Bontrager Announces Free Lifetime Warranty on All Carbon Wheels

Feb 19, 2020
by Sarah Moore  
photo


Bontrager has announced an update to their warranty policy for carbon wheels. There is now a lifetime warranty against wheel defects on all Bontrager wheels.

This is in addition to the Carbon Care Wheel Loyalty Program that the brand introduced in 2018 that offers free replacement or repair of any Bontrager carbon wheels that sustain damage from riding within the first two years of ownership.


PRESS RELEASE: Bontrager

Bontrager announced a major change to its warranty program for carbon wheels today, upgrading the program to include a lifetime warranty against defect while keeping the Carbon Care Wheel Loyalty Program.

The new lifetime warranty covers all Bontrager carbon wheels for road and mountain bikes and comes at no additional cost to the purchaser. It includes all Bontrager carbon wheels purchased aftermarket as well as those that come stock on Trek bikes.

bigquotesLike everything we make, we build our carbon wheels to last a lifetime—and we have a carbon wheel lineup now that delivers incredible performance and durability. A great wheelset is an investment, and we believe it's one worth protecting for life.—Graham Wilhelm, Bontrager's Director of Product for Wheels

In addition to a lifetime warranty against defect, all Bontrager carbon wheels are backed by the Carbon Care Wheel Loyalty Program. Under this program, Bontrager offers free replacement or repair of any Bontrager carbon wheels that sustain damage from riding within the first two years of ownership. This program applies to the original owner.

Beyond two years of ownership, the Carbon Care Wheel Loyalty Program offers deeply discounted replacement or repair of Bontrager Carbon wheels.

Bontrager has a long history of creating performance carbon wheels that save weight and watts while delivering long-lasting durability and confidence-inspiring handling on pavement, gravel, and trails. The full line of Bontrager carbon wheels for road and mountain bikes can be found online at trekbikes.com and through Trek's wide network of retail partners.


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91 Comments
  • 79 6
 WeAreOne has them beat!

"If you break a rim while riding, we send you a new one. Period. It is that simple."

"Please note due to some people taking "NO questions asked" to the extreme: Our warranty does not cover vehicular incidents, vehicular accidents, or vehicular stupidity. We cover all accidents that occur while riding your bike."
  • 6 0
 My Agents have been perfect.
  • 23 0
 Absolutely. A lifetime warranty against defects can't hold a candle to a lifetime warranty against breaking a rim while riding. I broke one of my Agents after landing a big drop on an unfortunately placed rock. I had a rim 2 days later for a reasonable cost of $30 shipping.
  • 4 0
 love my agents! best wheels rims ever
  • 3 0
 My Unions are the best wheels I’ve ever had.
  • 7 0
 I don't have a pair of these...but this is the only kind of warranty that I'm interested in for carbon hoops. WeAreOne seems like an awesome company to support too.
  • 5 5
 This warranty seems desperate, it doesn’t compare at all to WR1 and SC. I have been Two years on my insiders and they have been phenomenal. WR1 and SC are the only ones that I know that if you break it will riding you get a new one period for life. After I demo carbon wheels I really like how they felt but could not gamble buying one with out a lifetime warranty.
  • 1 0
 @Svinyard: they are! cool guys to talk to and provide some seriously good product/customer service
  • 2 0
 WR1, Santa Cruz, and E13 are all awesome. I have friends who have had issues with all, and they got new rims within a few days when they had rim cracks. E13 sent a complete new wheel (their policy is new wheel for a cracked rim in year 1 and rims after that) which was extra nice so my buddy didn't have to pay for the wheel build...
  • 9 0
 I broke an Agent rim on a shitty drop. Sent them my hub and they built/shipped me a new wheel for 30 dollars (I'm in the US so this was international shipping, too). They even let me upgrade to a beefier Outlier rim while they were at it.

why would you buy anything else?
  • 2 0
 Seconded... thirded... fourthed? We Are One are the only rims I'll be purchasing until the next sliced bread drops
  • 1 0
 How would know if they’re not lying about it?
  • 3 0
 Got some WAO on one bike and Reynolds on another. Great experience with both.
I busted my Reynolds TRS309 wheel while riding like an idiot last summer and had a new wheel arrive on my doorstep 9 days later, no questions asked. Great experience.

