I can’t decide on wheels!! I keep flip-flopping from one to another and back. I’m 180lb, middle of the pack age grouper looking for some light fast wheels for my TCR2. My original budget was $500 so I’m already stretching it. If you ride these, or have some experience with them, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Mavic has really done a good job of building a reliable light all around wheel, however, you can do the same thing for much much less.
First off the wheels are very aerodynamic, but Mavic’s own admission, not much attention was paid to making the wheel aero, other than the “look”. The 18/20 spoke pattern lends some wind shearing benefits until you factor in the cross section of their huge spokes. The rim shape is also quite blunt. They are pretty light, but weight isn’t much of a factor outside of the mountains.
I’ve recently been turned onto Ritchey’s DS wheels which have an aero shape, 16/20 spoke configuration with symetric crossing pattern on the rear wheel. They are very reasonably priced and extremely durable for their 1600ish gram weight.
If you know a competant wheel builder, you can likely get a 1400 gram wheelset built up for around 500 bucks also with American Classic’s hubs and some low-spoke aero shape Sun rims.
They’re $400 of wheel and $400 of marketing. You’ll get a much faster pair of wheels for $500 used on e-bay. The mavics aren’t aero, and aren’t that light.
I just bought these as a x-mas gift to myself… I bought the SSC’s, because I found them used at a bike shop who had them left over as demo’s. I payed 500 can… (so… ~350? US). I weigh 160, and ride in draft legal races (I.e. road bike with extensions). My opinion of them, is that they seem durable, they are lighter than my Ritchey ORC Aero pros… and they definatly have better hubs. On the road it seemed like there was a bit of rear brake rub sprinting up a hill, but i only experianced this once… the first time i road them, and think it might have been due to the fact that the roads were still really wet and gritty from winter, the other couple times i road them, I never noticed this. (I also doubt its the wheels because all the reviews i’ve read have never mentioned this). However, my impression of these wheels is that they are road race wheels, If i was in your position where I was strictly looking at race wheels for triathlon, I would go with a different pair. The new Ritchey DS wheels are pretty sweet, though I know my bike shop recommends Aerohead wheels… (basically deep Velocity wheels, with bladed spokes and a good hub) they cost about 600 can… they are just under 1600 grams, are super strong, and alot of the local elites race on them. (you can get them at www.racersportif.com).
If you are more into group rides, and road biking though, go with the Ksyriums though.
I went through this whole drill in January. I had some cash burning a whole in my pocket and wanted to get some wheels to replace the ones that came with my bike. I though hard about the Zipp 404’s, I wanted wheels for road and tri, so disks or hed3’s were not an option. My roadie friends were raving about the Ksyriums - one guy wrecked very, very hard and his were still true. Another guy that races on a local team raved about the ones he put on his Colnago. Lance Armstrong won the 2001 TDF riding them. But I was still hoping to get something that would work in tri’s, but I hadn’t talked to any triathletes who used them.
Finally, I decided to fork over the cash and get the Zipps. I went down to my local shop (very good reputation) to talk about them and get my order placed. They were very hesitant to order the Zipps for me. They had seen one set come back because they had started to delaminate, and another set came back in and had to have the hub replaced. They also don’t hold up well in crashes.
I was contemplating all of this when Chris Lieto came rolling in to the shop on his Bianchi Pista fixed gear. He overheard the conversation over rims and recommended the Ksyriums - and claimed he had occasionally raced on them in 2002. That pretty much did it for me. I figure if the guy with the fastest bike split at Wildflower recommends the Ksyriums, they are probably fine for me.
I have had them since January and have had zero problems with them. They are very fast, durable (mine are still true), very stiff and accellerate well, and they are also very, very light. Yes, you can find lighter wheels, but not with the durability and price point of these. The hubs are remarkably smooth and the quick release skewers are actually quite innovative.
There is no doubt that these are primarily roadie wheels, and there are other options out there like the Ritchey’s or the Campy Eurus or some American Classics or Speed Dreams, but I have no regrets about the decision I made to get these rims and I highly recommend them.
You can get lighter wheels with great hubs for much less $$. The Ksyriums are not an aero wheel. Sure, they are MARGINALLY more aero than a 32 spoke wheel, but not enough to make any appreciable difference. You have to have a 38-40mm rim before you get any REAL aero benefit. That means carbon rims and a lot more $$. Having removed aero from the equation, you have lightness, durability, and hubs. The Ksyriums are definitely admirable in each category. But the fact is, the standard Mavic Open or a Sun standard section rim are lighter by about 30 grams. We’re talking about rolling weight there, too. And hubs are a wash. You can use American classic or even go hog wild with some Chris King hubs or just stay with the excellent DA (or Record/Chorus if you’re of Campy persuasion), and still come out with as good or better durability and bearing smoothness. A set of American Classic hubs, Mavic 28 hole open rims, and revolution spokes will run just over $400 from any reputable wheel builder. The wheels will be lighter, as durable, and certainly as smooth rolling as the Ksyriums. The only thing you will lose is the cool factor of owning the “latest and greatest”. If you REALLY want to go crazy, lace up a set of Mavic Reflex tubies to the Am Classics and you’ll save an additional 100g for the set plus the tubies will be lighter than clincher tire/tube combos. MUCH lighter than the Ksyriums, and still around $400.
Mavic hubs kick serious ass. Of all the wheels I have riden on, nothing has been smoother. Mavic wheels are also very durable. I have been riding Cosmic Carbones for almost 5 years with almost no problems. The Ksyrium are a good choice.
Lately I have been training on the Shimano Dura-Ace 7701 wheelset. They are a great set of wheels. Very strong, more aero than the Ksyriums, and just cool looking. I race them on hilly courses over my Carbones, and have been very pleased. I have seen them on sale lately for about $600. I got them for less. If you shop around you may be able to find some within your range. They also make an Ultegra version.
I work at a company that lets us go on lunch rides and recently, everyone has been upgrading wheelsets. I got the 404’s, and one person got the Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL’s, and another got the Ksyrium Elites. In my opinion, if you get a Mavic wheelset, go for the Elites. Everything seems to be the same between the SSC SL’s and the Elites except the machined rim surface. Both hubs are SILKY smooth and both riders are 215+ lbs and still holding true. The good part is that the Elites are 499. Just my .02