I am new to the forum and have a wheelset question. I own a 2004 low mileage Bontrager Race wheelset and a 2010 Aksium Race. I'm wondering which wheelset would be the fastest and lightest for a 50 mile club ride on flat Florida terrain.

Aksiums

Aksiums.

The fastest wheel is determined by the engine. The lightest wheel is determined by a scale.

[QUOTE=tagaproject6;13477267]The fastest wheel is determined by the engine.[QUOTE]

???? The engine's the same. Wake up!

[QUOTE=StanSeven;13477298][QUOTE=tagaproject6;13477267]The fastest wheel is determined by the engine.Doh!

How much faster would you say he would be on the lighter wheelset? Would it be significant?

Weight doesn't really matter in Florida.

Weight wouldn't matter on flats. The faster wheel is the one most aero and I'm not sure which taht is. Bontrager might have deeper rims but those paried spokes don't work.

Flat terrain, non-elite rider = no practical difference.

Use the one that looks coolest. You know you want to.

Thanks for the replies. Seems like Aksium gets the most nods. I ride about 8000 miles per year and we average around 18-20 mph on our club rides. I rode the Aksiums last year as an upgrade from the Xero wheelset that came as stock with the bike. The Aksiums were a huge improvement. Any additional thoughts? Thanks again.

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