Lightweight and race proven – Race Lite wheels feature OSB rear rim design, and the Bontrager Tubeless sealing system, which can be used with either standard tires with tubes or with a wide range of tubeless tire
Rims are welded for superior strength, machined for smooth braking, and ceramic coated to eliminate sidewall wear-through
Features OSB in the rear, which further reduces dish and is engineered to provide enough stiffness for even the most abusive riders
Hubs are Swiss made, fully serviceable, triple sealed, cartridge bearing design which uses aluminum axles and a star ratchet system in the rear; KB's HiLo ATB rear hub design ensures excellent spoke bracing angles for improved lateral wheel stiffness – aluminum freehub body should be used with aluminum bodied cassettes
Spokes are superlight 14/17G butted stainless steel with alloy locking nipples; J-bend type allows for replacement with any standard 14G spoke in a pinch
Strengths: Nice wheels, pretty light, strong, tubeless set up took about 10 minutes for both wheels, look sweet
Weaknesses: No that i found
Bottom Line:
These are great wheels very fast rolling. I ride pretty aggresive cross county, and i weight about 185-195 lbs and have had no trouble with them bending or poping at all. The tubeless kit when in buttery smooth and has me rolling fast with no worries about pinch flats. Great wheels would recomend them if you don't want to spend over a grand on wheels.
Similar Products Used: mavic crosslands, stan's 355's
Bike Setup: Trek top fuel 8, mavic crossmax sl wheelset, xt crank, full slx
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Submitted by
AsianPersuasion
a Cross Country Rider
from Queens, NY
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2009
Strengths: Strong, light, nice engagement.
Weaknesses: Installing tires.
Bottom Line:
I have taken these wheels through hell. They have eaten rocks, jumps, drops, stairs, getting stepped on, and other inhumane situations. They have been on various trails at various pressures and done a stint on commuter bike with slicks. They have held up admirably, never having to be trued once in 3 plus years. One of the lighter wheels on the market so a great choice for xc bikes and gram counters.
So why do they frustrate me so much. CHANGING TIRES!!! They were fine when I ran the tubeless. But then I went to tubes. OH MY GOD!!! Broke two sets of tire irons getting them on. Figured the tires will break in and stretch. NEVER! Changed tires, broke more tire irons!
Having a heck of a time getting them to sit right. Have to get them on, fill the tire to 75+psi, allow it "POP" into place, and deflate them to proper pressure. A lot of work. Always afraid the tire itself would actually explode, damaging my pretty face or my eardrums. I usually pump them up and leave them in another room. Seriously could not imagine getting a flat on the trail. I dread the day that happens and will probably be the reason I finally toss them into the dumpster.
My rating is for strength to weight ratio. Value goes down for the costs of tire irons and since time is money, the time required to mount tires.
Similar Products Used: Crossmax, Various Mavic builds, American Classics
Bike Setup: Dean Ace Ti
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Submitted by
bikefx
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2009
Strengths: Light, conventional design and parts = easily serviceable.
Weaknesses: TOO DIFFICULT to install tires! We (bike shop) tried to change the tires on a set and the owner of the shop who in his 18years in the business has only broken 1 tire lever, broke about 5 levers changing tires on this single wheelset and took him 1.5hrs! Used talc pwdr, water etc. And they still couldnt hold air!
Bottom Line:
Horrible and absolutely unacceptable product. The Bontrager Race X Lite should not exist. Period.
Submitted by
roroman
a Cross Country Rider
from mexico
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2009
Strengths: after 1 year of riding and as a race novice, thay have taken my abuse very well(until the front rim became an 8)my bad. with the proper amount of tire sealant I have never had a flat. I use maxxis larsens
Weaknesses: the black coating gets scratched easily.
Bottom Line:
after my latest trail crash the front rim gave up on me.
I have just ordered the same rim and will do it again.
This is a similar review that I posted in another section since my exact model is not listed.
I have a set of the Bontrager Race X lite tubeless wheelset that came stock on my fully XTR equipped top of the line Trek Fuel 100.
