Wheels upgrade: need advice...
- Thread starter scico
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You couldn't give me the Elites or Equipes. Check Velomax or even the Cirrus or Threats from www.excelsports.comscico said:
i have the elites and they are amazing but i regret not getting the sl's everyday cuz they are much stronger and lighter! and for only 300$ more!scico said:
they are very hard to find now thou as they have become some of the most popular rims..
and i havent ever trued my elites and i ride in nyc!
boudreaux said:
Why do you say that about the Ksyrium Elites (and Equipes too for that matter) boudreaux? I don't know much about them but I recently purchased a "new" used bike that came with a pair of Ksyrium Elites on it. So far I've been really happy with them. I respect your opinion and I'm just curious as to how you came about it.
I rode the shimano R540's and had no problems with them, but like yourlself, wanted to upgrade. I wanted to select a wheel that would also support my weight. I am about 215 pounds and wanted a wheel that if I happen to hit a pothole, I wouldn't have to bring it back to the shop to true the rim.
I went with the ZIPP 404 Clydesdale, and I love them. Light, strong and Fast. They are a bit pricey though, but they will hold a rider up to 330 pounds, not that I am heading that way (ha ha). ZIPP makes a good wheel. One down side is that if you ever pop a spoke, then you have to get the rim back to ZIPP. I am not sure if this is true with their other models.
As for the Mavic, they make a good wheel too, but at the moment, I am not supporting the French, so nothing made in France goes on the bike.
I went with the ZIPP 404 Clydesdale, and I love them. Light, strong and Fast. They are a bit pricey though, but they will hold a rider up to 330 pounds, not that I am heading that way (ha ha). ZIPP makes a good wheel. One down side is that if you ever pop a spoke, then you have to get the rim back to ZIPP. I am not sure if this is true with their other models.
As for the Mavic, they make a good wheel too, but at the moment, I am not supporting the French, so nothing made in France goes on the bike.
scico said:
Boudreaux...
So if the elites were obtained for a better price point (under $300) you'd have no beef with them? Bought them almost new for $275 not for the bling, but for the upgrade. I really like them, although lately I have been having to tweak the rear to stay true. Not sure if that is their fault or the LBS guy who never got the tension right.
Hey, thanks for the BB advice earlier. Just swapped out the triple for the double (cranks and BB). Still using the triple front der for now. Major upgrade for a beater bike.
So if the elites were obtained for a better price point (under $300) you'd have no beef with them? Bought them almost new for $275 not for the bling, but for the upgrade. I really like them, although lately I have been having to tweak the rear to stay true. Not sure if that is their fault or the LBS guy who never got the tension right.
Hey, thanks for the BB advice earlier. Just swapped out the triple for the double (cranks and BB). Still using the triple front der for now. Major upgrade for a beater bike.
check out small company wheelbuilders also. i can't speak about the larger company wheel builders personally. i wanted to upgrade wheels but didn't want to spend beaucoux bucks on kyseriums. i ended up talkng to mike garcia at oddandendos.com. (someone recommended that i not email but call so i did and ended up talking to mike for half an hour about wheelstuff that was almost over my head) i am not a racer or sprinter, but a distance rider in nyc (so i needed a sturdy wheelset). i bought his speedcific hubs, (so far very smooth, light, and reasonable on the wallet), wheelsmith spokes, and velocity ocr aero rims. 587g front and 850 rear. these wheels are great and seem bullet prooof. i hit a serious pothole the other day, wiped out and ended up having to take a cab home because my chain also broke. the front wheel only needed a slight goose on the nipple to bring it back into true.scico said:
anyway, the point is that there are other options besides large sellers if you do the research. check it out
bob
Out of those, the SSC SLs. Great wheels, little expensive, but overall the best value for money.
Other options would be the Zipp 404s, Bontrager Race X lite, or Campag Eurus.
I have tried all of them (through friends) and they're great wheels.
If you got the money, then buy some Campag Bora and let me try them........ I'd give anything to have a pair of those.....
Other options would be the Zipp 404s, Bontrager Race X lite, or Campag Eurus.
I have tried all of them (through friends) and they're great wheels.
If you got the money, then buy some Campag Bora and let me try them........ I'd give anything to have a pair of those.....
