Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V wheelset review

The new Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V wheelset ups the internal rim width to 25mm, as against the older Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3 TLR’s 19.5mm. That, says Bontrager, makes it good for wider tyres and all terrain use. We’ve put the wheels to the test.

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There are an ever-increasing number of wheelsets out there with rims with an internal width of 25mm or more; Enve for example has just launched its 25mm internal width SES 3.4 AR wheels and Hunt's wheels are also extra-wide.

The Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V wheels are designed to better support 32mm and up tyres and add extra air volume for lower pressure and a more comfortable ride, with less risk of pinch flats, along with better traction and performance. So they’re good for cyclocross and gravel use, or with high volume road bike tyres.

As usual with this type of wheel, the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V wheelset is tubeless ready. It comes supplied with tape and valves. I found it easy to set up tubeless with a set of WTB Riddler 45mm gravel tyres, with the beads seating with just a track pump.

The rims are carbon and use Trek’s OCLV carbon fibre, also used on the brand’s high end road bikes like the Madone SLR. They have a 40mm aero section and are laced with 24 aero butted spokes front and rear with external nipples to facilitate truing.

Also expected is that they are disc brake only and run on 100mm front and 142mm rear thru-axles. Bontrager’s hubs have paired straight pull spoking, where two spokes running in opposite directions run from a single protuberance from the alloy hub body, allowing it to save weight.

The Rapid Drive 108 freehub has 108 points of engagement per rotation, so there’s very rapid take-up once you start to pedal. The wheels feel fast to accelerate too and, despite their fancy construction and relatively light weight, are robust. I hammered them over some pretty rough going without problem and they add a measure of agility to tackle more difficult terrain.

At £1200 a pair, the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V wheels are expensive, although they are competitively lightweight at 1551g. But you can buy the front and rear wheels separately as well as as a pair. And Bontrager backs up its wheels with a two year no cost replacement or repair scheme.

Bontrager says that there’s no rider weight limit, reinforcing the wheels’ bombproof go-anywhere credentials.