Posted on August 11, 2022 by Tyler Benedict

The completely redesigned Bontrager Kovee RSL XC race wheels have been raced under their World Cup riders for more than a year, come with no rider weight limit, handle super wide tires, and weigh as little as 1,199 grams.

This makes them some of the (if not thee) lightest mountain bike wheels on the market, and the Kovee Pro 30 wheelset isn’t far behind at 1,385g while being far more affordable. Yep, their 2nd tier racing wheelset is still lighter than most brand’s top offering. Here’s how they did it…

The heart of the new Kovee RSL and Pro wheels is an all-new rim. Extremely shallow at just 22mm, designed to be compliant, yet stiff, and minimize material and weight without sacrificing strength and durability.

The RSL rims come in at a claimed 315-320g each, and the Pro 30 are 375-380g. Both use the same profile, it’s the materials that differ.

The RSL rims use higher end carbon fiber and resins, and the plies are more precisely cut and placed, reducing overall material usage. Combined, this results in significant weight savings, but a much longer, more expensive manufacturing process.

The Pro 30 rims use more standard carbon materials and processes, so they’re more efficient to make.

The rims use a hooked design, but with a wider, broader sidewall and bead shape. Bontrager tells us this gives them the anti-pinch flat benefits of hookless, but with the added security of a bead hook.

The thicker sidewalls also make them more impact resistant, and an offset spoke bed improves wheel dish. The result is a rim they say is thin enough to be compliant and comfortable, but strong enough to race through the toughest XC courses.

The Bontrager Kovee RSL wheels come with DT240 Center Lock hubs and the Ratchet EXP XD driver, with TLR rim tape and valve stems pre-installed. Retail is $2,499.

The Bontrager Kovee Pro 30 wheels get Rapid Drive 180 XC hubs with a splined drive ring and 6-bolt brake rotor mounts. MSRP is $1,499, complete wheelset weight is 1,385g (claimed). Choose from XD, MicroSpline and HG freehub bodies for these and the Elite and Comp wheels below.

A sub-1200g race wheelset is usually intended for lightweight riders on race bikes. But the new Kovee RSL and Pro 30 have no rider weight limit, are designed for 2.0″ to 2.6″ tires, and, they told us, are fine for 120-130 bikes.

They also come with a Lifetime Guarantee against manufacturer’s defects, and if you, as the original owner, damage them in the first two years of ownership, they’ll repair or replace them for free. All that said, these are intended to be ridden as “cross country” wheels, not abused like trail wheels.

The Kovee Elite 30 wheels use the same carbon rim profile, but with an even simpler layup and materials. Claimed rim weight is 420-425g, and claimed wheelset weight is 1,585g. They also get Rapid Drive 108 hubs, but with traditional flanges and J-bend spokes. MSRP is $999.98.

The Comp 25 wheels use alloy rims and come in at just $399.98. The rims are a but shallower at 20mm deep, and bit narrower at 25mm internal (30mm external). They get the same Rapid Drive 108 J-bend hubs as the Elite wheels, and have a claimed weight of 1,675g.

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for 14 years. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves finding new travel adventures to share with his family and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter. And, he’s totally gone down the NFT rabbit hole.

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holy cow that’s light. No weight limit is impressive, and really curious why we are going back to hooked. I don’t see the benefit. Beads are secure in hookless running at XC pressures

Bontrager never went hookless. Some mfg have done hookless (in MTB and/or road), and some haven’t. There are far far more important things to worry about in a wheel/rim

Nextie NXT29UML34 has been available for some time

Serious question here – this is road wheel light yet MTB wheels take way more abuse than road wheels. Why can’t road wheels be 200g lighter at each level than this for similar pricing?

mtb RIMS take less abuse than road rims. they are protected by big, fat, low pressure tires and you can bet that racers are running these with tire inserts.

hitting a pothole at 30mph with a high pressure road tire would destroy these rims.

Actually you can bet that racers are NOT running these with inserts. They are not about to add 200+ grams of rotating weight to short travel XC race bikes. However, the 2.2-2.4″ rubber is certainly adding enough cushion to protect the lighter weight carbon rims, and the suspension absorbs additional shock as well on bigger hits.

Higher tire psi protects a bicycle rim from damage better than lower psi. Right?

Because road wheels aren’t 22mm deep. It’s a mystery why DT Swiss first gen carbon rims were 30mm deep for mtb riding. It made them stiff and heavy.

pressure. road rims need to withstand 2-3x the tire pressure that mtb rims do. that is a weight intensive jump.

Partly because road wheels are built for very high internal pressures – if you tried inflating a tyre to 100psi on these the rims would disintegrate. It’s all about the directions they need to be strong in, not just general strength.

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