Ksyrium Elite 2009

nurul · #1 12-27.-2008

I have recently purchased a pr of these wheels after almost a decade and a half of not using Mavic. The last time I used Mavic was its Open 4CD rims mated to ultegra 1990 7spd hubs and 32 spoke DT SS spokes. Since then I have used Campagnolo Moscow, FSA RD400, Rolf Vector Pro, Campagnolo Protons and HED Jet 50 wheels. (2007).
The Ksyrium Elites comes in at exactly 1550g which is fabulous for a set of wheels which have cost me 440 euros and they look great. They have brought my Scott Addict down to 7,4kg (all in) and are giving my HED Jets a nice rest. They spin up well and feel very stiff on the 90km Barcelona-Sitges coast ride I have been doing as prep for my winter work. I am about 69kg so am able to put a wheel through progressive and repetive attacks on the long climbs of 5% we have around Barcelona and the Elites feel great. One reason I bought them was as an alternative to the Campy Protons I was using. Campy replaced them as for years I had had trouble getting tyres on (and off) and I finally discovered that the rim depth and width were too narrow and not deep enough ( production problem) and I finally sold the replacement ones on. I will be looking into the 2009 Rys before my training camp in Mallorca in March. Summary: if you are looking to build a budget superbike, by that I mean anything under 3000 euros which weighs as close as possbile to 7kgs, these are the wheels I would choose for price quality weight.

alienator · #2 12-27.-2008

What a laugh. Mavic's own studies showed that riders couldn't reliably say whether a wheel was stiff or not. And spinning up....my, you do have an imagination, don't you? Like you would be able to tell. A 1 kg difference in wheel weight, assuming it's all at the rim, makes only small changes in acceleration. A couple hundred grams isn't gonna make any difference you can actually feel. It's all in your head.

nurul · #3 12-27.-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by alienator

What a laugh. Mavic's own studies showed that riders couldn't reliably say whether a wheel was stiff or not. And spinning up....my, you do have an imagination, don't you? Like you would be able to tell. A 1 kg difference in wheel weight, assuming it's all at the rim, makes only small changes in acceleration. A couple hundred grams isn't gonna make any difference you can actually feel. It's all in your head.

you are totally right, Alienation. I agree with you. Mavic's own studies also showed that when you had sex with your mother it felt marginally better than when having sex with your father because you were using campy's new QR skewers. Hehheheheheh!!! Guffawwww....please spend all your time flaming me..I love it.....the more time you waste the better....

Bob Ross · #4 12-27.-2008

On what planet do Ksyrium Elites weigh 1550g? Mine are close to 1700g for the pair.

Or are the 2009 Elites substantially lighter than previous years?

nurul · #5 12-28.-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

On what planet do Ksyrium Elites weigh 1550g? Mine are close to 1700g for the pair.

Or are the 2009 Elites substantially lighter than previous years?

Can you bother to do the maths and read the title of the thread first- it reads 2009. Look at mavic.com- the most obvious but unsually the least reliable source of info in terms of weights. After various external sources reported that the 2009 ( yes 2009) Elites were 1550g I went to check them out at the my LBS and lo and behold they came in at 1550g without skewers. The are a nice wheel to ride (am I allowed to say that they are nice wheels to ride, Alienator or is there a rule book in your **** which says that normal folk with 20 yrs of riding experience aren't allowed to use such mundane and under expressive lexis to talk about a positive experience). The are going to be a gem of a winter wheel and nice and light too. It's nice not to ride my 50 mm HED JETs and to save them for Mallorca. The 2008 Elites, which are a damn nice sturdy wheel (whoops I said "sturdy" and we are this forum are not allowed to describe how a wheel is or how it feels or how great it looks as there are definitve studies which Alienator spends all of his very very sad cyber life lifitng from discreet sources) but Mavic have reworked it for 2009 making it a wheel your could use on your sub 3000 euros super bike. Tlaking of sub 3000 euro super bike, how about a 2008 dura ace grouppo, now that it can be had for a little as 700 euros, some 2009 elites and a nice 1500 euro carbon frame. That would leave about (after discounts) 600 euros to pick up saddle, bars, stem, pedals, tyres, tubes, etc. 7kg bike for under 3000. Very possible with the 2009 Elites.

