubs (or something)?

Getting the hubs to work with proper rims would be almost impossible. They use direct pull spokes, which are pretty difficult to find, and paired spoking, which means that if you want to use normal rims, spoke lengths will be all over the place (if you can even do it with straight pull spokes).

The hubs aren't anything particularly special anyway, so I'd recommend buying a pair of 105/Ultegra hubs and building wheels on those.

Cheers,

Suzy
 
Travis wrote:
> Comments from Bleve, and stuff I've seen elsewhere, have been rather
> disparaging of the quality of certain Bontrager components.
>
> I've also heard that Bontrager have a weird spoke configuration which
> means their hubs are only compatible with their rims, but that might be
> BS...
>
> The rims on my Bontrager wheels are at the end of their life. Several
> spokes look a little dodgy and some of the spoke nipples are broken,
> making it impossible to retrue the wheels.
>
> So I'm definitely getting some new wheels, or rebuilding the ones I've
> got.
>
> The question is, could I, or should I, recycle the hubs when I rebuild
> my wheels with Mavic Open Pro rims, as is often suggested here, and
> some decent DT Swiss spokes (or something), or should I get some
> Ultegra hubs (or something)?

Turf the hubs. Unless they're the high-end Bontrager ones, they're
junk.
I'd suggest 105 hubs, a bit cheaper than Ultegra, and for your use, the
few grams will make no difference at all, and they roll the same (same
bearings)
 
"Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Travis wrote:
> > Comments from Bleve, and stuff I've seen elsewhere, have been rather
> > disparaging of the quality of certain Bontrager components.
> >
> > I've also heard that Bontrager have a weird spoke configuration which
> > means their hubs are only compatible with their rims, but that might be
> > BS...
> >
> > The rims on my Bontrager wheels are at the end of their life. Several
> > spokes look a little dodgy and some of the spoke nipples are broken,
> > making it impossible to retrue the wheels.
> >
> > So I'm definitely getting some new wheels, or rebuilding the ones I've
> > got.
> >
> > The question is, could I, or should I, recycle the hubs when I rebuild
> > my wheels with Mavic Open Pro rims, as is often suggested here, and
> > some decent DT Swiss spokes (or something), or should I get some
> > Ultegra hubs (or something)?
>
> Turf the hubs. Unless they're the high-end Bontrager ones, they're
> junk.
> I'd suggest 105 hubs, a bit cheaper than Ultegra, and for your use, the
> few grams will make no difference at all, and they roll the same (same
> bearings)
>
I second that. To rebuild the racelites (even the high-end ones) you need a
special tool. The bearings are nothing special though!
I ended up having to take a pair into an LBS who then had to order the
special tool in for a day just to do basic maintenance.
At least the shimano wheelsets (pre built ones) still have proper bearings
in their hubs...

Gemm
 
"Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Travis wrote:
> > Comments from Bleve, and stuff I've seen elsewhere, have been rather
> > disparaging of the quality of certain Bontrager components.
> >
> > I've also heard that Bontrager have a weird spoke configuration which
> > means their hubs are only compatible with their rims, but that might be
> > BS...
> >
> > The rims on my Bontrager wheels are at the end of their life. Several
> > spokes look a little dodgy and some of the spoke nipples are broken,
> > making it impossible to retrue the wheels.
> >
> > So I'm definitely getting some new wheels, or rebuilding the ones I've
> > got.
> >
> > The question is, could I, or should I, recycle the hubs when I rebuild
> > my wheels with Mavic Open Pro rims, as is often suggested here, and
> > some decent DT Swiss spokes (or something), or should I get some
> > Ultegra hubs (or something)?
>
> Turf the hubs. Unless they're the high-end Bontrager ones, they're
> junk.
> I'd suggest 105 hubs, a bit cheaper than Ultegra, and for your use, the
> few grams will make no difference at all, and they roll the same (same
> bearings)
>
I second that. To rebuild the racelites (even the high-end ones) you need a
special tool. The bearings are nothing special though!
I ended up having to take a pair into an LBS who then had to order the
special tool in for a day just to do basic maintenance.
At least the shimano wheelsets (pre built ones) still have proper bearings
in their hubs...

