Bontrager Race vs Race Lite

[john]

Having owned a couple of Bonty Races and enjoyed the ride was considering purhcasing a Race Lite.

Having read a few threads I'm now not so sure if the extra £ for the lighter race lite will be money well spent. Especially since I'm not exactly a featherweight.

Be interested to hear opinions from Bonty owners who have ridden/owned both variants...

 

[pete_mcc]

If you're a larry lightweight then the Race lite, for everyday use then go for the race everytime!

Loved my Race to bits, it was far more confidence inspiring than the Lite as I never worried about it being too fragile

 

[Crell]

Neither of them are featherweights. A race will handle pretty much any abuse you care to throw at it. A racelite wouldn't be too far behind.

If you want to save the weight, go for the RL, otherwise the Race is fine. There's no real difference between them price wise. Personally I prefer the Race. It's just more like a battleship

Enjoy your hunt!

 

[john]

Pete,

did you notice much difference in the way either rode?

Regarding price not been looking that hard but the race lites do seem to fetch a higher price than the standard races.

 

[Mr. Zero]

Ride and durability of both is quite the same in my opinion. I'd go with the RL if you're looking to build the lightest Bonty possible, but even in that case there's not a huge difference.

 

[pete_mcc]

Ride was exactly the same (in my view at least). As they used to say BITD, " if you wanna save 200g then have a sh*t before you go for a ride"

 

[DavidMcK]

I had a Race Lite for a couple of years at the end of the 90's and it was great. I operated a one bike system then and used it for commuting to work al year round, thrashing about the Peaks at the weekends and lots or raceing. It coped well with everything. the bloke I sold it to has been riding it ever since ( infact he stoped riding his Carbon Scott strike because the Bonty felt better) and is still racing it. About 3 years ago I came across a race frame and bought it for old times sake, after a few rides sold my full sus and the Bonty became my main do everything bike again. I would say that the only real difference is that I'm sure the RL was a bit more springy when riding hard, I think the R is a bit stiffer but I really like the springy feel when I had the RL.

I'm getting ready to sell my Bonty Race bike if anybody is interested. Its been resprayed Apple green by Mercian and has original bonty graphics with Silver lettering on a white panel. Mercian also added a rear disk mount for me. It has a Marzocchi Marathon S fork with a Windwave fitted 1 inch steerer and a mix of hope and XT bits.
It's been good enough to take me to podium finishes in the polaris and two 24 hour races this year.