Peter@vecchios · #6 12-28.-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by nurul

I have recently purchased a pr of these wheels after almost a decade and a half of not using Mavic. The last time I used Mavic was its Open 4CD rims mated to ultegra 1990 7spd hubs and 32 spoke DT SS spokes. Since then I have used Campagnolo Moscow, FSA RD400, Rolf Vector Pro, Campagnolo Protons and HED Jet 50 wheels. (2007).
The Ksyrium Elites comes in at exactly 1550g which is fabulous for a set of wheels which have cost me 440 euros and they look great. They have brought my Scott Addict down to 7,4kg (all in) and are giving my HED Jets a nice rest. They spin up well and feel very stiff on the 90km Barcelona-Sitges coast ride I have been doing as prep for my winter work. I am about 69kg so am able to put a wheel through progressive and repetive attacks on the long climbs of 5% we have around Barcelona and the Elites feel great. One reason I bought them was as an alternative to the Campy Protons I was using. Campy replaced them as for years I had had trouble getting tyres on (and off) and I finally discovered that the rim depth and width were too narrow and not deep enough ( production problem) and I finally sold the replacement ones on. I will be looking into the 2009 Rys before my training camp in Mallorca in March. Summary: if you are looking to build a budget superbike, by that I mean anything under 3000 euros which weighs as close as possbile to 7kgs, these are the wheels I would choose for price quality weight.

For that $773, I could have built you a set of wheels that weigh the same(or less), would be more reliable with NO specific to that wheel parts(like spokes and rim inserts) and most importantly, would have a rear hub MUCH better than any mavic rear hub. Better spinning, smother, more relaible.

Record hubs, Velocity rims, DT spokes..about 1500 grams and about $750.

gemship · #7 12-28.-2008

As far as prebuilts go these days I'm digging the Easton EC90SL's. Sporting a claimed wieght around 1200 grams and costing about a 1000 US dollars they seem to be one of the lightest off the shelf wheelsets for the money I've seen.

In fact the whole Easton line up seems to have a decent performance/pricepoint. A quick google search came up with this site and I'm sure there are even better deals as far as Easton prebuilts go.

http://www.beyondbikes.com/bb/items....v=&CatMoveby=0

Bob Ross · #8 12-29.-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by nurul

Can you bother to do the maths and read the title of the thread first- it reads 2009.

Can you bother to actually read my post, where I ask "are the 2009 Elites substantially lighter than previous years?"

No, clearly you cannot. You know why? Because you're an idiot.

Phill P · #9 12-30.-2008

Settle kids!

What has changed with the 09 model? I don't rate mavic wheels because they are over weight, not very aero, and less than idea rear hubs.

How ever if the weights have come down then they are starting to justify thier price.

R SYS will never justify thier price however. Expensive, propritry everything, reportably fragile, and extemely poorly designed aero wise.

There are good pre builts out there, but I sold on hand builts now.

swampy1970 · #10 12-30.-2008

Prebuilt wheels. Does this look good? The is what Lance and his teammates do to them on the climbs:

http://twitpic.com/qaus

Phill P · #11 12-30.-2008

I've seen other pics like that recently, I think you'll find it has more to do with the picture than the wheels. Besides I can't see that if the spokes bow like that on prebuilt then they wouldn't on hand built.

The change in length of the spokes would cause failure....the picture some how does not reflect reality.

milliedog · #12 12-30.-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by swampy1970

Prebuilt wheels. Does this look good? The is what Lance and his teammates do to them on the climbs:

http://twitpic.com/qaus

Umm ... no. Just in case anyone is gullible enough to believe that, let me make it simple. That's not warped spokes... it's a slow camera with the wheel moving faster at the outside. (Sports mode on a camera will reduce that effect.) Try to be sensible here please.

nurul · #13 01-03.-2009

[Now now..Bob Ross. Don't get ur knickers in a twist. I have always bought factory built wheels. The only time I specced otherwise were handbulit open 4 cds on ultergra with ss db spokes. They were heavy, flexed, and spokes broke often. (back then weighed between 50-60kgs). Why have I bought Mavic factory built after so long, cos the weight has come down to something interesting for the price. The Mavic Cosmic SLRs are 1595g, even lighter than my HED JET 2008s, but the asking price is 1200 euros, 310 euros more than my HEDs. Also in Spain, unlike in the UK, there are far fewer specialised wheel builders. Whatever u say about Mavic, their service centd re in the region is incredible. In the region we have an incredilble array of road cycling terrain which represents a great test bed for testing out wheels and chatting to local pros like Flecha, Losada et al. So ultimately its down to how your ride and aesthetics and at 440 euros for a pr of wheels which come in at 1550g, who is complaining????

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