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Bontrager
RXL TLR Disc 26
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Submitted by
Ross
a Weekend Warrior
from Moab
Date Reviewed: January 18, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Strengths: | Low weight. They are claimed at 1540grams. Mine weigh in at 1632grams including the valves and rim strips but no skewers. Hubs are DT Swiss 240's rebranded. Good looks | | Weaknesses: | Flex! Whilst these wheels are very nice they flex. | | Bottom Line: | Im 250 pounds and found these wheels to be a bit flexy. Being so heavy doesn't help mind but the general opinion is that they flex a bit. In saying that this hasn't caused any problems my rims still run true and ive never needed to re-tension the spokes. The build quality is excellent - they are hand made instead of machine made. The tubeless system is by far the BEST system out there however. Fitting a tubeless tyre is a sinch and i have never had a burp from them unlike the stans system etc. Centrelock is a nice feature but as said unless you use a shimano rotor you need an adapter which costs more and adds 80grams to the wheelset.
Overall ive been very happy with mine, i got them mega cheap and they have never been a problem however i will be trading them in for something a bit stiffer. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Don Staniszewski
a Cross Country Rider
from Roseville, CA
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Foresthill Divide | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$280.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Lightweight | | Weaknesses: | Had two sets - Hubs cracked on two wheels, both front wheels. Poor design. Cracked not while riding, but while bike was parked. Wheels still have a bit of flex that is noticeable - I thought with the amount of spokes that they would be a bit stiffer. | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic Crossroc, Shimano XT | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel 100 full carbon full suspension, Skareb Elite front shock, Fox Float RL rear shock, Panaracer Fire X Pro tires with Stan's sealant. | | Bottom Line: | These are very light wheels, but can't hold up - disappointing. I am 5'11" and 185 pounds. These wheels are better suited for light riders. I ride cross country, so don't do any silly jumping or hucking. I did an 8 hour race and the front wheel hub cracked a day after the race. I should have known, I had both the Race Lite and the Race X Lite wheels - same problem with both. I read previous reviews that this might be a problem, and sure enough, it was. I am finally going over to get a better quality wheel and pay the money - Mavic Crossmax SL wheels. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RICH A.
a Cross Country Rider
from HOLLY SPRINGS, NC, USA
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Bent Creek, NC | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | MTBR classifieds! | | Strengths: | This review is for the Race X Lite Disk Tubeless wheelset. Strengths: Light weight, high quality hubs, superior tubeless design with true UST shaped rim "inserts". Tubeless valves with removable cores. | | Weaknesses: | 2-cross spoke lacing reminds me that these are XC wheels that probably should not be jumped or ridden beyond their intended use. MSRP of $750 or so is outrageous IMHO. Bontrager stuff is only available through your friendly local Trek dealer... lame. Bontrager, please enter the 21st century and sell online for crying out loud. I don't need a dealer to hold my hand while he gouges my wallet. Because of this, I did NOT buy through a local dealer... I found a new set being sold by an individual. | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager Race Lite Disk Tubeless wheels. | | Bike Setup: | Large '06 Intense Spider XVP with Reba fork, RP3 rear shock, and the usual assortment of high-end XC parts... SRAM! | | Bottom Line: | These seem to be great wheels, FOR ME. I waited and waited to buy these because I think most wheels are overpriced, so I jumped on the opportunity to buy these brand new for a deep discount from someone who was customizing a racing hardtail.
The claimed weight is 1540g and mine actually came in at 1526g (without rim strips or skewers or rotors)... I could not believe it. The Tubeless rim strip inserts weigh 51-52g each, so you need to add that to the wheel weight if you want to go tubeless. This is a far superior design compared to the aftermarket rim strips available for most rims. That is one of the main reasons I didn't get a custom set of wheels with the Mavic 717 rim for example... I trust the Bontrager UST system way more. These strips have a UST shape that looks exactly like the Mavic 819 profile (as it should). I have run my Bontrager wheels tubeless with standard tires and they lock onto these strips with a bang. I would be afraid to run standard tires using a system like Stan's rim strip, but the Bontrager design is confidence inspiring.
Here's how these wheels compare to the Race Lites:
- 2-cross spoke lacing vs. 3-cross
- 14/16 gauge spokes vs. 14/15 gauge
- those 2 differences make them a bit flexier. I weigh 145lbs and can feel them flex more.
- DT Swiss 240 hubs vs. DT Swiss Onyx
- Centerlock hubs vs. 6-bolt... I like the centerlock design, but the adaptor is required for anything other than Shimano rotors. The adaptor is way overpriced at about $35 each.
- Lighter... these are a LOT lighter (1526g vs. 1820g)... that would be 702g front, 824g rear.
- I think the rim is the same extrusion with the offset spoke bed, but perhaps made of the Bontrager ZR9000 aluminum which makes these lighter (not sure though!)
- these have the exact same rim strips
- these have the same 28 spoke count per wheel
- the skewers work better on the Race X Lites... not sure why, but they are better.
As far as riding goes, the only difference I can immediately feel is the additional flex, but this is not a bad thing... just something I notice. I honestly did not expect to feel a huge difference due to the weight since most of the savings is in the hubs rather than the rims, but as any weight weenie or racer knows, you get a light bike by getting light parts, and this was just about the last place for me to save lots of weight on my bike. However, this bike rockets forward when hammering, so the light weight wheels certainly don't hurt it!
Bottom line: these are excellent race/XC wheels for someone who doesn't weigh too much (say 175lbs+). I highly recommend them, ESPECIALLY if you plan to go tubeless.
Value is only 3 flaming turds if you pay full price... I put 4 since I got them at a discount.
Overall Rating is 5 turds! | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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