Road Cycling - Bontrager Race Lite wheels: am I too fat?

I rode about 25 miles with these wheels after just purchasing them and when I got back they needed to be trued. I figured that since the wheels were new the spokes just need to be broke in. Well I took the wheel up and had the LBS re-true the wheel and I just returned from a 30 mile ride and the wheel is hitting the brakes again. I know that I didn't hit an larger potholes but the bike path and roads are not the best around. So, do I weight too much for this wheel? I'm right around 190 lbs 6' tall. I figured that they would be ok but now I'm concerned. Is there something I can do or do I need new wheels? The front seems ok it's just the rear that is giving me trouble.

Could someone recommend a wheel that can take the punishment and remain true?

Thanks

Open Pro + Ultegra.

I imagine any 32 spoke wheel will work great for you. If those are nearly new, get them retrued and sell them on ebay. You can get some ultegra hubs built to DT rims at a great price. Colorado cyclist is a good place to look.

Open Pro + Ultegra.

Yep. Tried and true, lightweight recommendation there.

And it's not that you're necessarily too fat for Bonty race lite wheels...it's that Bonty race lite wheels are too suck for you.

how old are they? are they the stock ones on the 5.5 you bought? i weigh about 195 and have put about 100 miles on a set of race x lites here recently (including some rougher roads) and i have had no issues with them. your wheels have a 5 year warranty, aside from the annoyance, ride the piss out of them.

Your weight should not be a problem with them... they are probably still breaking in... Also, check the spoke tension on them-- bontragers usually are not tensioned properly when you buy them new.

i have a few hundred miles on my race lites still straight
but i am only 140lb

At 190, you should be OKAY for the wheels. You might need to true them more often than most, but certainly not after every 30 miles. I think they might not be built properly. See what happens, maybe Bontrager will warranty them?

Thanks for the info guys. I'll contact the local LBS today and ask them what they think I should do. I do believe that they will need to be rebuilt, retensioned or warrentied.

As for a new wheel...
Banana you mentioned the Open Pro + Ultegra. I looked them up on Colorado cyclist (thanks Texas) and I'll look into picking some up. If I decide to go with them I'll shoot you a PM for more details.

R00ster
These are the stock wheels on my Madone 5.5. I have less than 100 miles on the bike.

Yeah this falls into the category: "if you have to ask..."

You are right on the bleeding edge of what most high-performance wheels are designed for. It seems every year, wheel manufacturers cater more and more to the gram counting weight weenies by shaving more material from the wheels, and lowering the Rider Weight Limits.

I like to put the heavier riders on Mavic Elites or something.

Here is my respose from Bontrager:

Thanks for writing. I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble with your
wheel. It definitely isn't your weight that is the problem. I would
suggest taking them back into the shop and explaining the situation.
What they need to do is put some spoke retention compound on all the
nipples to keep this from happening. If they have any questions just
have them give me a call at XXXX

Ride on,
Chris


I called the LBS and they are going to rebuild the wheels for me free of charge. One more reason to buy local. If that doesn't work I'll order the Open Pro + Ultegra.

I had the same problem with 07 Race X Lites. I am 215 and the first 2 rides they were out of true. Took them back into my shop and they re-tensioned them and I have not had another problem in well over 2k miles.

I just purchased a Trek that came with the race lites. I swaped them for ksyrium elites before leaving the shop. I have friends who are over 185 have trouble keeping the bontragers in true and eventually breaking spokes. I didn't want to risk it. I weigh 215.

I had the same problem with Race Lites also - although I got 2,000 miles out of them before they needed a major truing, rebuild, warranty replacement (twice), etc. I was weighing 185 when I finally gave up on them and bought Ksyriums.

It definitely shouldn't be your weight, this clyde has 500 miles on my 2008 Madone Perf 5.2 and just had a couple loose spokes worked on recently. LBS also unofficially recommended removing the reflectors on the spokes if you never ride at night because they can cause turbulence that eventually loosens the spokes. I should have done that anyway but never got around to it, they're gone now.

they can cause turbulence that eventually loosens the spokes.

That should go in Sheldon Brown's (peace be upon him) "April Fools/Gullibility tax" section on his website. That's some funny stuff there.

I've got some Symmetrispokes (TM) to sell you!

Bonty Race Lites are a weird wheelset from a production standpoint. Lots of people swear they are great wheels, and lots of people swear they suck. I have some as training wheels and are very happy with them, 10000 miles and still in good shape. Real good friend of mine has the same wheels and has had nothing but problems with them. Maybe they just have a really bad quality control process.

Local LBS swears by, and has some 180-200+lb monsters riding various Bontrager wheels. He does concede that spoke tension is fairly crucial to them living a long happy life. Once they are tensioned properly they should be good to go.

