I need to replace the Bontrager Race rear wheel on the road bike, but know very little on the subject! It needs to stand up to a 13 stone bloke smashing them around pot-holed audax routes, basically.

Evans tell me that the direct replacement is 1120g and costs £90

Various sites seem to have Shimano R501 wheels listed at 1078g for a lot less than that, which seems light if that is their entry level wheel. Various hub options on Mavic Open Pro rims don’t seem to list any weight to compare with, so what does the panel think/recommend?

Cheers

Planet X do some decent looking deals.
Confronted with this exact question, I ended up spending £170 on a Hope on Open Pro instead, mind.

light and strong are conflicting…which is your priority and to what extent?

Novatec hub (£60/pair off ebay) and DT R450 with as many spokes as you like? Might squeek in under £100 if you build it yourself and sell the spare front hub. Would definately be lighter. But that’s a light hub not a lighter rim so might not feel lighter.

Bontrager road wheels look nice with the low spoke count but are quite heavy for their ‘Race’ tag.

You could get a pair of Shimano R501’s for £90here

i am in a similar situation but had a OK spare back wheel so thought I would experiment.

I went to a chinese company and got a 32h 30mm carbon rim custom reinforced with an extra couple of layers of carbon which cost in the region of 180 dollars, then I found a tiagra rear hub on a forum which I paid 10 quid for brand new, and the build will be with butted but not suoer light spokes. Hopefully it is going to be an absolute tank but not weigh that much more than the equivalent shimano/open pro build it replaces.

this isn’t really advice, more just that I am excited about it!

Are you just looking to buy a rear wheel or a new wheelset.

If on the wheelset side then take a look at the fulcrum racing 7s – racing 7s

I also like the planet X wheels and this might be a good option – al30

I’d assumed the OP had £100, so for £100 he could get a pair of wheels, with the rear being better than what he’s already got. A single rear wheel could be more like £60 for a ShimanoR501.

I have the Planet-X’s and would recommend, but its another £50 on top of what it sounded like the OP was looking to pay?

Its fairly clear that the Bontrager option isn’t good value.

this post reminds me a bit of a comment Kieth Bontrager made

“light strong cheap choose any two”

this post reminds me a bit of a comment Kieth Bontrager made

“light strong cheap choose any two”

Shop around, you should be able to get a 105 hub on an Open Pro rim for about £100 or less. Won’t be the lightest wheel (about 1kg the one I weighed the other day), but will be more durable than pretty much anything else that you could get for the money.

Alternatively, I’ll sell you my nearly new (500 miles no more) Mavic Aksium wheelset for £110 plus postage. They’re only 1730g for the pair so would save a bit of weight over what you’re running now anyway.

@MoreCashThanDash

Shimano R500 is perfect for your needs, RRP is only £69.99

its the “go to” choice for any abusive / heavier rider wanting a tough rear wheel, or for mechanics working in busy shops with customers wanting a bombproof replacement wheel for their broken OE wheelset on a road bike used for commuting

I have put 3 onto customers bikes just today..

the good news is that it will take hard abuse, will last a long time if serviced once in a while (grease bearings), and madison sell a replacement freehub body at a reasonable price

Definitely veering towards the R501, especially as I have PBK 15% off voucher as well! Lots of Brownie points for a cheap wheel.

The Bontragers felt light when I bought them originally, seems I should have done a bit more research then!

As a 14st bloke bashing round potholed audaxy type rides I would recommend steering clear of factory wheels; certainly budget ones. My experience of entry-level Shimano RS10s was not in the end a happy one – broke a NDS spoke quickly and then it was a pain and silly expense to get it replaced (about £8 for a spoke plus a nipple, plus postage, IIRC – and they were hard to find, too). You’ll get a more durable wheel for a similar weight or less by going for a lighter rim with more spokes. 105 hubs are under £50 a pair on Ribble (and Tiagra half that); you could build the rear onto an Open Pro or similar with DT Comps and just nudge £100, and you’d have a free front hub to play with too 😉