Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 - riding on dream wheels

 

I was always wondering what it's like to use some of the real high end carbon fibre road wheels on the bike. The ones I never had a chance to try until now: I was given a set of Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 carbon fibre set of wheels for testing and to see the difference myself. Now, they gave me such a nice impression and there is so much to talk about  I can only hope I don't miss anything in this post.

Little bit of a work in the workshop and the bike was ready to go

I spent my lunch time to get the bike ready for the test spin and after all the necessery changes and adjustments it was all good to go. Beside the extremely high cool factor that makes the bike look absolutely amazing the first thing was the huge weight difference of the overall weight of the bike. 

Cork brake pads to be fitted to be suitable on the carbon braking surface

 

Here is some technical talk on the wheels: 

As the name shows they are 50 mm deep carbon fibre rims (clintcher model). They are Bontrager's mid-depth wheels and the HED-designed broad rim and rounded profile provide one of the most wind-stable 50mm wheelsets on the market. With big graphics, glossy cosmetic weave fairing section and bladed white spokes, these wheels are very eye-cathing.  

Here is the front wheel...

...and the rear one

Both wheels have 16 bladed spokes. They join to the hub without any specific design and they are going through the aero deep "V" profile before they join to the rim. As a result of that the nipples are hidden.  

My first impression was when I took the bike out for the test spin that these wheels are very fast. Every time I started to accelerate and build up speed the bike responded better and it was just super easy to gain speed. Also I loved the noise that comes from the wheels as they cut through the air! It was cool! :)

I had them only for one test ride so I wanted to give them a proper try and see how do they work in pretty much every riding situation. Now, many people say that these deep profile wheels can be little bit flexible on climbs but since I am a very light cyclist I have no trouble with that. I actually think they are very good on the climbs and it seems like the rigidity is not an issue at all. Because the rolling resistance is lower they are giving completely different characteristic to the ride, however this really comes out on flat roads. 

Ready for some sweet climbing session :)

I have noticed a massive difference on flat when cruising is the name of the game. Wow, it is so amazing how easy to maintain the speed on these wheels. I was testing the wheels and also the legs so had couple of savage burst sprints and the result was surprising: maximum speed on flat road without tail wind was over 55 km/hour and the cruising speed was very close to 40 km/hour. If it is like this on my own I can't even imagine how good they could be in the bunch during road racing! :)

Now, of course there are couple of questions as well: how practical they would be for a small rider like me? I mean I can picture how serious trouble I would be in when I get hit by some of the savage Irish side winds... 

I would also worry about the quality of the road surface 'cause every time I got close to a pothole or a very bad quality patch on the road I started to sweat big time! Of course they are race set of wheels (really only for racing), they are not just for riding around but still. I just simply would worry to damage them and on their price level it would be a complete disaster though...

Just a last shot before I gave them back...my heart was broken a bit though! :(

My overall impression is absolutely great on these superb set of wheels. It was fantastic to try them out, especially 'cause I don't think I can afford them for a long time. I think a set of wheels like these bad boys would be absolutelly beneficial for anybody who is racing on the road properly! If I would get into road racing and I would have a possiblitiy to use them on the bike I would be very happy indeed. 

I'd like to say a big thank you to John Clarke at ThinkBike for lending these wheels for me to test them out. I really appreciate it!