Forget performance, the warranty is the reason I keep buying carbon wheels. I’ve broken more wheels than I care to admit, and none of the alloy wheels I’ve owned came with any coverage. Carbon is more expensive upfront, but the right warranty (WAO, Reynolds, SC) makes it worth every penny.
  • 6 1
 The carbon wheel warranty war is unlike anything I've ever seen in the mountain bike industry. It makes me suspicious that we are in end times and these companies know it.
  • 8 0
 I love how any carbon wheel warranty announcement basically becomes free advertising for WR1
  • 5 0
 As not a single person here has actually talked about the product at hand here, let me chime in. Bought a pair of Bontrager Kovee Pro 30's beginning of season. Slapped those XC rims on my RIP 9, hucked it at Highland, and boom goes the dynamite. Brought my wheel into the shop on a monday, left that shop with an entire new wheel on a wednesday. These statements are just politics. Your relationship with the guys at a local bike shop and their relationship with their supplier is not politics. Companies like Trek and the stores that represent them are there to treat you as best as possible regardless of what the fine print says. I'm not trying to say that Bontrager wheels are any better than WR1 or SC or .... just be smart enough to consider things beyond some lawyer and PR edited public statements when making a purchase.
  • 2 1
 What are the odds we are one is still around In 5 or 10 years to honor this? 80%? 90%? Not hating on them bc they seem like a great company, but something worth considering.
  • 1 0
 WeAreOne are at the top of my list if I every break my Industry Nine 310c. But praying to the bike gods that never happens.
  • 1 0
 Amen. I'm about to buy a second set of We Are One's after my agents have been absolutely bomb proof for years, bought them right when they came out!
  • 2 0
 Also it's interesting to see how WAO has taken over the carbon wheel discussion. When they were released, there were maybe 2-5 comments/upvotes on people recommending them because many hadn't heard/ridden them yet. At this point they generally pop up to the top of every carbon wheel article, which to me is probably the best accolade a company can get. Natural slow growth, an amazing high quality product, at a very affordable (relative to other carbon wheels) price point, and top notch customer service.

I can't recommend them enough.
  • 3 0
 @djbutcher13: Oh my god, there is actually an intelligent person that comments on Pinkbike articles!!!!!
  • 1 0
 @Hayek: add another upvote from a long term Reynolds rider. Still smashing about occasionally on a set of 26” AM wheels that are a decade old. Formerly my A bike, now my C bike, still holding true despite a few bearing changes and 2 broken spokes.
  • 1 0
 @hatton: They did move into a larger space to scale up production and meet demand, if that adds confidence
  • 1 2
 Enve has WeAreOne beat. They pay shipping both ways and rebuild your wheel no charge. Period.
  • 2 0
 Best part of the We Are One warranty is that I haven’t had to use it in two years on two sets of Agents. I can’t kill em.
  • 25 0
 For me the real question is does my piss poor riding ability count as a defect in manufacturing?
  • 11 1
 Is your mother Bontrager?
  • 10 0
 My wife bought me a pair of the Aeolus 3's for my road bike and they are terrific. I did actually need to use the return policy in the first two years of ownership and it was simple and easy. A few emails and a phone call - problem solved. Bravo Bontrager!
  • 7 0
 Just put a set of the XXX Aeolus 4 on my gravel bike. Absolutely phenomenal wheels so far.
  • 2 0
 @gooutsidetoday: Those wheels are insane! Nice work!
  • 10 0
 "lifetime warranty against wheel defects on all Bontrager wheels". Well, %99.9 defects occur within the first year. so what's the point with this lifetime warranty.
  • 6 3
 Plus, 89.9% of us will sell their bike after 1-2 years
  • 16 0
 It’s a way to increase the wheels perceived value without any additional cost to Bontrager since most people will just read “lifetime warranty”
  • 8 1
 I broke a Bontrager carbon rim, went through hell and back to get a warranty claim through my LBS. Apparently I should run some rim impact what doesn’t come with the bike and takes some befits away from carbon rims
  • 2 0
 ive been told by my LBS is tire inserts will void warranty for bontrager carbon rims. but those are easy enough to remove. my one time breaking a wheel i got a replacement in a week and it was super easy, but i also worked at the shop.
  • 3 1
 Wait...you trying to tell me that going through your LBS was more of a hassle than buying direct from a company like We Are One and dealing with them directly for service?

