Mavic Aksium Wheels
- Thread starter kbone
- Start date
kbone said:
Mavic Aksium wheels are the first wheelsets not made in France by Mavic. The rims are still made in France but are shipped to China for assembly. However, Mavic says the wheelbearings and patented FL-Body freehub design carry the same engineering and guarantee from them. They come in silver or black.
Mavic launched these alongside their newest range-topping Mavic Ksyrium ES because of numerous requests from bike manufacturers for a cheapper wheelset alternative to equipped bikes in the $1,500 range.
Estimated weight for the pair is about 2kgs.
I bought a set of the Aksium wheels a few months back. I ended up paying $215 total.
I have ridden them about 500 miles so far and love them. They look great, the ride is fairly smooth and they have stayed in true even after riding on some rough roads.
I would recommend them to anyone considering them - especially for the price.
I have ridden them about 500 miles so far and love them. They look great, the ride is fairly smooth and they have stayed in true even after riding on some rough roads.
I would recommend them to anyone considering them - especially for the price.
The Aksium look good for the money. However, just to add another perspective/play "devil's advocate":
For the same amount of money you can get a decent set of handbuilt wheels which may last longer and will be easier to repair should anything go wrong.
The Aksiums, like almost all Mavic wheels, are radially laced in the front, as well as having straight-pull spokes in the rear; making repairs and spoke replacement a possible concern. Something to think about.
For the same amount of money you can get a decent set of handbuilt wheels which may last longer and will be easier to repair should anything go wrong.
The Aksiums, like almost all Mavic wheels, are radially laced in the front, as well as having straight-pull spokes in the rear; making repairs and spoke replacement a possible concern. Something to think about.
I wouldn't worry too much about repairs. The spokes are standard, and the count is high enough that the tension should be too bad. Of course for the same money you can get a hand built Ultegra/Open Pro set and come out 400 grams lighter.BikingBrian said:
there's a set of Mavics that sell down here called "Race", which are also described as an entry level wheel-set, and I dunno why I can't find them on any of the Mavic sites -- I suppose it means they're very new or very old. I'm guessing they're similar o the Aksiums.
Anyway, I took a new wheel I'm building -- a front Mavic CXP33 with an Ultegra hub and 32 DT Revolutions -- to a local shop to check my spoke tension, and I could believe how HEAVY the Mavic Race front wheel was compared to my CXP33. Granted, the DT Revolutions are very light spokes, but still.....
So, watch the weight of some o' them cheaper Mavics.
Weight ain't everything, but why have a 2kg+ wheelset when you don't have to?
My front cxp33 is 830g with the skewer.
Anyway, I took a new wheel I'm building -- a front Mavic CXP33 with an Ultegra hub and 32 DT Revolutions -- to a local shop to check my spoke tension, and I could believe how HEAVY the Mavic Race front wheel was compared to my CXP33. Granted, the DT Revolutions are very light spokes, but still.....
So, watch the weight of some o' them cheaper Mavics.
Weight ain't everything, but why have a 2kg+ wheelset when you don't have to?My front cxp33 is 830g with the skewer.
It's not just Mavic. It doesn't seem possible for anyone to manufacture a wheel in that price range that's competitive with hand builts in any aspect but aesthetics.531Aussie said:So, watch the weight of some o' them cheaper Mavics.
My front cxp33 is 830g with the skewer.
I won't argue the point about handbuilt wheels being better (they are) but I will say that I like the look of the Aksium wheels a bit better than the Open Pro/Ultegra wheels.
Regarding the "Race" wheels... the Aksium is know as the Aksium Race and therefore is the same wheelset.
Regarding the "Race" wheels... the Aksium is know as the Aksium Race and therefore is the same wheelset.
I assume most of the Mavic prebuilts would have some aero advantage with less (and bladed) spokeskbone said:
oh, in that case, i'd guess that the one I picked up is heavier than the Mavic site claims, which is 920g. My CXP33 with the Revolutions is 830g with the Ultegra skewer, and without rim tape, and the Aksium felt much more than 90g morekbone said:
All the Mavic prebuilts on Weight Weenies are slightly heavier than advertised:
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/listings/components.php?type=roadwheels
Crikey!! $420 US for some Ksyrium Elite 2s!!!
http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=W1003
You've gotta be tempted by that!!
I agree that weight isn't all that important (don't get me started on the bloody rotational mass bollocks), but for a cupla hundred bucks more (that's what we call "price creep"), you'll drop ~400g!! Aerodynamics and stiffness are more important, unless you're climbing mountains; it just that it bugs me that Mavic advertise a "1980g wheelset", which could well be over 2100g. I reckon one benefit of these sexy Mavic prebuilts is a big drop in weight over standard rims, and the Aksiums don't give you that.
http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=W1003
You've gotta be tempted by that!!
I agree that weight isn't all that important (don't get me started on the bloody rotational mass bollocks), but for a cupla hundred bucks more (that's what we call "price creep"
), you'll drop ~400g!! Aerodynamics and stiffness are more important, unless you're climbing mountains; it just that it bugs me that Mavic advertise a "1980g wheelset", which could well be over 2100g. I reckon one benefit of these sexy Mavic prebuilts is a big drop in weight over standard rims, and the Aksiums don't give you that.Similar threads
