Bontrager Race Lite Wheels

SD2006 said:

Does anyone know the scoop with the Race Lite rear hubs? According to Roadbikereview.com - "Rear hub is Swiss made, fully serviceable, with a combination of cartridge and needle bearings." I ran into a Trek rep at my LBS and he said there aren't any needle bearings. Not that it makes a big difference, but I was wondering who is correct.

What material is the freehub body made from, it seems a bit soft.

I believe that lower end Bontrager hubs are made by Formula (a Taiwanese brand) and the high end are DT/Swiss (formerly HUGI). Race Lite is the formula one. Depending on which year your hub is from, it may have an aluminum freehub body, which would be susceptible to the cassette cogs digging into it. I picked up a used campy compatible race lite rear from a couple of years ago and it has what appears to be a steel freehub body.

I think it probably depends on the year model. My Race Lites are stamped DT/Swiss and I think are a 2004 vintage. And this hub does have roller bearings. You can go to the Bontrager web site and look at the hub service manual here: bontrager.comOwners Manuals.phpOpen ↗

I have a set. They are awesome. Bomb proof!!

I don't see anything stamped on my hubs, so I'd guess they're not DT Swiss. In any case they seem nice enough, and with the eyelets I won't be too worried about my rims cracking at the nipples.

Thanks for the responses...

My race lites came out of true quite often and I finally had a spoke nipple pull through. Replaced under warranty. I actually had better luck with my lower end bontrager wheels.