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Bont's Generation 3 (G3)
Bont re-entered the wheel market in a big way this year, first introducing the high-end Generation 4s and then the moderately priced Generation 3s. At $15 to $16 a wheel, the G4s may be too pricey for some skaters. But that's where the G3s come in. They provide very good performance without breaking the bank. Look The G3s are gleaming white wheels dressed up with red decals and black lettering. The white color makes the wheels look big and heavy. But they are surprisingly light. The 110mm wheels tip the scales at 144 grams a piece. That's close to the weight of the popular, and more expensive, Matter Juice wheels (138 grams). Flexing Hub Like the G4s, the G3s are built with a new flexing hub. The hub has a hinge at the midpoint of each of the eight plastic spokes. The hinge "snaps the wheel back into place at the end of the stroke," giving the wheel an extra source of rebound, Alex Bont said. The wheels are made with a "super high quality" urethane, which Bont says is superior to that used on any other wheel of similar price. Nice Fit Bearings pop into the G3 hubs with little effort and fit snuggly. This is a definite plus, as anyone who has contended with too-tight or too-loose bearings can tell you. Performance and Wear My first test of the wheels came at the Eastern Seaboard Series in Trexlertown. I liked their roll and grip and was pleased with how the wheel profile felt when moving from an outside to an inside edge. I tried them next at the Roller Sports Ontario Outdoor Speed Championships. They impressed me with how well they held the corners on the 200-meter track. And in the straightaway, I found I was able to set down on my outside edge and get right into the double push with plenty of good roll. I liked the wheels even more when I learned I had set a personal best in the 300 meters by more than half a second. Though the wheel is designed for the road, I found that it worked very well on a track with tight turns. After skating the Eastern Seaboard Series (15K and 3-lap relay) and Ontario Championships (300 meter, two 500 meters, 15K elimination, and 3K relay), the wheels were still race worthy and looked almost new. Price I described the wheels as moderately priced earlier in this review. But the truth is that at $8 a piece for the 100s and $10 for the 110s, they are among the least expensive speed wheels on the market. Buying Advice
With the G3s, Bont has done for wheels what its moderately priced Jets and Semi-Races did for skates. It moved the technology it developed for high-end products into the lower end of its product line. That's good news for skaters. With the price of everything climbing these days, it's great to have a high performance wheel without the high price. The G3s may not be the final word in speed in 2008, but they provide very good roll, grip and durability on both road and track without breaking the bank. [Peter Doucet is the Inline Planet's product editor and the webmaster of Speed Skate World.] ... • More skate reviews and previews
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