Bontrager is debuting their new Aeolus 9.0 deep carbon rim wheels at the Tour of California on Astana team bikes. Who rides them and when is up to the individual riders.
They were designed with Steve Hed (of HED Wheels) share the same basic features as their carbon-rimmed Aeolus 6.5 and 7.0, except the 9.0 refers to the 90mm rim depth. The basic stats are:
- 90mm deep carbon skin bonded to OCLV carbon rims
- 16 spoke design
- Includes Ti Skewers, alloy valve extenders and wheel bags
- Rim size optimized to mate perfectly with a 23mm tire
- 9/10 speed compatible
- Clincher MSRP: $1,333.50 front / $1,499.99 rear ($2,833.49 set)
- Tubular MSRP: $1,124.99 front / $1,373.99 rear ($2,498.98 set)
They officially start shipping on Tuesday. I spoke with Bontrager’s components person, Chris, just before he left for the Tour of CA, so we’ll follow up after he’s back and settled to see who used them and some more details. He did say they tested faster than any other non-disc Bontrager wheel by about 10 seconds over a 40k TT…not sure if that would’ve been too much of a factor on today’s ToC TT since it was only about 10% of that distance.
