Bontrager rear wheel not centered on Trek Madone.?

Bontrager had known issues with their Select, Race, and Race Lite wheelsets.....one of our shops had bucketfuls of trashed wheels. In addition to rim eyelets cracking, hub flanges were cracked and freehub bodies blown. They were supposed to have fixed this in late '07ish. They do have some good hoops, so don't be too quick to dis the entire lineup.

The first thing I'd do is have a good shop check your frame alignment just to be sure it isn't off.....it's possible but not likely. Then, check that the axle is centered with the hub, and the dish is correct (centered). Don't offset the dish to correct for this problem....find the source instead and fix that. You can get away with some dish error on some wheels/bikes, but performance road bikes need to be proper.

Good luck...hope this helps some. :o)

It turns out that the Trek Madone SL 5.2, and other bicycles, is built "assymetrically" which means that the rear wheel will be closer to the drive side (I got this info from Trek themselves). This is done to incrementally increase power transfer to the wheel.

Two solutions offered:

1. Use 700x20 tires. This will work though I believe it will tend to increase the likelihood of flats.

2. Move dish 2mm away from drive side. This will work but will create a tiny reduction in wheel strength and power transfer. It will also result in the wheel moving closer to the seat stays near the brakes but there's enough room there anyway, though somewhat tight.

Well, a riding bud of mine had Bontrager Selects on his Trek Pilot. I noted he had numerous cracks around the spoke holes. His bike was not even a season old. He retired them to the Mag trainer and bought a set of Mavics which work great for him. No dish issues but that's the 2nd set of Bontrager wheels I saw this happen on, so you know my advice - buy another brand wheel.

EDIT: I guess it's possible the frame is off but not likely. Why not try another wheel from a friend's bike? If it's OK on the other bike and not on yours Take it in to a Trek dealer to have it fully checked out. If it is off, the frame needs replacing.

Madones 5.2 is one of the most versatile road bikes around. It sprints, climbs great and its very fast on flat ground. The 5.2 is basically the 5200 but with a madone frame built with 110 OCLV, which is an upgrade from its peloton late cousin; the 5200 120 OCLV. But for its price tag of $3,700 I would rather buy the Fuji Pro Team. The Fuji has the same components (Ultegra mixed) and its $1000 cheaper ($2,700). Being a Lance fan is one thing but paying to be a fan is ridiculous. Don't miss judge me ... Its a great bike, but $3700 for ultegra its a bit too much. My madone 5.9 had a price tag of $4,499 back in 2004 with Dura Ace and its the same frame.

I had a set of Bontragers they cracked on me so I bought a better set of wheels. I'll never own those again.