I’m interested in upgrading my disc brake wheels as I just recently finally purchased Trek SC 3. I know HED updated their wheels and the Aeolus have DT hubs.
I’d likely get the 62 in each version and probably will forgo the rear disc for now. That will likely come later.
I have several pairs of HED rim brakes that I will need to sell, so I have had good experience with HED, just wondering if the lighter aeolus is better and worth consdering.
Why 62? Why not go with the rsl 75’s? I love mine esp on a trek
I’ve got the RSL 75’s. I don’t think you can go wrong with either option honestly.
I’ve got the 51’s that came as stock on my bike. Didn’t get a chance to order it direct from Trek as a project one build as the local trek shop was running a crazy promo price on stock they had on hand. Had I had the chance to order, I would have gone with the 75’s. 51’s will remain my training set.
Going to order up a Vanquish 8 front and a Vanquish Disc this upcoming week as my race wheels for the upcoming races I have planned.
Had I ordered my Trek with 75’s I would have just ordered a rear disc and swapped it for race day. Ultimately I want something deeper than my 51’s up front, so hence going with the V8 from Hed.
I honestly think I’d rather the the shallower . I have too many sets at home and rather just get these and maybe the disc later. I guess if I see the 75s in person I might change my mind.
HED for the win
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I have the RSL’s, 75/62. Very nice looking wheels, feel like high quality, no idea if they are any faster than other wheels. I believe they may be a litle lighter than HED wheels if that matters to you.
Oddly, I did have the bearings in one of my wheels go bad after 1 rainy race (tremblant 70.3), but my Trek dealer I bought them from replaced the bearings for free under warranty.
And, the warranty seems to be pretty good for them:
Warrantied for life A great set of carbon wheels can give your ride an instant upgrade in performance and handling. We understand they’re an investment, and that’s why we back every carbon Bontrager wheelset with a lifetime warranty to the original owner.
When you buy Bontrager carbon wheels, you’re buying confidence in craftsmanship that lasts a lifetime.
Additionally, every set of Bontrager carbon wheels is backed by the Carbon Care Wheel Loyalty Program, which provides free repair or replacement in the unlikely event you structurally damage your wheels while riding within the first two years of ownership (and deeply discounted rebuild or replacement to the original owner regardless of the date of purchase).*
This program applies to all Bontrager carbon wheels that come stock on bikes as well as aftermarket wheel purchases and comes at no additional cost to the original owner.
That’s cool. I am kinda torn. I like the lighter RSLs but I also like the HEDs. I think it will come down to pricing. I may need to hold off until Black Friday, but I figure both are great options.
Literally just come in after giving my RSL 75s some TLC. (They’ve been hanging up 4 months and I wanted to check the sealant).
I can’t compare with the HEDs but they do feel nice to ride and not too twitchy in gusts, Sure, It’s still a 75mm wheel but very predictable on descents with gusts in some limited testing I got in last Autumn. Mine came as an upgrade option on my SpeedConcept and they weren’t supplied tubeless - needed to buy rimtape and valves which was a little disappointing compared to the Roval SLXIIs I have, but they are also about half the price of those and in no way appear inferior quality.
As you say, may just come down to who has stock and who is running best promo when you come to buy.
(One final thing, just check the disc mounts - are they same on both wheels and are you looking to transfer a disc from any other hubs - I missed that a few years ago and whilst not an issue was just another $100 needing to buy new discs that I’d not initially factored in.)
Good to know. Thanks for the heads up.
There is a super long thread on wheel width, but I will save you the agony of reading it.
There is no doubt that tires are getting wider, so if you are going to buy now you should consider wat tires you want to ride and what tire options you will have in the future. For example, the new Cora’s Pro tires have a minimum width of 26mm and the GP5000 is 25mm.
This generally means that many of the wheels on the market that were designed using a 23 or 25mm tire, are going to take a performance hit if you can’t get that tire anymore. For example, Ronald Kuba recently posted a video of his aero testing. The Vanquish 8 was faster than the AeroCoach Titan 100 with a wider tire. The Titan was the probably the most popular TT wheel for pure aerodynamics (Remco, Pog/UAE, MVdP,…), but use the wrong tire and it doesn’t work so well.
So I don’t know what tire the Bontrager was designed for, but the Vanquish was designed for a 28. If you plan on riding a really chubby 32 in the future, maybe a Reserve wheel would be better. Don’t bet on fast tires (low Crr) being available in skinnier widths for much longer. TT and Tri are too small a market for tire manufacturers to continue make tires.
There is a super long thread on wheel width, but I will save you the agony of reading it.
There is no doubt that tires are getting wider, so if you are going to buy now you should consider wat tires you want to ride and what tire options you will have in the future. For example, the new Cora’s Pro tires have a minimum width of 26mm and the GP5000 is 25mm.
This generally means that many of the wheels on the market that were designed using a 23 or 25mm tire, are going to take a performance hit if you can’t get that tire anymore. For example, Ronald Kuba recently posted a video of his aero testing. The Vanquish 8 was faster than the AeroCoach Titan 100 with a wider tire. The Titan was the probably the most popular TT wheel for pure aerodynamics (Remco, Pog/UAE, MVdP,…), but use the wrong tire and it doesn’t work so well.
So I don’t know what tire the Bontrager was designed for, but the Vanquish was designed for a 28. If you plan on riding a really chubby 32 in the future, maybe a Reserve wheel would be better. Don’t bet on fast tires (low Crr) being available in skinnier widths for much longer. TT and Tri are too small a market for tire manufacturers to continue make tires.
Good information here. The nice thing about the bontrager wheels is that they are 23mm internal so I surmise they will handle 28 just fine and the HED was designed around 28. It’s a toss up for me and I’m going back in forth on myself. I don’t know anything about the hubs on the HED but the bontrager RSL come with DT Swiss.
I bought the less expensive Vanquish 6 this year. The HED hubs are like much of the stuff they make. Straightforward hubs with nice bearings, high quality j-bend spokes, and I think a standard free hub. I have some wheels with both the regular freehub and the star ratchet hubs. I have had more problems with the star rachet in terms of lube and ingress of weird stuff.