shimano 540 or mavic krssyirum equippe

[ilovestacy]

which is stronger wheel?
faster?
better?
....
thanks and please no try them both and see which you like. i am just looking for some first hand experiences or knowledge

 

[Mansmind]

which is stronger wheel?
faster?
better?
....
thanks and please no try them both and see which you like. i am just looking for some first hand experiences or knowledge

no experience with the Shimano wheels, but I have a set of Equipe's on one of my bikes. I've had absolutely no issues with them, truing or anything else. I also have a set of Velomax Circuits that I like really well. I don't know that I can really tell the difference between the Circuits and Equipes with the exception that the Circuit's freewheel is much quieter.

 

[MuzzaB]

I have a set of Shimano 540s and have been very happy with them, but you'll find many poor reviews, especially from the heavier riders (I'm only 70kg) who have trouble with broken spokes. I think people expected too much from these wheels - they are only 105 standard, but because they looked good, they were often used as part of an Ultegra package bike to bring the price down slightly.

They are old stock now, so you can pick them up cheaply - more cheaply than the Ksyrium Equippe I would have thought.

The Equippe has a slight weight advantage and stainlees steel spokes (The WH540 has a steel spoke that can rust). Although I'm happy with my 540s, their main attraction at the moment is their price in clearence sales. However as a day to day wheel for lighter riders I think they are fine.

 

[cachehiker]

which is stronger wheel?
faster?
better?
....
thanks and please no try them both and see which you like. i am just looking for some first hand experiences or knowledge

I think the 540's are very strong radially but suffer torsionally. On flat ground, they cruised every bit as well as my Ksyrium Elites. However, after climbing a hill and descending with my Cosmos, I could swap the 540's in and feel the "watch spring" effect as they wound and unwound. The effect wasn't noticeable unless I was switching back and forth but they always felt sluggish when sprinting or climbing. I had four sets of wheels, so I sold them to a buddy as a training set.

Unless you ride crits or constantly climb hills, I think the 540's would serve you well. I haven't ridden the Ksyrium Equippes but I have a hard time believing they would handle much different than my Cosmos or Ksyrium Elites. I think I'd rather buy well built Open Pros on Ultegra Hubs over the Ksyrium Equippes and invest the difference in good rubber. In fact, I wouldn't have purchased my Ksyrium Elites if they hadn't been offered to me at cost.

 

[spacefuzz]

i have read some bad reviews of 540's

 

[greenpeter2001]

Bought a Giant tcr c2 which comes with shimano 550's.
The 550's are the 3rd iteration of the 535 / 540 family.
I am heavy and based on bad reviews of 535/540's opted to not accept 550's.
Opted for velocity deep dish rims on ultegra hubs with flat bladed spokes 18/24 f/r.
No cost option because I support my local lbs.
Also on my other bike, a 1998 giant cfr, I had cxp 30's on dura ace hubs.
New velocity's are about the same weight and feel a little faster, but that could be the tcr c2!
Actually the tcr c2 feels blindingly fast compared with the cfr.
I only commute so its only me against me, so the comparison may not be valid