I installed Maxxis 310 tires and converted to tubeless with stans sealant. Wheels already came with tubeless rimstrips and valves.
Dropped close to a pound per wheel of rotating mass... AWESOME.
I'm a big guy, weigh close to 270lbs, and was very weary of riding these light weight wheels, let alone a very light bike with my heavy six foot frame.
These wheels and the bike have held up for years, never needing to be trued (much to my surprise), and roll as smoothly as the first day I got em, to this day.
I ride mostly street, but on the few occasions that I went off-road, even with my skinny MTB Maxxis 310 tires, these wheels have held up to some serious rock pounding and jumps.
The front wheel is radialy laced, and I was sure I would taco is my first ride. NOPE! The rear is radial laced none-drive side, and an "offset" cross 2 pattern on the drive side.
This wheelset is for rim brakes, but now I'm looking to get a similar disc wheelset from Bontrager for my All-Mountain bike.
Cheaper and made in the US, unlike some of the competition from foo-foo France, and cheap Asia. 5 Stars !!!
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT WH-M765, others.
Bike Setup: Maxxis 310's converted to tubeless with stans on a Trek Fuel Carbon 100.
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Submitted by
Stefan Aichele
a Cross Country Rider
from Waterloo, ON, CANADA
Date Reviewed: July 18, 2006
Strengths: Very light and strong wheel set, I run them as tubeless wheels.
Weaknesses: Mounting of tires is tough; use lots of soap and lots of muscle to seat tires.
Bottom Line:
I love the wheels! They are fast, light and durable. I did not experience any leaking issues as described by other riders. Once I have a flat on the trail I might change my mind on the wheels since I cannot picture fixing the tubeless tire, seat the tire back on the rim and get air in them quickly enough with a mini pump.
Strengths: Light, very fast and strong. I have beat these wheels and they are still true and round. Won't use any other wheels again...
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
This wheelset is amazing for holding up to what I have put it through. Had Crossmax SL's before these and they were nothing but problems. Customer Service pretty much told me to pound sand!!! I will never change from my Race Lite tubeless wheels. Thank you for a great product Bontrager...
I bought this wheelset used on ebay almost a year ago and I would do the same again today. If I could afford it would surely also buy a new set of RaceLites. They take a lot of S##T due to my crappy riding technique and, still, they stay true. Only broke one, single spoke in the last year. The hubs are the true gems of the wheelset but the rims, they are almost service-free, and the lacing and the UST tape is a-okay. Very easy to service, you can quickfix a broken spoke w. a standard spoke. I acknowledge what is said in this forum about the front wheel flexing but the wheelset suits me fine, I sit down the most of the time, and there's no long and steep/technical demanding downhills in my country. I choose value rating to be 4 because I'm sure there must be better (stiffer, lighter) wheelsets out there. Overall is dead certain: High five!
Bike Setup: Scott RC30 w. Race Face, SRAM x.o., Easton and other stuff.
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Submitted by
steve
a Cross Country Rider
from salt lake city, utah , usa
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2005
Strengths: light and fast
Weaknesses: crazy tough to rim tires
Bottom Line:
Busted all 7 of my tire levers changing the Bontrager Revolt X UST's that came with these rims. Use lots of soapy water with these rims.....on the trail? HMMMMM...maybe in a hydration pack. You'd think they'd have devised a better marriage than tires that suck up each and every thorn with rims that fight your efforts to change them. 3 chilis because they are fast and light...just DON'T get a flat!
Submitted by
Some Guy
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2005
Strengths: Light weight
Weaknesses: Flex in front wheel. Loud freewheel (might do it for other people, but I hate it).
Bottom Line:
I bought this wheelset because I am racing my Rincon, which is far too heavy stock. The bontragers were fairly cheap, considering they had never been used and came with the original pair of UST tires.
After reading the reviews on here, I was worried I'd knock the wheels out of true within days. However I've had them for a while now, and they are still completely true. My only strength issue is the sideways flex on the front wheel thanks to the radial spoking. Would spoking it properly really have added that much weigh? Oh well.
