2010 September | Verizon U-25 Cycling Team

Hogan’s Sponsor Highlight: Bontrager Race X Lites

The riders review their favorite products from the 2010 season.

This year I’ve done almost every race with the Bontrager Race X Lite Aero’s, and they are one of my favorite wheelsets that I’ve ever ridden. Last year, I rode “another” brands 30+ millimeter aluminum rims, and the Bontragers have performed much, much better. The Race X Lite Aero’s are noticeably stiff when sprinting, yet they are forgiving and absorb shock well on rough courses and long rides. You’d think the stiffness would come from extra weight, but in reality they are pretty light enough for all but the most mountainous of courses (and that’s not something we really need to worry about in the Midwest).

The most significant thing I’ve discovered about these wheels though is the durability. Even though they have hidden nipples, I have had no reason to complain because I haven’t had to true these wheels all season- seriously. Not once! They’ve seen a full season of racing since March and they are still just about perfectly true.

Overall, these have been a great set of wheels for a long crit season.

Hogan

September 2nd, 2010 by Mike Ebert

WIll Nowak’s Sponsor Highlight: Serfas Seca RS Tire

This was my first season on Serfas tires and I loved every mile. I exclusively rolled the Seca RS tire this year for all of my training and racing. At only 215 grams, the Serfas tires coupled with our Bontrager wheels were light enough to handle any climbing that we encountered and more importantly for us, could handle the most technical of crit courses. Their new “bead to bead” Flat Protection System(FPS) did its job too as I didn’t have a single flat this season!

The tires’ shining moment came at the NRC Tour de Grove in St. Louis. A monstrous thunderstorm rolled in with about 5 laps to go in the race. There was a pro team there, who’s presenting sponsor is NOT Serfas, that was trying to control the front of the race. However, as soon as it started raining the entire team slid out on a particularly treacherous corner. Freund, Sherer and I were set up right behind them and Ryan and I cruised through the corner to take control. The final turn was 140 degrees and we were able to confidently lead Mike out for a field sprint win and our first NRC podium. I know we train a lot but I credit a lot of that performance to our Serfas tires.

Thanks to Serfas for all of their support this season. I can proudly recommend Serfas products to other riders out there, and it’s icing on the cake that their price points don’t break the bank!