used wheelset

roadhouse said:

have always wanted a set of these Gear Of The Day: Mavic Ksyrium Elite Bike Wheels - bicycling.com but am thinking i may have to go used. what would you consider a good deal on used if let's say they are in excellent condition which is what i'm hoping for. if i can't find them used in that condition than i'll just save some more and get 'em new.

thanks.

I think you would be better served having a good wheelbuilder design a wheelset specifically for you and your needs. shimano, Campagnolo or Velocity hubset. Velocity, DT or Mavic rims, DT spokes. same weight, less $, far better rear hub.

Peter@vecchios said:

I think you would be better served having a good wheelbuilder design a wheelset specifically for you and your needs. shimano, Campagnolo or Velocity hubset. Velocity, DT or Mavic rims, DT spokes. same weight, less $, far better rear hub.

so what's the rear hub on those? and btw, i guess i should mention that there's no way i could afford even a used set of those carbon spoked r-sys elites which are retailing for $1400 but rather just the elites which have ultegra hubs (right?) with the blade spokes.

and what would you consider better? and btw, my needs are some serious distance, fast. wasn't sure if you knew that.
i'm gonna drive around and make some calls and check the differences in prices today locally at what is available.

thanks Peter.

roadhouse said:

so what's the rear hub on those? and btw, i guess i should mention that there's no way i could afford even a used set of those carbon spoked r-sys elites which are retailing for $1400 but rather just the elites which have ultegra hubs (right?) with the blade spokes.

and what would you consider better? and btw, my needs are some serious distance, fast. wasn't sure if you knew that.
i'm gonna drive around and make some calls and check the differences in prices today locally at what is available.

thanks Peter.

Mavic FTS rear hub is a somewhat outdated 2 pawl design with a plastic bushing at the base of the freehub body. To prevent sluggish/draggy freewheeling, this hub needs regular service/lubrication(oil, not grease).

The Krysiriums have a Mavic hub, not the far better Ultegra hub. Ultegra based wheels, with DT, Mavic, Velocity rims, DT spokes, built well would be a better, longer lasting wheelset, IMO.

Peter@vecchios said:

Mavic FTS rear hub is a somewhat outdated 2 pawl design with a plastic bushing at the base of the freehub body. To prevent sluggish/draggy freewheeling, this hub needs regular service/lubrication(oil, not grease).

The Krysiriums have a Mavic hub, not the far better Ultegra hub. Ultegra based wheels, with DT, Mavic, Velocity rims, DT spokes, built well would be a better, longer lasting wheelset, IMO.

thanks for the info, i hadn't a clue and definately want a long lasting wheelset. so 1.) stay away from the FTS hub with the plastic bushing that wears and causes drag and 2.) find something with an ultegra hub? i don't know any wheelbuilders yet as i'm not that deep into cycling yet but what would you recommend as an oustanding wheelset that comes already built comparativley to the krysiriums? or is there a krysirium with ultegra built without those plastic bushings and that is not outdated?

okay, so i just got off of the phone with two differnet local stores and both sell the sl and the regular elites. both have stated that in their over 13 years of wheelbuilding that they have never seen the FTS hub need a constant rebuild and that the 2 pawl freewheel is an old design but to put it into something we can all understand, basically said if it's not broke, don't fix it.

one guy said that the sl with the aluminum spokes which offer greater stiffness and less weight vs the steel ones on the elites and the FTS hubs only need servicing about every three years and he's a racer and said the same of his buds who ride 'em.

i dunno. i'm thinking a new set of sl's with all of that input. not too mention that a shimano hub is not as servicable and that the spoke range/count will not be the same for a mavic rim and i wouldn't get the blades which is what i want.

ack! so much to think about and so little brain cells to contemplate all of this. 😉

and now i find out about easton ea 90's which supposedly do not have the same threading issues as mavic. the spokes can become fused to the rim on the mavics.

like i said, ACK!

roadhouse said:

<snip> i don't know any wheelbuilders yet as i'm not that deep into cycling yet <snip>

The man who just gave you advice _is_ a wheel builder, and has been building wheels for probably 20 years or better... I would imagine his build count is in the high hundreds if not thousands...

Just in case you were interested...

dsb137 said:

The man who just gave you advice _is_ a wheel builder, and has been building wheels for probably 20 years or better... I would imagine his build count is in the high hundreds if not thousands...