Gemm
 
Gemma_k wrote:
> "Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Travis wrote:
> > > Comments from Bleve, and stuff I've seen elsewhere, have been rather
> > > disparaging of the quality of certain Bontrager components.
> > >
> > > I've also heard that Bontrager have a weird spoke configuration which
> > > means their hubs are only compatible with their rims, but that might be
> > > BS...
> > >
> > > The rims on my Bontrager wheels are at the end of their life. Several
> > > spokes look a little dodgy and some of the spoke nipples are broken,
> > > making it impossible to retrue the wheels.
> > >
> > > So I'm definitely getting some new wheels, or rebuilding the ones I've
> > > got.
> > >
> > > The question is, could I, or should I, recycle the hubs when I rebuild
> > > my wheels with Mavic Open Pro rims, as is often suggested here, and
> > > some decent DT Swiss spokes (or something), or should I get some
> > > Ultegra hubs (or something)?
> >
> > Turf the hubs. Unless they're the high-end Bontrager ones, they're
> > junk.
> > I'd suggest 105 hubs, a bit cheaper than Ultegra, and for your use, the
> > few grams will make no difference at all, and they roll the same (same
> > bearings)
> >
> I second that. To rebuild the racelites (even the high-end ones) you need a
> special tool. The bearings are nothing special though!

That's the 5/16ths socket? I have one .. it cost ... $25! For a
glorified hex wrench!
(and, not very glorified, at that ....).

> I ended up having to take a pair into an LBS who then had to order the
> special tool in for a day just to do basic maintenance.
> At least the shimano wheelsets (pre built ones) still have proper bearings
> in their hubs...

Ja, the bearings in the low end Bonty hubs are a dog's breakfast.
 
Gemma_k wrote:
> "Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Travis wrote:
> > > Comments from Bleve, and stuff I've seen elsewhere, have been rather
> > > disparaging of the quality of certain Bontrager components.
> > >
> > > I've also heard that Bontrager have a weird spoke configuration which
> > > means their hubs are only compatible with their rims, but that might be
> > > BS...
> > >
> > > The rims on my Bontrager wheels are at the end of their life. Several
> > > spokes look a little dodgy and some of the spoke nipples are broken,
> > > making it impossible to retrue the wheels.
> > >
> > > So I'm definitely getting some new wheels, or rebuilding the ones I've
> > > got.
> > >
> > > The question is, could I, or should I, recycle the hubs when I rebuild
> > > my wheels with Mavic Open Pro rims, as is often suggested here, and
> > > some decent DT Swiss spokes (or something), or should I get some
> > > Ultegra hubs (or something)?
> >
> > Turf the hubs. Unless they're the high-end Bontrager ones, they're
> > junk.
> > I'd suggest 105 hubs, a bit cheaper than Ultegra, and for your use, the
> > few grams will make no difference at all, and they roll the same (same
> > bearings)
> >
> I second that. To rebuild the racelites (even the high-end ones) you need a
> special tool. The bearings are nothing special though!

That's the 5/16ths socket? I have one .. it cost ... $25! For a
glorified hex wrench!
(and, not very glorified, at that ....).

> I ended up having to take a pair into an LBS who then had to order the
> special tool in for a day just to do basic maintenance.
> At least the shimano wheelsets (pre built ones) still have proper bearings
> in their hubs...

Ja, the bearings in the low end Bonty hubs are a dog's breakfast.
 
Bleve wrote:

> > I ended up having to take a pair into an LBS who then had to order the
> > special tool in for a day just to do basic maintenance.
> > At least the shimano wheelsets (pre built ones) still have proper bearings
> > in their hubs...
>
> Ja, the bearings in the low end Bonty hubs are a dog's breakfast.

You were saying that 105 hubs have the same mechanism (though a heavier
alloy) than Ultegra hubs, can the same be said of lower spec Shimano
wheels?

I have some old low end Shimano wheels already in storage, if their
hubs are decent maybe I could just build those with some decent rims?

Travis
 
Bleve wrote:

> > I ended up having to take a pair into an LBS who then had to order the
> > special tool in for a day just to do basic maintenance.
> > At least the shimano wheelsets (pre built ones) still have proper bearings
> > in their hubs...
>
> Ja, the bearings in the low end Bonty hubs are a dog's breakfast.

You were saying that 105 hubs have the same mechanism (though a heavier
alloy) than Ultegra hubs, can the same be said of lower spec Shimano
wheels?

I have some old low end Shimano wheels already in storage, if their
hubs are decent maybe I could just build those with some decent rims?

