Submitted by
YaMon
a Weekend Warrior
from Tampa Date Reviewed: October 28, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Ridgeline
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At:
EBay
Strengths:
None.
Weaknesses:
Total Crap. Freehub blew up on the first ride.
Similar Products Used:
King, Hope
Bottom Line:
Stay away from these, even if you get them for free. Not worth messing up a ride.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jose
a Racer
from snowshoe, wv, usa Date Reviewed: September 24, 2009
Favorite Trail:
huckelberry -- allegheny
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
ho-sale
Strengths:
looked cool .. 150 mm rear hub
Weaknesses:
a carbon fiber hub is BS on a DH wheel, mudfka exploded and all of the aluminum shreaded apart leaving only the carbon fiber core. Rode it on just the carbon fiber core for the rest of the 10 mile DH run.. haven't heard back from trek/bontrager
Bike Setup:
demo
Bottom Line:
do not use if you weigh over 125 lbs or ride DH
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jlmexpress
a Weekend Warrior
from PR. Date Reviewed: August 16, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Salinas
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$285.00
Purchased At:
eBay
Strengths:
Rim
Weaknesses:
Hub
Similar Products Used:
DT SW
Bike Setup:
King Fisher
Bottom Line:
To all that maters can not take any kind of T=rXF that have to do with a rider over 220 lb. PIRIOD...... Pawls & inner component looks like grind up metal fused cr@%$#pola..... Do not even try to fix it will be the same bull different trail very upset with bontrager......love there products fond a flaw.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
NO_BRAKES
a Weekend Warrior
from Ellicott City Date Reviewed: December 1, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Widow Maker, "the ridge trail"
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$650.00
Purchased At:
Came with $3,200 bik
Strengths:
ABSOLUTELY NONE! Cool looking but so are all black wheels with white letter logos.
Weaknesses:
Spend three months preparing to get in shape on my old bike to handle the uphill with my new 46lbs bike, yes I said I pedal uphill on a 46lbs bike. Finally in shape, August. Took new $3,200 DH/FR bike out with brand new King Earl wheels on it for it's first ever ride. TEN MINUTES into the ride, I hear a clicking from the rear engagement. I figure it's my derailer, IT'S NOT! ONE HALF HOUR into the ride, rear hub internal breaks completely. Single track, low elevation, no steep hill climbs, a PARK in maryland, and it breaks on me under no severe load! I'm freaking shocked! Confused? $650 King Earls BREAK after a half hour? I'm 4 miles in, 92 degrees and humidity. Walking ALL THE WAY BACK TO MY CAR! THANKS for the great quality Bontrager! Contact my bike shop in Linthicum... Bike shop warrants part. Orders new part. Takes TWO weeks to come in. Bike shop repairs, take bike out for second voyage. 10 minutes in, clicking! 30 minutes into woods, BREAKS AGAIN! Pedalling and NO moving. Hubs broke. WALK OUT OF WOODS A SECOND TIME! Come back to bike shop. Bike shop warrants hub. WHOLE new hub ordered, rim taken off, hub relaced with spokes and re-trued by bike shop. TAKES THREE WEEKS! Not bike shop's fault. Bontrager took almost three weeks to get part to bike shop. Get bike back together, Summer now over, take both Bontragers off bike, order new Hadley hubs at a cost of $100 over the bontragers with Sun Ringle MTX 33 rims, hold Bontragers till Christmas to put on Ebay and unload for a serious $$$ loss to me. GEE THANKS BONTRAGER for making a lousy inferior product, that broke TWICE! Makes you wonder why they no longer have King Earl's on their website. THANK GOD FOR HADLEYS! I Highly Recommend Hadleys with 72 engagement! Well worth the extra hundred bucks over TREK BOUGHT BONTRAGER! See what happens to quality when a large company buys a small one!? I'm keeping the Big Earl Tires but probably going to get a serious dry rot crack this next season and turn buy a HIGH quality set of MAXXIS Minions which I have on my other bike.
Similar Products Used:
Rolf Dolomites, Shimano XT's with SUN RYNO LITE RIMS, (Pricepoint.com special) both of which are bomb proof!
Bike Setup:
Bontrager King Fisher, Manitou Travis Tripple Intrinsic fork with 20mm thru axel, all Sram 10.0 and now NEW GORGEOUS HADLEY HUBS with Sun Ringle MTX-33's.
Bottom Line:
Bottom Line, Bontrager SERIOUSLY let me down with inferior workmanship. Bike shop tells me that a part inside must have not been tightened from factory and it seemed to be the cause of the first part breaking and the second one, god knows what happened. Two in a row? No longer a bontrager customer. Sorry Bontrager, but your seats lack padding like other brands. Keep charging high prices and offering lesser quality, that's what GM and FORD have been doing for years and we all see now where that's going!