That should go in Sheldon Brown's (peace be upon him) "April Fools/Gullibility tax" section on his website. That's some funny stuff there.

I've got some Symmetrispokes (TM) to sell you!

Well, he was telling us how "great" the wheels were because he's gotten 500 whole miles out of them and has only had to tighten two spokes!

I rode about 25 miles with these wheels after just purchasing them and when I got back they needed to be trued. I figured that since the wheels were new the spokes just need to be broke in. Well I took the wheel up and had the LBS re-true the wheel and I just returned from a 30 mile ride and the wheel is hitting the brakes again. I know that I didn't hit an larger potholes but the bike path and roads are not the best around. So, do I weight too much for this wheel? I'm right around 190 lbs 6' tall. I figured that they would be ok but now I'm concerned. Is there something I can do or do I need new wheels? The front seems ok it's just the rear that is giving me trouble.

Could someone recommend a wheel that can take the punishment and remain true?

Thanks

I weigh 185lbs and they are okay after getting through some breakin issues. I am not really a fan, but they are my event wheels because they are slightly more aerodynamic than my training wheels as well as slightly lighter. This is my first year racing and I am not good enough to justify buying fancier event wheels (yet).

For everyday riding I use Open Pro 32 spoke rims laced to Ultegra. These wheels take a beating.

Bonty Race Lites are a weird wheelset from a production standpoint. Lots of people swear they are great wheels, and lots of people swear they suck. I have some as training wheels and are very happy with them, 10000 miles and still in good shape. Real good friend of mine has the same wheels and has had nothing but problems with them. Maybe they just have a really bad quality control process.

I think it's the paired spoke thing. Once I got them straight, they stayed straight, but when I was riding them initially for the first couple hundred miles, they came out of true easily.

I had a similar situation, but after speaking with the QC guys from Trek (they came to visit the shop I work at) and informed me that a few slipped out of the factory with bad tension. Have the wheel tension checked at the LBS Trek Dealer, well one that knows how (wheel building is an art).

Also if they are the '08 version check under the rim strip for a sticker that says DT stamped on it. It stands for Double tensioned. It was a sticker that they put on after they found the issue.

Its not a huge issue, was easily fixed. You arnt that big of a guy so it shouldnt be a problem. I am alot bigger than you and I had to move to the Ultegra Hub with OP rims. ( I cant believe bananna and I agree on something)

lol paired spokes

I got an early 5.5 last September and have had nothing but trouble with the Racelite wheels:

1) first set, spokes actually worked LOOSE after 20 miles. Weren't tensioned at all
2) first set, required repeated truing, but eventually stayed stable for a thousand miles or so
3) during an overhaul, discovered that the rim was cracked, requiring a replacement wheel
4) this 2nd wheel wouldn't stay true for more than 150 miles. Shop trued it up 3 times, and I had to have it trued twice on BikeVirginia. Trek agreed to another replacement
5) Got the 3rd wheel, and rode it only a hundred miles or so.

I don't know how long the 3rd wheel would have lasted because I replaced the Racelites with a set of Ksyrium SL Premiums from Probikekit...

Bonty Race Lites are a weird wheelset from a production standpoint. Lots of people swear they are great wheels, and lots of people swear they suck. I have some as training wheels and are very happy with them, 10000 miles and still in good shape. Real good friend of mine has the same wheels and has had nothing but problems with them. Maybe they just have a really bad quality control process.

Put me in the 'suck' column. Broken spokes. Cracking rims. Frequent truing...

Wait, I have Bontrager Race wheels, not Race Lites. Bah. Whatever. I wouldn't buy either.

Trek's warranty service, however, is top notch.

Not sure how different my Race Lites are, if at all. They came with my '05 Madone. I'm 187 lbs and have only had to true these wheels a couple times in 14000 miles. However, I did break the rear axle a couple months ago. I did not hit any big potholes or curbs, which, I suspect would have more likely damaged the front rather than the rear anyway. My "expert" rider friends and my LBS say it was due to torque. Everyone I know who either races or does training rides with racers says the Race Lites do better with "Lite" riders.

You can get Williams Cycling System 30 Nobium wheels with ceramic bearings for $489.00. The reviews have been very good.

lol paired spokes

+3.1415928

For the record, no wheel should need a break in. When I build wheels, they stay put for years unless there's an exceptional impact.

Bontis blow. Back in the 90s, when it was just Keith and his torch, he turned out some of the best stuff. I had a teammate with a steel Bontrager MTB frame, built up with ancient RS forks, and it weighed 22 lbs. I wanted one SO bad! Now the name is trashed.

my Race Lites are true as a true can get, even after 1000+ miles on them. Tell the guys at the shop to tension them up right. The owner of my LBS took about 10 pairs of the wheels, took tensions on all of them, made a spreadsheet, sent it to Bontrager, then correctly tensioned each one of them. They are amazing wheels now. They were crap when they came in. Like, 2 or 3 spokes would usually have a tension of <20 on each wheel.

