Please advise: Mavic R Sys Wheelset

[Sikhandar]

will there be enough spokes here for me?

yes, of course...

what rim is a good choice? I think a moderately deep carbon would be cool but are they just as strong and lighter than aluminum hoops? I only want to go to the trouble if the difference is significant.

moderately deep carbon... you mean a "zipp 202"-type rim? or a gigantex one...ok. well, remember that
- there are (in average) nearly 80-100 grams less per rim with respect to *good* alu rims
- they're *much* more expensive
- the tubular version of carbon rims is almost a mandatory choice, since the full-carbon clincher rims are often reinforced to avoid "longitudinal dissociation" due to the pressure of clincher to the walls of the rim (and they cost a lot more, see: Corima Aero, Gipiemme Meteora, Corima Winium, Campagnolo Hyperon wheelset). If you want to use a hybrid alu-carbon rim you'll be going to use a much heaver rim.......losing a lot of benefits. So: wanna carbon? then it has sense only if you use tubulars. Wanna alu? you may choose clincher or tub.
- the braking surface of a carbon rim needs its brake pads (after having tried swisstop, campagnolo, shimano, corima, FSA my opinion is that corima ones are the best, if this helps), and if you often switch between carbon/alu wheels, well, it would be best to change the pads (corima anyway works fine on both carbon and alu rims, just clean them before switching to carbon).

Some good custom wheels I've seen around here with alu rims: American Classic rims (the ones coming from the AC 350 wheels); AlexRims EST 13/14; Ambrosio TQB Excellight; Mavic Open Pro; SunRinglè (these are american and quite common) ME14A <-yes eyelets no-> M14A... for the hubs yes, the echonomical choice would be Novatec hubs or AC hubs. Sincerely Record / Chorus balls-n-cones hubs gives me a better feeling than hubs on industrial bearings, but this is only my opinion...

visit rouesartisanales.com if you want some carbon ideas (also "prices" ideas...)

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Thanks to all who posted, lets change gears and talk custom build:

I want a very solid race set of wheels.

I can get a real good deal on older American Classic hubs. the flanges are drilled for bladed spokes, 24ct. rear and 20ct. front

I weigh about 75 kg. or 165 lb.

will there be enough spokes here for me?

what rim is a good choice? I think a moderately deep carbon would be cool but are they just as strong and lighter than aluminum hoops? I only want to go to the trouble if the difference is significant.

I have always used rims with eyelets... my current race wheels are Mavic Ksyrium Elite which have never gone even a little out of true, even after a couple of spills!

thanks again

all's'miles

curby

Reynolds has rims that are 20/24..expect to pay about $700 per for them. More for carbon clinchers. Edge does too.

I recommend DT 240 hubs, 28 f laced with Revolution spokes, 2 cross, 32 rear, left side Rev spokes, right side 14/15, laced 3 cross, brass nipps all around on either Velocity Escape tubular rims or Velocity Aeroheads, OC rear. Weight will be in the 1475 range, price will be around $750.

 

[Phill P]

What sort of racing/riding do you plan on doing? Will these also be used as "every day/training" wheels?

24/20 will be ok for somebody who is 75kg. They wo't be the stiffest in the rear but will work well enough.
Didn't the older AC hubs have some issues? Also don't they use very small front bearings and axles?

You will get 100 different suggestions as to what hubs and rims to use, all good suggestions but all to individual taste.
Best idea is to choose the wheel builder, then go talk to them about what is good for you, what products they use, and what fits into your budget.

Notihng wrong gigantex rims if you want to save some money, but they will weigh a little more. There are many many brands using those rims, so they can't be bad. Might have toruble finding rims only though as they tend to come in complete wheels only.

 

[curby]

Mostly I will use these wheels for RR with uphill finishes and/or good amounts of climbing.

How about the Zipp 202s... I have read varying reviews. The website says 'even criteriums' the roads we race on are generally good. Are these considered 'super light' ?