The bottom line is if you can find one cheap, go for it. The US$700 listed price is just crazy though.
Weaknesses: Had to replace spokes, true once due to collision at finish shute
Bottom Line:
I'm an old fart who just finished 3rd year of racing. I like this wheel set and tire combo. I spent more time in big ring this season than any past. The set up really flies. I have 1000 - 1500 miles on the wheel set. They were used for racing and training, including rock gardens in Colorado. They roll much faster than the Bonty Valiant XTR hub combo used last year. Very satisfied with the product. No complaints.
Bike Setup: 2003 Trek Fuel 98 with upgrade to old xtr shifter rear derailleur. Michelin Comp S Light tubeless with Stan's
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Submitted by
Marcus
a Weekend Warrior
from London, England
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2004
Strengths: Lightweight, looks. Very fast rolling - makes my bike move fast.
Weaknesses: Braking surface is disappearing too quickly. They are nearly impossible to fit / remove tyres to (unless you have several pairs of hands). Deflate very quickly (2 days, 40psi - 0psi). Bottom line is to fit tubes and forget - what's the point of buying tubeless?
Similar Products Used: Wheel sets that work (mavic)
Bike Setup: Trek 8000 upgraded to the hilt
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Submitted by
Mario Muredda
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2004
Strengths: Light, good braking surface, great hubs
Weaknesses: Flexy, tiny spokes, IMPOSSIBLE to mount/change tires
Bottom Line:
Nice wheelset if you don't ride singletrack and/or don't plan to remove the tires. If you do ride singletrack, buy a truing stand, 'cause your wheels will be on it every day....and buy a dishing tool too--mine came out of dish. As for the tires, forget about installing a tube quickly on the trail if you flat....it took me an hour to mount my tires onto these wheels, and 6 tire levers (and alot of skin off my hands). The rimstrip in them is just too shallow and makes mounting tires virtually impossible. Solution? a) Call Trek--they offered a bit of advice. b) Buy a set of Crossmax wheels.
I am no light wieght and niether is my bike, but wheel set has allowed me to drop a couple of pounds off my bike and improve the wheel strength overall.
Bike Setup: IDrive, revolt x tires, xt componants and judy shock!
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Submitted by
Lee Wilson
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, Texas, US
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2003
Strengths: Very light, stong, great hubs, came perfectly true out of the box.
Weaknesses: Hard to mount tires, but ALL tubless tires are hard to mount.
Bottom Line:
Very nice product. I've seen a lot of wheels come in and out of the shop and so far nothing matches these. The CrossMax SL's weigh more and are harder to set up with the disks so I decided to go with the Bontrager's. I'm glad I did, I'm very impressed with this wheelset. I cut a pound and a half off my bike and just love the tubeless.
If anyone is thinking about a good wheel set, the RaceLite Tubeless is hard to beat.
Similar Products Used: Bontrager Corvairs (HEAVY), Mavic CrossMax SL's
Bike Setup: 2003 Gary Fisher Tassajara Disk, 02 Duke SL, XTR shifters, Sram 9.0 brake levers, Salsa grips, Chris King headset, Selle Italia Flite, XTR cranks/BB, XT rear, Sram 7.0 cassette, Sram PC99 chain, Time ATAC Alum pedals...
I am going to buy a new set of wheels with a portion of my next paycheck.
I ride in Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington (state). For those from out of the area that's like r Read More »
[B]Cross posted in "wheels" -- posted here because I've hung out here for a decade and typically get quicker responses and, heck, it is about a "light" wheelset.[/B]
I've been r Read More »
I've been running Stans for years on a variety of wheelsets with no problems. However, a friend has asked me to set up his Bontrager RaceLite Tubeless wheelset for him. He is curre Read More »
Im running the bontrager racelite tubeless rims with the bontrager jones tubless tires. im using tubes at the moment but just attempted to replace one of the tubes and i guess caus Read More »
