Hey group,
I’m trying to decide my next wheel set. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the Bontrager Aeolus d3 or the Reynolds Attack(2014) model. I’m hoping for some opinions which wheel would be the more reliable wheel set.
I don’t race, just a guy who rides 1,000 - 2,000 miles a year.
Thanks
I’m a big fan of the build quality of the Aeolus wheels… they’re super strong. Search for Bontrager’s destructive testing. What I’m NOT a fan of is carbon braking in general. I’m surprised Bontrager hasn’t kept up with Zipp on that front.
No experience with the Reynolds wheels.
The Aeolus is the more premium wheel. Wider, lighter and more aero than the Attacks. More expensive of course. DT swiss hubs are hard to beat. They’re my daily wheels and I have nothing but good things to say. As mentioned above, the cork pads they come stock with are so so in the wet (great in the dry), but you can use the Black Prince pads to get better braking.
The FFWD wheels might warrant a look. Not to derail off of your two options posed above, but I picked up the F6R set from FFWD with the DT Swiss hubs and I can’t stop raving about these wheels. Light, fast, compliant, and roll really really freaking well. I used them in two crits this weekend, and will probably use them as my TT wheels for Savageman in September. If you didn’t consider them before, do yourself a favor.
I have never had good luck with Bontrager wheels. I would end up needing to get them trued every 45 days or so. I have raced on Reynolds in the past and found that while aero and fast on the flats, once you start mashing big watts up hill, they aren’t as torsionally rigid as I would like from a high dollar race wheel. Just my .02 on those brands.
I am a huge fan of Bontrager wheels, but with your use case I would go with whatever is less expensive. The difference between the Reynolds and Bontrager for you would be minimal.