Just in case you were interested...

gotcha and yes, one of them is but he said 13 years. i asked if it was worth it to put some chris kings hubs on my cxp22's and was laughed right off of the phone.

that hurt. 🙁

and no shop carries used for liability reasons so i'm gonna go new. i really want the mavics and am leaning towards them but as soon as i feel up to it as i first thought i did this morning, i'll go on in to the shop and talk about all of my options.

thanks.

dsb137 said:

The man who just gave you advice _is_ a wheel builder, and has been building wheels for probably 20 years or better... I would imagine his build count is in the high hundreds if not thousands...

Just in case you were interested...

okay, i think i just really got it and i think i feel pretty stupid right now. peter is a wheel builder of twenty years? uh oh..

not for nothing but i have a used set of ksyrium equippe's w/vitt zaff slicks on them - shimano - that have about 200miles on them. take off from an 09 felt f3sl since I went up to easton ea90 aero's w/open corsa rubber. if you're interested in the ksyrium's lmk and i'll snap pics.

SourDieseL said:

not for nothing but i have a used set of ksyrium equippe's w/vitt zaff slicks on them - shimano - that have about 200miles on them. take off from an 09 felt f3sl since I went up to easton ea90 aero's w/open corsa rubber. if you're interested in the ksyrium's lmk and i'll snap pics.

if you are asking if i would like to purchase them than i'm afraid not.

thanks though. btw, it's not like i can go and buy these outright or want to be too hasty as these wheels are gonna have to do for quite some time and they are gonna have to cover a lot and i do mean a lot of ground. everything from everyday rides to weekly group conquerings to ironman distances (a lot of those) to crits to the store in the morning for coffee and then some kind of wheels.

i'll be riding a hella load, like i said in the beginning.

roadhouse said:

if you are asking if i would like to purchase them than i'm afraid not.

thanks though. btw, it's not like i can go and buy these outright or want to be too hasty as these wheels are gonna have to do for quite some time and they are gonna have to cover a lot and i do mean a lot of ground. everything from everyday rides to weekly group conquerings to ironman distances (a lot of those) to crits to the store in the morning for coffee and then some kind of wheels.

i'll be riding a hella load, like i said in the beginning.

honestly sounds like you are asking for a multipurpose wheelset for cheap? when you say riding a hella lot with all those cycling situations, are you racing in an IM or are you just doing Charity / Group Rides that will be hitting US and Metric century distances? If you are riding in an IM and you are looking at Ksyrium SL (or SL Premiums) then I think you're in the wrong field. For TT / Tri @ IM distances that are timed there is probably only a handful of worthy wheelsets that will give you the aero advantage you need (Zipp, Reynolds, Lightweight, - over 40mm carbon tubulars).

Granted I wouldn't be tooling around the neighborhood in zipps if I had to lock my rig up to go into the store to pick up groceries. Hell, I wouldn't even lock up SL Premiums then again I'm from Manhattan, so things like that go quickly.

For all that you are mentioning, it almost sounds as if you'd want a CX bike, there are different applications for different purposes and I don't think you'll get the best 'bang for buck' if you have a wide array of expectations.

I would say Mavic makes a good all around wheelset, but for the prices of the SL and SL Premiums, you might want to look into Easton, Nuevation, DT Swiss, Soul, or mid-low range Fulcrum.

I do like the suggestions of hand built wheelsets, especially when it comes to the specifics. When considering white industry hubs, kinlin rims, and bladed spokes, there are many variations and reiterations for use but I fear the manufacturer warranty for things that are uncontrollable outside of normal wear and tear.

SourDieseL said:

......but I fear the manufacturer warranty for things that are uncontrollable outside of normal wear and tear.

Why do you fear this?

alienator said:

Why do you fear this?

calling easton is one thing, dropping off a wheelset at my builder is another. i've had no problems with easton, they've sent me a brand new complete wheel on a whim with a return label for a circuit rear I had a few years back. My experience with 3 wheel builders is that they were more then willing to work with me on fixing a wheel, but ended up with more out of pocket then say sending it back to easton.

In times of need, I've had to go to my shop for last minute needs and thats fine since I know I'd be running right into the race time wise without any restrictions of say not having a set to race on. This isn't to say I do not support hand built/trued wheels, I think they are a very viable option for the OP. At times I think they are best per application and expectation.