Travis
 
Travis wrote:
> Bleve wrote:
>
> > > I ended up having to take a pair into an LBS who then had to order the
> > > special tool in for a day just to do basic maintenance.
> > > At least the shimano wheelsets (pre built ones) still have proper bearings
> > > in their hubs...
> >
> > Ja, the bearings in the low end Bonty hubs are a dog's breakfast.
>
> You were saying that 105 hubs have the same mechanism (though a heavier
> alloy) than Ultegra hubs,


Not a heavier alloy, a heavier hub. They're bulkier.

> can the same be said of lower spec Shimano
> wheels?

No, or at least, not that I'm aware of.

> I have some old low end Shimano wheels already in storage, if their
> hubs are decent maybe I could just build those with some decent rims?

No, you can't. They have funky lacing patterns and a low spoke count.
You need the matching rims.
 
Travis wrote:
> Bleve wrote:
>
> > > I ended up having to take a pair into an LBS who then had to order the
> > > special tool in for a day just to do basic maintenance.
> > > At least the shimano wheelsets (pre built ones) still have proper bearings
> > > in their hubs...
> >
> > Ja, the bearings in the low end Bonty hubs are a dog's breakfast.
>
> You were saying that 105 hubs have the same mechanism (though a heavier
> alloy) than Ultegra hubs,


Not a heavier alloy, a heavier hub. They're bulkier.

> can the same be said of lower spec Shimano
> wheels?

No, or at least, not that I'm aware of.

> I have some old low end Shimano wheels already in storage, if their
> hubs are decent maybe I could just build those with some decent rims?

No, you can't. They have funky lacing patterns and a low spoke count.
You need the matching rims.
 
Travis wrote:

> I have some old low end Shimano wheels already in storage, if their
> hubs are decent maybe I could just build those with some decent rims?
>
> Travis

That sounds like a false economy to me, just do it right the first
time. Otherwise, when things go wrong, you're going to spend more to
fix it up.
 
"Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Gemma_k wrote:
>> "Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> >
>> > Travis wrote:
>> > > Comments from Bleve, and stuff I've seen elsewhere, have been rather
>> > > disparaging of the quality of certain Bontrager components.
>> > >
>> > > I've also heard that Bontrager have a weird spoke configuration which
>> > > means their hubs are only compatible with their rims, but that might
>> > > be
>> > > BS...
>> > >
>> > > The rims on my Bontrager wheels are at the end of their life.
>> > > Several
>> > > spokes look a little dodgy and some of the spoke nipples are broken,
>> > > making it impossible to retrue the wheels.
>> > >
>> > > So I'm definitely getting some new wheels, or rebuilding the ones
>> > > I've
>> > > got.
>> > >
>> > > The question is, could I, or should I, recycle the hubs when I
>> > > rebuild
>> > > my wheels with Mavic Open Pro rims, as is often suggested here, and
>> > > some decent DT Swiss spokes (or something), or should I get some
>> > > Ultegra hubs (or something)?
>> >
>> > Turf the hubs. Unless they're the high-end Bontrager ones, they're
>> > junk.
>> > I'd suggest 105 hubs, a bit cheaper than Ultegra, and for your use, the
>> > few grams will make no difference at all, and they roll the same (same
>> > bearings)
>> >
>> I second that. To rebuild the racelites (even the high-end ones) you
>> need a
>> special tool. The bearings are nothing special though!
>
> That's the 5/16ths socket? I have one .. it cost ... $25! For a
> glorified hex wrench!
> (and, not very glorified, at that ....).

No it was a tricky shaped propriatry spline tool thing, made by Bastards
Inc.
See it p27 here:
http://www.bontrager.com/assets/File_Listings/asset_upload_file335_970.pdf
The wheels I was changing hte bearings in were race X lites
Replacement bearings came from the bearing shop round the corner, they were
nothing special either :)

Gemm
 
Gemma_k wrote:

> > That's the 5/16ths socket? I have one .. it cost ... $25! For a
> > glorified hex wrench!
> > (and, not very glorified, at that ....).
>
> No it was a tricky shaped propriatry spline tool thing, made by Bastards
> Inc.
> See it p27 here:
> http://www.bontrager.com/assets/File_Listings/asset_upload_file335_970.pdf
> The wheels I was changing hte bearings in were race X lites
> Replacement bearings came from the bearing shop round the corner, they were
> nothing special either :)

Ahha, ok. After we pulled mine to bits and resolved that it wasn't
worth reassembling until Trek decide to redesign the freehub body so
it'll survive 10sp cassettes, we didn't bother to put it back together.
I just got the spoke tool to keep the one I'm still hacking about on
(front) true. It's done 16,000km or so now, and has a tiny wobble.
They're strong in that regard, at least. But they will *not* be my
next wheels!
 
"Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>> >
> > No it was a tricky shaped propriatry spline tool thing, made by Bastards
> > Inc.
> > See it p27 here:
> >
http://www.bontrager.com/assets/File_Listings/asset_upload_file335_970.pdf
> > The wheels I was changing hte bearings in were race X lites
> > Replacement bearings came from the bearing shop round the corner, they
were
> > nothing special either :)
>
> Ahha, ok. After we pulled mine to bits and resolved that it wasn't
> worth reassembling until Trek decide to redesign the freehub body so
> it'll survive 10sp cassettes, we didn't bother to put it back together.
> I just got the spoke tool to keep the one I'm still hacking about on
> (front) true. It's done 16,000km or so now, and has a tiny wobble.
> They're strong in that regard, at least. But they will *not* be my
> next wheels!
>
Maybe rebuild it and get a one peice cnc cassette? (that spreads the load
over the entire width of the spline instead of just one cog?)

I have to say I've been impressed with both the current model Zipp hubs and
Ksyrium SL's too. I haven't touched either of them, ever. And they get a
fair bit of loading from big ol' me.
Gemm
 
Gemma_k wrote:
> "Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> >> >
> > > No it was a tricky shaped propriatry spline tool thing, made by Bastards
> > > Inc.
> > > See it p27 here:
> > >
> http://www.bontrager.com/assets/File_Listings/asset_upload_file335_970.pdf
> > > The wheels I was changing hte bearings in were race X lites
> > > Replacement bearings came from the bearing shop round the corner, they
> were
> > > nothing special either :)
> >
> > Ahha, ok. After we pulled mine to bits and resolved that it wasn't
> > worth reassembling until Trek decide to redesign the freehub body so
> > it'll survive 10sp cassettes, we didn't bother to put it back together.
> > I just got the spoke tool to keep the one I'm still hacking about on
> > (front) true. It's done 16,000km or so now, and has a tiny wobble.
> > They're strong in that regard, at least. But they will *not* be my
> > next wheels!
> >
> Maybe rebuild it and get a one peice cnc cassette? (that spreads the load
> over the entire width of the spline instead of just one cog?)
>
> I have to say I've been impressed with both the current model Zipp hubs and
> Ksyrium SL's too. I haven't touched either of them, ever. And they get a
> fair bit of loading from big ol' me.

Have you swapped cassettes much on these? The zipps are just DT Swiss,
AFAIK, not sure where the mavic's come from though?


> Gemm
 
"Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Gemma_k wrote:
> > "Bleve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > >
> > >> >
> > > > No it was a tricky shaped propriatry spline tool thing, made by
Bastards
> > > > Inc.
> > > > See it p27 here:
> > > >
> >
http://www.bontrager.com/assets/File_Listings/asset_upload_file335_970.pdf
> > > > The wheels I was changing hte bearings in were race X lites
> > > > Replacement bearings came from the bearing shop round the corner,
they
> > were
> > > > nothing special either :)
> > >
> > > Ahha, ok. After we pulled mine to bits and resolved that it wasn't
> > > worth reassembling until Trek decide to redesign the freehub body so
> > > it'll survive 10sp cassettes, we didn't bother to put it back
together.
> > > I just got the spoke tool to keep the one I'm still hacking about on
> > > (front) true. It's done 16,000km or so now, and has a tiny wobble.
> > > They're strong in that regard, at least. But they will *not* be my
> > > next wheels!
> > >
> > Maybe rebuild it and get a one peice cnc cassette? (that spreads the
load
> > over the entire width of the spline instead of just one cog?)
> >
> > I have to say I've been impressed with both the current model Zipp hubs
and
> > Ksyrium SL's too. I haven't touched either of them, ever. And they get
a
> > fair bit of loading from big ol' me.
>
> Have you swapped cassettes much on these? The zipps are just DT Swiss,
> AFAIK, not sure where the mavic's come from though?
>
On the zipps I have. Slight 'gouging' but nothing like yours. I run 9spd
though!
The ksyriums I haven't touched.
I was actually referring to the hubs as a whole - never had to adjust or fix
anything. (except for the annoying carbon end cap on the zipp hubs)
Gemma
 
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