4) Aesthetics
4) Aesthetics
Much of the popularity of carbon wheels is undoubtedly owed to their aesthetic appeal.
Even the shallower hoops, and the 35mm Aeolus 3 D3 counts among those, have a sleek and futuristic appearance that the familiar aluminium clincher struggles to match, even ones as attractive as the Ksyrium Elite S, with its milled rims, smart black and silver hubs, and Mavic’s signature yellow graphics.
The Bontrager wheels looked well in the Racelight TK3, and suitably understated.
To those in the know, they communicated a message of greater investment in an area of the bike able to yield the greatest performance dividends (a well-made aluminium frame with high-performance wheels represents a more sensible distribution of budget than a mid-range carbon offering with stock wheels, in our opinion).
While the Ksyrium Elite S has never failed to do justice to the Kinesis, the Bontrager hoop held the edge aesthetically, as it had in all other regards.