SourDieseL said:

calling easton is one thing, dropping off a wheelset at my builder is another. i've had no problems with easton, they've sent me a brand new complete wheel on a whim with a return label for a circuit rear I had a few years back. My experience with 3 wheel builders is that they were more then willing to work with me on fixing a wheel, but ended up with more out of pocket then say sending it back to easton.

In times of need, I've had to go to my shop for last minute needs and thats fine since I know I'd be running right into the race time wise without any restrictions of say not having a set to race on. This isn't to say I do not support hand built/trued wheels, I think they are a very viable option for the OP. At times I think they are best per application and expectation.

Sounds like you've had issues picking builders. Just like an LBS, if a builder doesn't work for you, go somewhere else.

Factually, there is zero that a boutique, large manufacturer built wheel has over a custom built wheel. Zero. I had issues with a rim on a custom built wheelset that started sprouting cracks at the spoke holes. The builder replaced not only the cracked rim, but also the other rim so that I'd have a matched set (for the "repair" he used a different rim maker). It was done gratis, and he got his money from the original manufacturer. I had my wheels back toute de suite.

On the flipside, long ago when I had a set of Bontrager Race X Lite wheels, the rear DS hub flange did what was expected of Bontrager hubs at the time and it failed catastrophically. Not only did I have to wait a month to get wheels back, I had to let Bontrager determine if it really was their fault.

Unless a rider's really jonesin' for a wheeset with carbon spokes (Topolino, Lightweight, Reynolds, ADA, or at the [censored] end of the spectrum Mavic R-Sys, and so on) there is no need to get a factory built wheel. CF aero rims are readily available from Zipp, Corima, Reynolds, Edge, and others. You can get all manor of stainless steel spokes (which blow the pants off of proprietary aluminum spokes) and, if you've got an itch, Ti spokes (Pillar). The best hubs in the world are available individually (PW, DT, WI, Royce, Goldtech, Zipp, Alchemy, Ligero, CK, Campy, Shimano, Tune, PMP,...........), so I can't think of a single reason why anyone would want a boutique wheel hub (like, for example, the [censored] Mavic rear hub).

With a custom built set, you get the bonus of having a wheelset whose spoke tensions are as even as they can get and that are sufficiently high. You get the bonus of having a wheelset built to your needs (hole counts running 16............40...........whatever you need or want.)

Best of all, almost every time you can get the custom set cheaper or at least end up with more value for the money.

The only thing you might not get with custom wheels is a tacky set of stickers and a big name. That's about it.

SourDieseL said:

honestly sounds like you are asking for a multipurpose wheelset for cheap? when you say riding a hella lot with all those cycling situations, are you racing in an IM or are you just doing Charity / Group Rides that will be hitting US and Metric century distances? If you are riding in an IM and you are looking at Ksyrium SL (or SL Premiums) then I think you're in the wrong field. For TT / Tri @ IM distances that are timed there is probably only a handful of worthy wheelsets that will give you the aero advantage you need (Zipp, Reynolds, Lightweight, - over 40mm carbon tubulars).

Granted I wouldn't be tooling around the neighborhood in zipps if I had to lock my rig up to go into the store to pick up groceries. Hell, I wouldn't even lock up SL Premiums then again I'm from Manhattan, so things like that go quickly.

For all that you are mentioning, it almost sounds as if you'd want a CX bike, there are different applications for different purposes and I don't think you'll get the best 'bang for buck' if you have a wide array of expectations.

I would say Mavic makes a good all around wheelset, but for the prices of the SL and SL Premiums, you might want to look into Easton, Nuevation, DT Swiss, Soul, or mid-low range Fulcrum.

I do like the suggestions of hand built wheelsets, especially when it comes to the specifics. When considering white industry hubs, kinlin rims, and bladed spokes, there are many variations and reiterations for use but I fear the manufacturer warranty for things that are uncontrollable outside of normal wear and tear.

thanks for all the help and the novel. 🙂 you've given me some things to consider but i'm not going to put aero's onto my daily roadie so yes, i am trying to get an all around wheel for the open road. Ironman, yes. TT, someday and come then i'll have that kestrel air foil TT to go with it wheras these are to upgrade my Tarmac.

Thanks sour diesel.

i just now noticed that you thought i'd need a cx bike. funny but i tried to get WB's old specialized cx from Nick last year but i was too late. that would be it, domination from the ground up but no, it's not what i need but i am looking forward to getting one of those too. i'll be racing cx next year, it's an oath i've already sworn to uphold. too bad that in the world of cycling oaths are witheld with money and that is a problem for me so it takes time.