I thought about building this set of wheels, but the cost of carbon rims individually makes prebuilt co$t more attractive.

how would you compare some good ol' Mavic GEL330s with DB DT spokes 14/15s and AC hubs to the prebuilt 202s with regard to durability? I had good luck with GEL330s back in the day (32 spoke)...


all's'miles

curby

 

[parawolf]

Mostly I will use these wheels for RR with uphill finishes and/or good amounts of climbing.

How about the Zipp 202s... I have read varying reviews. The website says 'even criteriums' the roads we race on are generally good. Are these considered 'super light' ?

I thought about building this set of wheels, but the cost of carbon rims individually makes prebuilt co$t more attractive.

Zipp 202's are fairly fragile beasts. I wouldn't really want to be crit'ing on them nor training on them. Light though... different ball park completely to R-SYS, and tubular only from memory.

 

[curby]

Hmmmm...

I will continue to race criteriums on my Ksyrium Elites, they have really held up well for me.

Maybe a new thread is needed, I have found some *new* 2007 Zipp 202s for $1200-

That looks like a good deal but not sure about the difference between '07, '08 & '09s...


anyone?

thanks again!

curby

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Mostly I will use these wheels for RR with uphill finishes and/or good amounts of climbing.

How about the Zipp 202s... I have read varying reviews. The website says 'even criteriums' the roads we race on are generally good. Are these considered 'super light' ?

I thought about building this set of wheels, but the cost of carbon rims individually makes prebuilt co$t more attractive.

how would you compare some good ol' Mavic GEL330s with DB DT spokes 14/15s and AC hubs to the prebuilt 202s with regard to durability? I had good luck with GEL330s back in the day (32 spoke)...


all's'miles

curby

Just overhauled a set of Zipp wheels. ALL the bearings are toasted after about 6 months of riding. TEENY cart bearings, 4 in the rear hub, 2 in the front. DT hubs laced to Velocity Escapes using pretty standard spokes would weigh about 1450 grams and if built well would be very duable.

I would stay away from AC hubs as well. essentially a 1 pawl system and the LH flange is so close to the center, not a reliable wheel if using a light rim PLUS some more of those teeny bearings. Light but not robust at all.

 

[Sikhandar]

If I were american I would think about buying campy/fulcrum stuff directly in Italy. I've seen in your online shops that you have crazy prices for campy things; remember that in south Italy a pair of zonda (2008) costs about 330€, with custom fees and shipping it should be around 450€ that, for a high level alu wheels (remember that zonda have record-class hubs), is quite affordable....it's (at least) less than in the USA shops...

 

[dhk2]

Just overhauled a set of Zipp wheels. ALL the bearings are toasted after about 6 months of riding. TEENY cart bearings, 4 in the rear hub, 2 in the front. DT hubs laced to Velocity Escapes using pretty standard spokes would weigh about 1450 grams and if built well would be very duable.

I would stay away from AC hubs as well. essentially a 1 pawl system and the LH flange is so close to the center, not a reliable wheel if using a light rim PLUS some more of those teeny bearings. Light but not robust at all.

Peter, I'm not a big fan of cartridge bearings either. Seems to me that a well-designed cup and cone hub can be just as light, with larger rolling balls, better seals, and preload adjustability. But so many wheels (eg my Velomax Circuits) use them now, there must be some advantages. Is it cost?

 

[parawolf]

Peter, I'm not a big fan of cartridge bearings either. Seems to me that a well-designed cup and cone hub can be just as light, with larger rolling balls, better seals, and preload adjustability. But so many wheels (eg my Velomax Circuits) use them now, there must be some advantages. Is it cost?

Cost, weight and end user servicability.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Peter, I'm not a big fan of cartridge bearings either. Seems to me that a well-designed cup and cone hub can be just as light, with larger rolling balls, better seals, and preload adjustability. But so many wheels (eg my Velomax Circuits) use them now, there must be some advantages. Is it cost?

Cost for sure. No need to finely machine cones and cups. Just a little shelf where a bearing goes PLUS lighter to boot, with these really small bearings. It's all about weight, not reliability.

