I know there's not much love here for Bontrager, and in fact I've had a pair of them crack at the nipples too, and got a second pair as a warranty replacement even (still being ridden by my wife). However, I'm not certain that they are particularly 'slow' wheels in comparison to the Aksiums. If I'm remembering right, the new Aksiums are lighter by far than the Bontrager Race wheels, but I'll say that I never felt like I was handicapped by the Bontrager's "lack of aero-ness." And if you're talking about the older Aksiums, there may not even be much (if any) of a weight difference either. Here's an anecdote to ponder: A good friend of mine "upgraded" his stock Bontrager race wheels (after the rims developed those small cracks) to Mavic Ksyrium ES wheels. He dropped a noticeable amount of weight with the change, but mentioned after putting lots of miles on them that they never seemed to roll quite as fast as the Bontragers. Ksyrium ES and SL wheels were/are not known for their aerodynamics, and it wouldn't surprise me if they are in fact "slower" wheels than the Races on flat conditions. What they are is lighter, much stiffer and far more reliable than the Bontrager wheels.

My point here is simply this. Just because we all know Bontrager Race wheels to be unreliable, doesn't mean they are also automatically "slow" and "non-aero."

-Jeremy