I got about 1000 miles on my Bontrager race lites and so far only had to slightly true them once. I'm 198lbs.

:DEven under warranty its a hassle taking them to the LBS. If they are real busy you have to leave them. I think there are more threads and post about bontrager wheels and tires than ultegra-campy battles. They must market a huge amount of merchandise.

I got about 1000 miles on my Bontrager race lites and so far only had to slightly true them once. I'm 198lbs.

Another guy who is easily impressed.

I rode these wheels when I was 345 and they held up without any issue. If they will hold me, they will hold your 190 without issue.

Another guy who is easily impressed.

Why? Just because I stated a fact? I'm not impressed that I had to true the damn wheel right before a 160 mile ride if that's the emotional answer you're looking for.

I have a pair of Race Lites with 20K miles on them, one BAD crash, and ride them hard. I've had no problems at all with them. I weigh 205 lbs.

The new '08 Race X Lite wheels are getting good reviews.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/wheel-sets/product/race-x-lite-wheelset--24045

+3.1415928


Erm...check your rounding...

Out of curiosity, why not paired spokes? Is it that there is no need for them, or that they are problematic?

(my guess is that by pairing spokes, the rim has to be made sturdier and therefore heavier -- is there more?)

my Race Lites are true as a true can get, even after 1000+ miles on them. Tell the guys at the shop to tension them up right. The owner of my LBS took about 10 pairs of the wheels, took tensions on all of them, made a spreadsheet, sent it to Bontrager, then correctly tensioned each one of them. They are amazing wheels now. They were crap when they came in. Like, 2 or 3 spokes would usually have a tension of <20 on each wheel.

This seems to be the issue. I took the wheel in yesterday and had the local LBS wheel builder look at it. He said that the spokes were not tensioned enough. I believe that he said they needed somewhere between 110-130? I can't recall. However I do believe he said that one side of the wheel needs more spoke tension than the other side. http://bontrager.com/technology/offset_spoke_bed/en Basically It all boils down to him re-tensioning the spokes and saying I shouldn't have any issues now. I'll be out riding later today and I'll post an update.

Paired spoke technology: http://bontrager.com/technology/paired_spokes/en

Paired spoke technology: http://bontrager.com/technology/paired_spokes/en

Now I'm really confused. I thought that the wheel on the _left_ below had paired spokes, ie, the spokes are paired up along the rim. Are the labels wrong in this picture, or am I clueless as to what paired spokes mean?

http://media.bontrager.com/images/articles/bontrager_47d5da950a67c_280.jpg

The accompanying explanation sounds ridiculous to me; too much magic for my taste.

Erm...check your rounding...

:lol: it's been a while... close enough for government work

Out of curiosity, why not paired spokes? Is it that there is no need for them, or that they are problematic?

(my guess is that by pairing spokes, the rim has to be made sturdier and therefore heavier -- is there more?)

I think you can make a wheel just as light and just as durable either way, but paired spokes require higher tension.

You trade spoke weight for rim weight (as you suggested), so that's a wash.

Aerodynamics... fewer spokes will help, but spokes closer together hurts, so that's a wash.

The higher tension just means that you're much more likely to have to take them to a shop to service them. If you have a problem when you're riding with me, I can get you home with conventional lacing from a roadside repair -- and there are lots of us out there.

When a spoke breaks, fewer spokes means that the rim will go further out of true, lowering your chances of riding home on it.

It's easier for a squirrel to get in there with paired spokes.

Now I'm really confused. I thought that the wheel on the _left_ below had paired spokes, ie, the spokes are paired up along the rim. Are the labels wrong in this picture, or am I clueless as to what paired spokes mean?

http://media.bontrager.com/images/articles/bontrager_47d5da950a67c_280.jpg

The accompanying explanation sounds ridiculous to me; too much magic for my taste.

:roflmao2::lol::eek:

"one spoke directly across the bug?" WTF???

Yeah, their diagram is backwards, and incorrect. Paired spoking does not give you a more symmetrical dish. A larger DS flange can. Radial head-in DS lacing can, but paired spoking does nothing in that respect. Even looking at their diagram, you can see the spokes on both wheels originate pretty close to tangential, which means their on-edge approach angle is going to be roughly the same.

Their physics discussion is ridiculous. By their example, two spokes at 6 o'clock would both be losing tension, where they're acting like one of them somehow opposes the other one's radial compression. I think you could use that technology to make a perpetual motion machine.