guy is selling a set of these (2003 model, clinchers, used for 1 season of road racing and some training rides, 1 broken front spoke early in the year (fixed) but no problems afterwards), asking price is $530 OBO.
what do people think about these wheels and what would be a reasonable $$ to offer? I’ve been reading about broken spokes on these but mostly with heavier riders (165# myself) so I’m not TOO worried. Personally I’d have preferred the bontrager race x-lite but they sold out way too fast
The fact that the guy told me he broke a spoke and had it fixed (by the best roadie lbs in town) seems to hint that he’s honest and there shouldn’t be any bad surprises. I was planning to offer $415 (since it seems ‘as new’ currently go for $500 or thereabouts), reasonable?
(note, we’re dealing in Canadian dollars but I converted everything in USD for this post)
They are worth no more than $300 IMO. The front broken spoke is ominous. Ksyrium spokes don;t just break. Was it the result of an impact? How is the rim? How are the rest of the spokes? The broken spoke alone raises questions.
I would offer him $300 cash and be prepared to walk.
Like former CIA Director George Bush said: “When you take a hard line bargaining position be prepared to accept the consequences of losing.”
Yeah, I’m 175lb, have ridden the Ksyriums since late 2002 and have had zero problems - haven’t even had to true them - they are perfect. A broken spoke on the front wheel is a bad sign. A co-worker broadsided a minivan last year, his front Ksyrium was still true - though his aluminum frame was in two pieces.
thanks for the feedback, I guess I’ll pass on these… I have read a lot of reviews of these wheels and either people think they are bombproof (fine for thousands and thousands of miles) or they think they suck (broken spokes, cracked rims), I wonder if mavic has some quality control problems going on!
I think you are correct on passing on these. Last fall, I paid $525 for brand new ones on Ebay. The other guys are correct. Something severe happened to break a spoke. I have like 5000 miles on mine and are still true. I like them and are very reliable, but I am sub 160 pounds. I used them in the ride across Iowa last year. I too thought about the xlites since my trek 5200 came with the race lites, but decided on the mavic’s because of the reviews on roadbikerreviem.com. They seem to be really fast for the money in comparision to Bontrager race and x lites. Just my 2 cents.
I’ve had 2 pair of these. Like Tom wrote, the spokes just don’t break. I hit a car at 25mph, bent the rim and still didn’t break a spoke. I had one wheel hit by a baseball and it didn’t break a spoke. I had a customer come into our shop who tried to true them with vice grips, and he still didn’t break a spoke. So IMO I wouldnt’ pay $530 for them.
I do think they are bomb proof. I have a rear for sale if you are interested?
I hate changing Bontragers. Lots of busted knuckles. They kept the old rolf design I think. If I’m correct, one side of the rim is slightly higher than the other?