 

[Pkumble]

I bought a pair of used (once) R-Sys because the asking price was really good (US$650). I figured I had no risk and could resell them at least at the same price if I didn't like them. Turns out I love them.
I ride a decent frame (2003 Time VX Special Pro) that I first built with Ksyrium Elite and later updated to 2003 Ksyrium SL. Between the two I tried some Campagnolo Zonda and Eurus for a brief period. I was very happy with my SLs, although bought used as well they have been very reliable and were an improvement compared to the Elites.
The first ride on the R-Sys is shocking, really. Right off the bat these wheels accelerate much better than anything I had ridden before. Get off the saddle and the bike responds instantly, so amazing that I am more off the saddle than ever before when climbing. This is due to the stiffness of the wheels. Yet they are comfortable and strong.
I had an annoying noise coming from the front wheel as many have observed. I checked the spokes, I checked the magnet, the noise was still there. One day I was putting air in the tires and found out the reason of the noise; my Michelin metallic tube stems were hitting the stem hole rim section and causing the noise. I put some tape around the stems and the noise was gone, Mavic probably needs to reduce the hole diameter a tiny bit.
I hit many potholes and, so far, the wheels are been flawless, no broken spoke, no truing needed, they just keep going.
Aside from the stiffness benefits in climbing and accelerating I find the wheels very good in cornering and descending. Not that the Ksyriums were bad but the R-Sys seem to corner better.
Honestly I wouldn't remove the R-Sys from your wish list before trying them. Don't be scared by people who have never ridden them or point to catastrophic failure. Many of these wheels are out, some racers use them in cross-country, the reported failures were all due to major contacts with other objects or crashes (before wheel break) and would have destroyed any other wheels. All professional reviews I have read are really good. Only complaints are usually regarding their aerodynamics and all concur that this issue only regards time trialists as aero positioning has a lot more impact on speed than the wheels properties and that the impacts are only measurable over 25 mph.

I am with you on being very happy with my R-SYS. I purchased them used, ridden once, $500. Would I shell out the $1300 or so for them new? No. but I would not for most any other wheel set either. I never pay list price for anything. My wheels came from the seller with nice Specialized tires and they looked virtually new. The ride of the R-Sys is everything that you said it is. Very fast, and putting them on my Merlin made the bike feel like it was on Viagra! Sure, I would bet that there are other wheels out there that are infact lighter, but at 1400 grams, these wheels feel very light on the bike on the road and that is what counts. I too did experience the funny noise from the front wheel once but not since so it might be the valve stem in the hole that was described. If they are not aero, my top speed descending a favorite local hill would argue otherwise. The same as with my Rolfs which are very "aero."

My one issue seems to be with my Campy 11 speed cassette. When I mount it on the rear hub, it just touches the hub flange and prevents it from free rotation. No problem with my Campy 10 speed hub. Any one else have this issue?

 

[alienator]

My one issue seems to be with my Campy 11 speed cassette. When I mount it on the rear hub, it just touches the hub flange and prevents it from free rotation. No problem with my Campy 10 speed hub. Any one else have this issue?

If you've got a problem with the 11s cassette, call or email Mavic. It's possible their temp fix for 11s cassettes is a spacer.

 

[gemship]

That's good to know. I ignorant to costs of nice wheels and always assumed a wheel with power tap to be two or three times that based on my lbs.

How are you able to post with my user name??? I'm Gemship!

I just happened to be browsing this thread and noticed this post and I'm like WTF? Odd post.... somewhat OT and mentions a powertap... I don't even own and have never used a powetap. WTF?
I spend hardly any time on this site but occasionally I'll visit and I usually don't log in. hymm, I wonder? Well I guess I'll have to send a message to the administrator. Despite the new look of this site I'm wondering if it still suffers from all that lack of moderating? Any of you other members have this problem? Should I be concerned? Feel free to chime in.




So who are you and why are you posting with my username?