Well, it's just an opinion - but I like the Ksyriums

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

Another opinion on the Ksyriums... I've beat the hell out of mine and have had no problems. Lots of similar finding from the roadies in my area. Great wheels!

Andy

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Andy

'You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Thinsg Are As They Are.'

This year when it came time to write a preseaon for Mavic our store did not even bother. WE wrote a substantial order for Easton/Velomax.

Mavic invented the aluminum rim and has historically been an excellent product. However, this year, Velomax/Easton one upped them. Here's why:

• Through the last half of 2004 our racing team guys started to get a clicking sound in the front ends of their bikes. The sound was traced to the wheels, the wheels were Ksyruim SSC SL's. When we phoned Mavic they mentioned that the wheels do "creak" occasionally and that this is the sound of hub body components rubbing against each other under load. Our guys aren't Tour de France riders, they are Cat 3's. We asked what the cure was and Mavic told us to replace the OEM Mavic skewers with all-steel skewers and crank them down "as tight as you can".
• Most of the Velomax Easton line is not just a little lighter than commensurate Mavic product, it is much lighter. Some wheels were $100-300 less retail, nearly 100 grams lighter per pair and exhibited no "creaking" issues.
• No special tools, such as a proprietary dust cap wrench, are required to service Velomax/Easton wheels. If you lose the special wrench that comes with the Mavic wheels you have to use a standard pin spanner. Since the dust cap is aluminum a standard pin spanner generally does some minor damage to the dust cap. Not good.
• We were formerly the largest single Mavic account in Michigan in 2003 or 2002- I don't recall which. At the time we were serviced by an excellent rep who was a former professional team mechanic at Motorola. He did a fine job, conducted clinics, serviced our inventory and performed in store warranty service. For '05 he had moved on to other lines and the sales rep we got was not even in our state. When it came time to write a preseason we got a couple phone calls and e-mails. The largest account in the state (formerly) wasn;t even worth maintenance. Our Easton/Velomax rep is an all-star. I have his cell phone number, he always answers. He was in our store four hours yesterday. Bottom line to consumers: The better service the company gives us, the better service we can extend to you.
• Put yourself in the customer's place: You just bought a $799.99 retail pair of Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL's, they develop a creak. A phone rep tells your dealer to fix it with a $3 Taiwanese quick release skewer intended for use on a $300 road bike. Are you good with that? Our customers were not.

Mavic product is good, some of it great. But they got passed this year by Easton/Velomax. We bought a ton of Easton/Velomax product because we rode it and had excellent results. Absurd perfectionist and expert wheel builder, the late Michael R. RAbe bought a pair of Velomax Ascents before Velomaxx sold to Easton and disassembled them to inspect them. He bought another set following that to ride. HE raced cyclocross on a set. He said, "These are the best thing out there."

I'd have to agree with them. We are very satisfied with our Easton/Velomax wheel sets so far. While Mavic has been a good standby for years, they simply got beat to the finish line this year. They sat up too early.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Oh, I should add, if you are looking for another unsung wheel bargain check out Ritchey Protocols. Unbelievable value: Bladed spokes, much lighter than Ksyrium SSC SL, good one piece hub shell, and over $200 less expensive.

If you do the math the Ritchey's are a very good value.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Wow, great info Tom (as usual) - thanks. I've been a fan of the the Ksyrium line for so long and have beat mine to death as well for about , oh 20K miles with no problems. Only trued the front wheel once (and that was after the airline repacked my bike in the case :(

I'll definitely check out the Easton line if I need some new road wheels.

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____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

Thanks for all of the advice/opinions. Anybody else want to say a word or two about Ksyrium elites vs easton/velomax circuit wheels?



KJ

I fixed the Mavic QR creak problem by just putting a drop of oil on the hub where it contacts the dropout, and making sure the skewer was good and tight. I can't believe they recommended to use a cheap skewer, that is lame. Can't blame you for dropping the line if that is their answer.

Mavic makes good wheels but they are overpriced. I like my Ksyriums, but if I was to buy again I would make a different choice based on the price/performance ratio.

Reynolds Altas. Best damn 30mm deep aluminum rimmed wheels on the market at that price point. I swear!

after 4 years of hard riding over frequently rough roads and essentially NO service, my ksyriums are still in near perfect condition. love 'em. i weigh in at nearly 200 lbs and don't usually having the time or energy to take proper care of my stuff and these wheels have been totally bombproof. that said, i would be annoyed if they developed a creak and the solution was to use a cheap skewer on relatively high-zoot wheels.

Does anyone out there have any experience with Cane Creek wheels? The volos XL is a semi-deep rim and the price isn't bad. How's the quality/durability?

I have a pair of velomax vistas and a pair of cane creek aeroheads. So far, with equal time on both sets, the velomax have needed less attention and stay true longer.