I'd never suggest these rims to anyone. That's why I'm selling them on Ebay for a loss. Let someone else get stuck with the low quality workmanship.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ilikebikes99
a Downhiller
from Scotland Date Reviewed: June 19, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Fort William
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Hubs, Rims, Spokes, Looks so ye... Everything
Weaknesses:
Nothing
Similar Products Used:
Mavic Deemax
Bike Setup:
Intense Socom, Boxxer World Cups
Bottom Line:
Used to have deemax but the rims bent, buckled and got flat spots. King Earl hubs have worked perfectly for over a year, obviously I won't cover as many miles as a xc rider but I really can't fault these. I've given them a real thrashing and the rims are still as straight as a die. They look the dogs to....
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
edward
a Weekend Warrior
from bronx,ny Date Reviewed: November 14, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Front Hub is good
Weaknesses:
REAR HUB REAR HUB
Similar Products Used:
Machinetech Silent HUB, Older Shimano XT Hubs
Bike Setup:
sram xo shifters, xo rear derailer, xt front fox dhx4 coil, manitou travis intrinsic
Bottom Line:
This is the worst rear hub i've ever had.. i'm a big guy, but its crazy to have 2 rear hubs go only after riding each 2 times... i'm now on wheel #3 in 3 weeks... i have no confidence in this rear hub.. I would never buy a bontrager rear hub.. On the plus side since this wheel came with my bike gary fisher has been great with replacing the broken wheels through bike shop where i purchased my bike.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jordan
a Downhiller
from B.C Date Reviewed: August 19, 2007
Favorite Trail:
pink starfish -Froam
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
b.s.p
Strengths:
these wheels are awesome. there super light and stiff no problems with them so far!
05 gary fisher king fisher 1 w/ marzocchi 07 66 rc2x, 2008 avid code 5, dhx 4, bantrager king earl wheels, protaper os bars, sram x9, bontrager king earl cranks w/ 5050xx pedals and an e.13 srs.
Bottom Line:
these wheels are great, there is no downside to them, pritty stiff, as far as i know they can handle 25 foot dropps. BUY THESE YOU WONT REGRET IT
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chad VB
a Downhiller
from Blacksburg, VA, USA Date Reviewed: April 30, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Virginia Tech
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
Stock on bike
Strengths:
they roll, cartridge bearings, bling bling carbon hubs, front wheel.
Weaknesses:
REAR HUB... the thing was doodoo, it just stopped engaging after a few months of use. the rear rim was so wavy with flat spots and dents that i was contemplating lacing the hub upto a new rim, then the hub crapped out.
Similar Products Used:
azonic outlaw
Bike Setup:
trek session 77, azonic outlaws, other goodies.
Bottom Line:
These things are so expensive and so crappy. I have been fairly happy with the rest of my bontrager components but these wheels were horrid. Correction... the rear wheel was horrid. I took these off the bike and the front wheel was perfectly straight and didn't have a single dent in it. I sold it to a buddy of mine. I would not by these again even if I could get them on sale. It would be money wasted. 2 chilis only because of the cartridge bearings and the front wheels awesomeness.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tim
a Weekend Warrior
from Madison, CT Date Reviewed: September 24, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Paid-N-Full
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Came with bike
Strengths:
Rims still true, front hub stiff.
Weaknesses:
Rear Hub, 6 rides and the internals are smoked. Climbing a short steep hill and hub went bang. Would not engage and had to walk back to the car. I was going through 2 XT hubs a year, I did not expect these things to be worse.
Similar Products Used:
XT(Suck but cheap) Chris King (never has failed me, the best)
Bike Setup:
2006 Trek Session 77, Travis 180mm single crown, King Earl, Sram, Hayes.
Bottom Line:
Very pissed about the rear hub, Bontrager claims that these things are bomb proof, what a joke. I weigh 230, I guess the hub can't take the torque produced by my fat a$$. Not sure I want to take the time to rebuild it if it is only going to fail me again.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ricky
a Downhiller
from Canada Date Reviewed: August 3, 2006
Favorite Trail:
blue
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
weight,stong
Similar Products Used:
ryno lites,sun double tracks
Bike Setup:
Trek session(Big Earl wheels)
Bottom Line:
I actually have the Big Earl wheels but their is no listing for them. The big Earl wheel set has been flawless so far. I am a heavier rider 215lbs and have ridden these wheels pretty hard downhilling and hucking and they still keep spinning true.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mark nichols
a Weekend Warrior
from aberdeen, scotland Date Reviewed: May 3, 2006
Favorite Trail:
fungle
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$350.00
Strengths:
absolutely solid, not to heavy and really add great performance to hard riding
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
mavic
Bike Setup:
Kona Caldera, Pike 140mm U turn, Hayes 9s King Earls
Bottom Line:
Just a good hard hitting wheelset, adds great performance and comes with 20mm bolt through front, these are up for some serious abuse and keep rolling straight
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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