Hi all. I am in the process of basically rebuilding my bike/wheel collection. What is the current thinking as to the performance of Mavic’s lower-end Cosmic (SLS) aero wheels for everyday/fast group riding? I am considering a set of Hed Belgiums and Campagnolo Bullet wheels. The Hed C2s and the Mavics are about the same price (I can get a discount on the Mavics since I purchased a ton from the bike shop). I run fully Campy on my road bike so the Bullets are a consideration. I have a set of Zipp 404 tubulars that serve as my race day wheels so I do not want to spend a ton of money on wheels. For $100 more, would any of you grab the Mavic wheels over the Belgiums? I am replacing a worn out set of 1999-vintage Zipp 404s which I love to ride everywhere (races, fast group rides, training). If I didn’t want to mess around with changing pads, would any of these be decent race day wheels (crits, road races)? While “better”, the newer Zipp 303/404 and Enves 6.7 are all quite a bit more expensive.
I can’t fully answer your question but I use the Campy Chorus group with their Eurus wheels and they’re very good. The Bullets are a great option for an aero clincher and would be my choice if I were buying aero wheels. If you’re running Campy already, you will save some $$ on the free-hub conversion by staying with Campy wheels. Campy freehubs are not cheap.
Seeing as you have race wheels, why not stick with something like the Eurus or Shamal for daily use? Pretty nice wheels.
Another alternative would be to look at Fulcrum (made by Campagnolo) which are essentially the same but some small differences and usually come set up to run as SRAM/Shimano hubs - but can come as Campy too sometimes. The Racing Zero is a great wheelset.
I would get the HEDs or Campy or Fulcrum long before I’d get Mavics…
I would get the HEDs or Campy or Fulcrum long before I’d get Mavics…
Do you have any details as to why that is the case? I did some digging around and I know that for a while Mavic had tons of problems with rim failures. I also understand that their older cosmics, in addition to being heavy, were also not the most aero. What is the latest thinking? I tried to find some data and did not find much!
I had an early set of Kyserium SLs and absolutely loved them. They were bombproof.
I had Kysrium SLs, as well…bombproof, yes, but the ride was so very harsh. (maybe because of the alloy spokes)
The freehub design is …not good. The delrin bushing wears out which results in play. (lots of stuff about it on forums, etc…google “Mavic freehub delrin”
If they were cheaper than the alternatives…maybe they wouldn’t seem so overpriced/overrated.
Quite happy with my Enve 3.4’s! though…they are kind of overpriced as well. Campy/Fulcrum are pretty cheap from the UK sellers.
Honestly, I have some older Mavics and I couldn’t be happier with them. Yeah there’s lighter wheels, and more aero wheels, but I really love mine.
Probably not the answer you want, but dude, just ride/train harder.
Does it really matter whether or not you have super aero (or even worse ‘budget’ aero) wheels for training/fast group rides?
Why not just work harder, get more training stimulus in the bank, and then crank it out when it really matters in a race with the existing aero race wheels you have?
Besides, every time I ride in a group or pack, it’s not the wind resistance that I’m fighting, it’s simply keeping up - so maybe spend some of that money on faster rolling tyres/tubes if that helps satisfy the urge to buy something.
Train harder, race smarter. Can’t buy TSS.
He said in the original post that he is replacing a set of worn out wheels.
You are correct. My reading comprehension skills apologize.
Having said that, do you really need more wheels. Sounds like you got enough nice sets already?
I love new toys as much as anyone else, but for training/group rides? really?