Inconceivable! Bike shops exist to make this process easier for us!
  • 3 0
 and bike shops are often run by... people who ride bikes. I dunno if I trust that crowd...
  • 9 4
 "But why do they put a warranty on the wheel?

Because they know all they sold ya was a warrantied POS. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it warrantied, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product" instead...
  • 2 0
 When a wheel with Chris King hubs passes by:

"BEES! BEES EVERYWHERE! SAVE YOURSELF!!!!"
  • 3 0
 Well said Tommy! Which way is the weight room again?
  • 3 0
 @keeganj95: Your bullets are useless!!
  • 3 0
 Best comment award goes to you good sir....bravo
  • 6 0
 This article and it’s subsequent comments is the greatest advertisement for WeAreOne rims! Brilliant marketing Bontrager!
  • 4 2
 I feel like the true reason carbon bike parts are more expensive, is not because of material or labor costs, but to cover the warrantees that frequently happen. When you pay for the carbon rims, you're paying the cost of five aluminum rims, just so they can toss multiple warrantees your way and still make a profit. I have not facts to back this up, just a hunch.
  • 1 1
 This
  • 2 0
 You should see prices increasing then when companies like Bontrager add the lifetime warranty. You definitely are not paying more to cover warranties, carbon just has increadibly high R&D costs and upfront manufacturing costs for molds. You're starting to see a lot of lifetime warranties because carbon is increadibly strong and if built right is hard to break, and because manufacturers recognize most people buying high end carbon only keep it 1-3 years maybe and the warranty doesn't transfer to the used market.
  • 2 0
 Warranty on carbon wheels is a way overblown topic IMO. Reading the internet you'd assume you WILL need to warranty your carbon rims at some point. It's fake news. I have/had 3 sets of carbon wheels over the last 4 years and no issues. Two pairs of Ibis and one Nobl. Sure, people will have warranty issues, but there's lots of parts on a bike that may have random issues.
  • 1 0
 Maybe that is because you only keep for just over a year...
  • 2 0
 Currently waiting for my 4th Bonty carbon rim from warranty. I wonder how deep the discount well goes after the 2 years is up...
  • 3 3
 The Bontrager wheels on my Remedy are actually the worst thing in the world. Had I known, I'd far rather have just payed more and taken my chances with less warranty on something built properly to begin with than deal with the hassle of breaking things and ruining multiple expensive weekends away riding.
  • 2 0
 Trek and bontrager it doesn't get much better. Even before this announcement........they been taking care of me for years. I wont buy any other brand.
  • 1 1
 This really doesn’t seem to have any meaningful changes over the old Carbon Care warranty. Definitely not the lifetime crash replacement warranty that was spoken about here: m.pinkbike.com/news/review-bontragers-1290g-kovee-xxx-wheelset.html (check about halfway down the comments). Looks like they weren’t straight up with @danielsapp
  • 2 0
 Are those wheels covered under accidents on the Spring Creek Trail er what?
  • 3 0
 Haha.....even includes taking a digger on the Spring Creeker
  • 1 0
 @grahamwilhelm: I’m sold
  • 3 0
 Bontrager replaced my carbon wheel quick.
  • 1 0
 Just remember that lifetime warranties are typically the life of product, not you. And it's up to the brand to determine how long that lifespan is.
  • 4 1
 *lifetime of the wheel
  • 1 1
 Lifetime means the lifetime of the product, which is 5 years for carbon parts I think. So, nothing exciting here, just a normal thing.
  • 2 0
 Read the article.
  • 3 1
 What a wank fest, that’s not lifetime you marketing douches
  • 2 0
 Could've at least used an MTB pic cos Y'know, MTB site................
  • 2 1
 Oh man I’m glad I don’t have to pay for this warranty now
  • 1 1
 Nobody wants to ride your nerd wheels. Bontrager parts are just things you take off your bike.
  • 2 0
 Cracking deal!
  • 2 5
 Sure bontrager, whatever you say haha!
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