Incredible Wheel Set

The match up…Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 vs. Water Bottle. The victor = Aeolus 5.0.

These wheels have to be one of the strongest set of wheels in production for today’s cyclists. On our weekly Team Extreme group ride to Holy Hill, my wheel set got an unexpected test that eventually proved how strong the Aeolus 5.0s really are. Flying down St. Augustine Rd. at approximately 35 – 40 mph my water bottle got ejected from the cage after hitting quite a bump and I managed to kick the bottle into the spokes. The wheel and bottle were having it out which made the most hideous noise I’ve heard in a long time. It happened so quickly that by the time I started slowing down the top of the bottle was decapitated and shot into the woods. I had no idea at the time the bottle got sucked into the spokes but others riding next to me said the whole bottle was inside the spokes… then boom, there goes the top of the bottle. I was quite worried that I had severely damaged the rim as it was well out of true at this point; however there were no broken spokes or noticeable damage to the rim.

As a true testament to the strength of this wheel, I rode the remaining 30 + miles home. Of course I didn’t have rear brakes as the calipers had to be opened completely in order to keep the rim from rubbing on the pads. There was no shimmy while riding and we kept and average speed of 18 mph.

I’ve now had the wheels trued and they are good as new. I must say that Bontrager makes one great wheel set in the Aeolus 5.0 and I will recommend the set to anyone looking for a reliable carbon wheel set.