The A719 is a dream...

Callistus Valerius said:

The LBS here was dumping some Mavic A719 front wheels at a very low
price, so I bought one. I don't think I would have ever bought one at the
full price, because I was wondering if they would fit my road bikes. The
spec said a min 28 tire, so bought one of those too. What a surprise, what
a dream wheel that is. It's heavier, no doubt, but what comfort. I do
endurance riding >200 miles, and I always had arm and hand problems, they
turn to rubber after taking a beating >15 hour rides. But that wheel is
strong, it absorbs cracks in the road, and eliminates the road buzz.

You could have achieved the same effect with a 25mm tyre on any wheel just
by reducing the pressure, especially on the front, which takes less of your
weight. I run mine (a 23mm) at about 80psi for long rides, and never have
problems.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

Callistus Valerius said:

The LBS here was dumping some Mavic A719 front wheels at a very low
price, so I bought one. I don't think I would have ever bought one at the
full price, because I was wondering if they would fit my road bikes. The
spec said a min 28 tire, so bought one of those too. What a surprise, what
a dream wheel that is. It's heavier, no doubt, but what comfort. I do
endurance riding >200 miles, and I always had arm and hand problems, they
turn to rubber after taking a beating >15 hour rides. But that wheel is
strong, it absorbs cracks in the road, and eliminates the road buzz. I even
got use to the beefiness, and ride at about the same speed as I did before.
The main difference is that it takes a little bit longer to wind up, but
once you are up to speed I don't see any difference. Another plus is
descending is less hairy, on rough descents. I think this is a very
under-rated wheel.

The effects you attribute to the wheel are surely the effects of
changing the tyre. What you describe is just what I would expect when
changing to a slightly wider tyre.

Try your old tyre on this wheel (or the new tyre on the old wheel) to
test my assertion. I think you will find that the comfort comes from
the trye, not the wheel.

IMHO 700x28 is the ideal general purpose size for non-racing use (in my
case commuting and light touting).

Andrew

Callistus Valerius said:

The LBS here was dumping some Mavic A719 front wheels at a very low
price, so I bought one. I don't think I would have ever bought one at the
full price, because I was wondering if they would fit my road bikes. The
spec said a min 28 tire, so bought one of those too. What a surprise, what
a dream wheel that is. It's heavier, no doubt, but what comfort. I do
endurance riding >200 miles, and I always had arm and hand problems, they
turn to rubber after taking a beating >15 hour rides. But that wheel is
strong, it absorbs cracks in the road, and eliminates the road buzz. I even
got use to the beefiness, and ride at about the same speed as I did before.
The main difference is that it takes a little bit longer to wind up, but
once you are up to speed I don't see any difference. Another plus is
descending is less hairy, on rough descents. I think this is a very
under-rated wheel.

Callistus Valerius said:

The LBS here was dumping some Mavic A719 front wheels at a very low
price, so I bought one. I don't think I would have ever bought one at the
full price, because I was wondering if they would fit my road bikes. The
spec said a min 28 tire, so bought one of those too.

That's popycock-use a 23c w/o problem.

What a surprise, what

Quoted message said:

a dream wheel that is. It's heavier, no doubt, but what comfort. I do
endurance riding >200 miles, and I always had arm and hand problems, they
turn to rubber after taking a beating >15 hour rides. But that wheel is
strong, it absorbs cracks in the road, and eliminates the road buzz. I even
got use to the beefiness, and ride at about the same speed as I did before.
The main difference is that it takes a little bit longer to wind up, but
once you are up to speed I don't see any difference. Another plus is
descending is less hairy, on rough descents. I think this is a very
under-rated wheel.

Great rim...how good of a 'wheel' it is depends on the skill of who
built it.