Bontrager wheels weren't neat back in the 24-hour interval. Like most companies, in what I like to call the wacky wheel days, Bontrager made some kooky, strange and non great wheels. I'm talking near ten and 15 years ago. But in modern times, Bontrager wheels accept actually been quite good. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but I think it's safe to say that what they're putting out these days, at least on the mountain side, is pretty alright. And things are but getting ameliorate with the release of a newly updated Line serial of wheels, including the Line Elite 30 and Line Pro xxx, which according to Bontrager, are the strongest wheels they've e'er fabricated. They too happen to exist the strongest wheels they've always tested, and they've tested them all. The wheels you're seeing hither are the Line Elite 30, and at $900 and ane,890 grams, they're $400 less expensive and 130 grams heavier per pair than the Line Pro xxx. All weights mentioned here are for 29-inch wheels, by the style.
Photograph Credit: Ryan Palmer
I actually might prefer the Elites over the Pros, more often than not because the Elites have regular j-bend spokes instead of direct-pull. I oasis't actually tried the Pros, but I've come to sort of despise straight-pull spokes over the years, and so I was happy to receive the Elites to test. Likewise, for what you lot save in weight, I'g not sure it's worth the actress spend. I know rotating mass is the place to save weight, but 130 grams isn't a ton. That'd exist 907,135 grams.
Speaking of weight, 1,890 grams isn't extraordinarily light. Just, for a very strong rim with a 30-millimeter internal width, it's not likewise bad, either. It'due south actually a smidge lighter than the Crankbrothers Synthesis Enduro wheels, while besides being half the price. Compared to the Enve AM30 wheels, the Line Aristocracy 30 wheelset is most xl grams heavier, but as well about one-half the cost. All and all, I call up they actually hit a good marker between weight and price.
Photograph Credit: Ryan Palmer
But Bontrager's marketing behind these wheels isn't most that, information technology'due south most force, so what about that? Well, I oasis't broken them yet, although I take to acknowledge that I also haven't broken my Enve AM30 or Crankbrothers Synthesis wheels notwithstanding either. I can't accurately speak to the overall strength of the Line Elite 30 wheels, because that really does have to involve some sort of controlled lab-type testing, but what I can say is that they experience burly.
Fifty-fifty though there are only 28 spokes front end and rear, the Line Elites feel rugged and secure. I've purposefully run dangerously low tire pressure through rock gardens without causing any damage. I've bottomed tires on the rims numerous times, and the wheels have never flinched. Or pinched. I oasis't flatted despite even trying to on occasion.
Photograph Credit: Ryan Palmer
Bontrager'due south Rapid Drive 108 hubs are really good, too, particularly for a firm-brand hub. The ratchet machinery has super-quick iii.3-degree engagement and is actually quieter than other loftier-engagement hubs. It's a lower-pitch frequency than Chris King and Manufacture Nine and so it doesn't resonate quite equally much. They too have a clean, subdued look that I like, which is likewise carried throughout the rest of the wheels' branding. Some previous versions of Line hubs were silver, but I'm a fan of the elementary blackness colorway.
As for ride quality, the Line Elite 30 wheels are responsive and precise, but they're not as compliant as the Crankbrothers Synthesis wheels. And the Revel RW30 wheels have a more refined feel to them besides. But again, both those wheels are much more expensive. Compared to the former Bontrager Line thirty wheels, these are much more comfortable. The old ones rattle fillings loose; these aren't nearly as rigid. Bontrager redesigned the rim profile to be shallower in club to attain this, and it certainly worked. I exercise think, though, that they could've gone a flake shallower. For instance, the cross-department of this rim is 27 millimeters while the Synthesis Enduro rims are eighteen. I'1000 not proverb they should go that shallow. There are trade-offs when creating tubular carbon structures, and strength favors the round, not the flat. But Crankbrothers proved that at that place'due south more room to play around with to clasp a bit more vertical compliance out of the rims. Enve'due south AM30 rims are seven millimeters shallower and experience ever and then slightly more than compliant.
Photo Credit: Ryan Palmer
Equally I said, they're actually not harsh, but they exercise feel firm. I institute the stiffness was really good for running 2.6-inch tires at depression pressures because tires that big flex and conform quite a chip already. Having them on a stiffer rim localizes the motility while putting them on a softer, more compliant rim sort of compounds whatever deflection you're experiencing. If running the same tires on a more compliant rim, I'll by and large run an actress pound or so of pressure, otherwise, the whole package starts to go a little too vague. The Line Elite 30s are responsive, accelerate apace, and corner without any hesitation whatsoever.
These wheels are well-suited for running low tire pressures in some other style, too. The dewdrop hooks are a whopping 4.6-millimeters thick. That'south fatter than the pinch-flat resistant beadless hooks institute on Enve'due south AM30 rims, wider than Revel's RW30 rims, and Crankbrothers Synthesis Enduro rims, too. That should brand pinching a tire very difficult. I for one, oasis't been able to practice and so yet.
Photo Credit: Ryan Palmer
The Line Elites really hang onto tires as well. One time the dewdrop is fully snapped into identify, it's a very solid connection. This could assist prevent burping, which I'yard a fan of, just I did have a difficult time getting tires seated. Present, most tubeless setups install without any hiccups. Most rims fit tires snugly but not so tight that information technology's a struggle getting them on, and tires generally pop right up into the bead claw at between 20 and 25 PSI. These aren't that easy. Tires fit tight enough that an inexperienced person would take difficulty getting even the first bead. Once on the rim, I inflated the tires to their maximum recommended aggrandizement, and the chaplet still didn't fully snap into place. I wound up needing to lubricate the tire chaplet in lodge to get them to seat. I would prefer a slightly looser fit. Yet, while it can be a chip of an inconvenience, it also ensures that the connection between rim and tire is nice and solid.
Photo Credit: Ryan Palmer
I recollect Bontrager did a prissy chore updating these wheels. They have some very attractive features at a very attractive price. They're not the most refined-feeling wheels I've e'er been on, but they're more than respectable. Just the fact that the closest comparisons I can make are to wheels double and even shut to triple the price of these speaks volumes. If I'm perfectly honest, I'd similar to see a touch more than vertical compliance out of these wheels, but that'southward a personal preference thing. They're leagues meliorate than older versions and they take better traction and control than E.Thirteen or Santa Cruz's comparable offerings.
Finally, at that place's the warranty, which covers basically anything upwardly to two years after buy. You break it, Bontrager will repair or supplant it gratuitous of accuse. Afterwards that, there's a generous crash replacement policy that offers deeply discounted pricing on repairs and replacements. The wheels are as well covered by a lifetime warranty against defects. The policy isn't every bit rock-solid as another brands, some of whom are offering what are essentially lifetime, no-questions-asked warranties, only information technology's practiced nonetheless. At $900 for a robust, stiff set up of carbon hoops with a good warranty, that'll take a beating and reduce the chance of pinch flatting in the process, I'd say yous're looking at a pretty decent deal.
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