Dilemma on choosing rims!

[R55lyk]

Need help! Currently have mavic aksium's now looking at mavic kysrium equipe's or shimano dura ace c35's which do I choose??

 

[alienator]

Need help! Currently have mavic aksium's now looking at mavic kysrium equipe's or shimano dura ace c35's which do I choose??

If I had to pick between those two, I'd pick the Shimano wheels every time over Mavic wheels. You should note that there's yawning chasm between the list price for the Mavics and the list price for the Shimanos, with the Shimanos being much more expensive. Alas, I don't believe those are the only choices, so if it were me, I'd have a custom wheel builder build me a set of wheels.

 

[R55lyk]

I realise the mass price difference but my first rims were shimano and they weren't good at all which slightly puts me off

 

[danfoz]

I rode the Shimano C50's (carbon/alloy clincher) for awhile. Very nice wheel except on high speed descents, where they may have the tendancy to shimmy. I say "may" as troubleshooting was halted prematurely - but the bike shimmied something scary after 45mph, a speed which I'd dare say 95% of riders could go there whole lives without ever reaching. They seemed however very strong (I hit a pothole so bad the "CRAAACKKK" that came through the wheel scared the **** outta some riders next to me in the pack, but the wheel remained true and no damage to the rim), stiff for a low spoke wheel (subjectively in comparison to other wheels I have ridden), and gave a nice ride quality (not to harsh for deep section).

The price points between the Ksyriums and Shimano's is an order of magnitude as wheels go ($500+)

Between those two? Personally I would go for the Shimano's, ut as Alienator mentioned there are dozens of good choices priced between the two and there is always the option to go custom, which for some reason folks tend to shy away from these day.

Fyi, there is another recent thread with some good mentions: http://www.cyclingforums.com/t/491926/recommend-to-me-read-confuse-me-even-more-lol-a-wheelset-from-my-list (and dozens of others too)

 

[alienator]

Not only are these wheels different in price, there also a bit different in function, with the C35's being aero-ish wheels and the Ksyriums decidedly not aero. What do you want out of a new set of wheels, i.e. what do you want them to do?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

...but the bike shimmied something scary after 45mph, a speed which I'd dare say 95% of riders could go there whole lives without ever reaching.

I am the 5%! Twice a week or more!

More info is needed. For longevity and price, the Mavics. They are great training wheels that have held up well to the abuse of multiple local riders. For racing, I'ld use the Shimanos.

 

[alienator]

I rode the Shimano C50's (carbon/alloy clincher) for awhile. Very nice wheel except on high speed descents, where they may have the tendancy to shimmy. I say "may" as troubleshooting was halted prematurely - but the bike shimmied something scary after 45mph, a speed which I'd dare say 95% of riders could go there whole lives without ever reaching. They seemed however very strong (I hit a pothole so bad the "CRAAACKKK" that came through the wheel scared the **** outta some riders next to me in the pack, but the wheel remained true and no damage to the rim), stiff for a low spoke wheel (subjectively in comparison to other wheels I have ridden), and gave a nice ride quality (not to harsh for deep section).

I'll bet the wheels needed a bit of balancing. Of course it could have also just been that the wheels and bike together had a harmonic in that sweet spot and that wheel balance had nothing to do with things.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by alienator .


I'll bet the wheels needed a bit of balancing. Of course it could have also just been that the wheels and bike together had a harmonic in that sweet spot and that wheel balance had nothing to do with things.

A real possibility - maybe just something to counterbalance the long valve I was running on the inner tubes would have doen the trick. Alas, the bike and wheels went on ebay before we could get to the crux of it. Nevertheless a terrifying experience... Something I couldn't get my ZX-11 to give me. That thing was balanced all the way up to 147mph, which is in fact the speed I've discovered that I completely loose interest in glancing down at the gages, and instead prefer grabbing large handfulls of front brake.

 

[alienator]

A real possibility - maybe just something to counterbalance the long valve I was running on the inner tubes would have doen the trick. Alas, the bike and wheels went on ebay before we could get to the crux of it. Nevertheless a terrifying experience... Something I couldn't get my ZX-11 to give me. That thing was balanced all the way up to 147mph, which is in fact the speed I've discovered that I completely loose interest in glancing down at the gages, and instead prefer grabbing large handfulls of front brake.

I would have taken the wheels off your hands. You should have called. I was waiting. If you don't like smooth motorcycles, you should spend some time on a Suzuki TL1000R. I raced one, and it really loved to do tank slappers.....even with the steering damper cranked up to stupid levels. It also really loved to push really hard in corners. It was definitely no Suzuki's best effort.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

'92 GSXR-1100 here. 165-170 indicated was the fastest I caught the speedo bouncing at. Handling was good, despite still being a pig even after lightening. Power was never lacking.

So far, I can't seem to kill the Aksium training wheels. They are heavy and flexible, but are staying true and round. We'll see how long the freehub bushing holds up (I've heard Mavic has went back to a inner ball bearing).

Edit: Only 43.2 MPH yesterday afternoon...headwind coming down into the valley floor. The descent on the Aksiums was smooth as silk.