RBS said:
I second this route wholeheartedly. I liked the bling factor of Ksyriums, but no doubt, while very good wheels, they are not the greatest value. I too recently spoke with Mike Garcia and worked up a custom build that has been great -- no problems at all for their first 500 miles, yet they still have some bling value, and cost me less than Ksyrium Elites from most mail/internet-order companies. The build? White Industries LTA hubset, 28H front and rear; black DT Swiss rims; and Sapim CX-Ray spokes all around. Subjectively stiffer and more "responsive" than the Mavic Cosmos they replaced. Oh yeah, they also weigh less than a set of the new Ksyrium SSCs. If I was more on a budget, or being more "sensible," I would have used Dura Ace (9-speed) hubs and Wheelsmith spokes. (Not using Sapim CX-Rays would have saved a bunch of $$.) As it is, I am thus far very happy with the wheels. Based on my experience, I definitely recommend Mike's wheels.
I think you should base your set of wheels on, (in whatever order):
~ What you can afford and/or the point at which "diminishing returns" starts to play in.
~ What type of riding you do most often, ie: what is most important to your riding style, flats & descents/going as fast as possible, climbing, distance, comfort, appearance, durability, etc.
~ Is durability important, or do you not mind more frequent maintenace/repair to have super-light chi-chi wheels?
But scico didn't say what his priorities in a wheelset are, so how can we recommend one arbitrarily when there are so many different wheels for different purposes out there?
I can only speak from the experience of the wheelsets I've owned and for me, the Campy's have always been consistently high quality, very fast and/or lightweight, durable, and great looking. The downsides have been the usual - prices have been a bit more than most custom-built's I've owned, getting them properly trued/repaired if needed isn't the easiest, and fitting for Shimano used to be a problem, but that's a thing of the past.
~ What you can afford and/or the point at which "diminishing returns" starts to play in.
~ What type of riding you do most often, ie: what is most important to your riding style, flats & descents/going as fast as possible, climbing, distance, comfort, appearance, durability, etc.
~ Is durability important, or do you not mind more frequent maintenace/repair to have super-light chi-chi wheels?
But scico didn't say what his priorities in a wheelset are, so how can we recommend one arbitrarily when there are so many different wheels for different purposes out there?
I can only speak from the experience of the wheelsets I've owned and for me, the Campy's have always been consistently high quality, very fast and/or lightweight, durable, and great looking. The downsides have been the usual - prices have been a bit more than most custom-built's I've owned, getting them properly trued/repaired if needed isn't the easiest, and fitting for Shimano used to be a problem, but that's a thing of the past.
Early this season I was able to find a "new" Trek 5500. I got a good deal on a 2001 model. This is a pre-Bontrager bike, and it came with Rolf Sestriere wheels. I like them quite a bit, but never see anything about Rolf. What's up with that? They seem to still be in business, but I never see their products advertised or discussed.ItalianStallion said:
RBS said:
Yep. For anyone who hasnt, check out speeddream.com also. Dave's Wheels. The guy builds a beautiful set of wheels that are very strong (I have never needed to true them) and light. Perfect for every day riding. I've been riding the Aerolites for a few seasons, but will probably also pick up the R359s.
I'll share my experience with Mavic Ksyrium SSC SLs the 2003 model. I got them on-line from lickbike in Chicago because they were cheapest price a year ago May. When they arrived I put them on the bike to check them over. The rear wheel was fine, but I immediately noticed that one of the blade spokes on the front rim was bent and it was very out of true. In fact the front wheel was dished to one side and out of true due to the bent spoke, I confirmed this on a park ts-5 trueing stand.
There is no way the bent spoke on the front wheel happened during shipping, as the boxes they came in were in good condition. Also even if the spoke had not been bent, the front wheel should have never left the Mavic factory in the condition it was in, dished to one side. It also should have never been sent to me by Lickbike. A cursory check at any one of these points would have shown the wheel to be unquestionably unfit for riding.
After getting the front wheel replaced I then have ridden about 3500 miles on them in the last 15 months without a problem what so ever, until this past Friday when I went to wash the bike. When I was going over the rear wheel I noticed cracks in the rim running away from the spokes at two locations. I have been doing some research on this and it appears this is pretty common. Way too common to be anything other than design flaw or a quality problem in manufacturing or materials.
It looks like the warranty is one year which I am out of. I'm not sure what is going to happen with my wheel. It will have to be re-built with a new rim and probably new spokes, probably at my cost. When I bought these I did so because everything I had read was that they were bomb proof. I have also heard that some who have replaced rear rims with cracks have not had any additional problems with their replacement rim which would suggest a manufacturing or material problem.
How this all turns out will probably decide whether I continue to by Mavic products or not.
There is no way the bent spoke on the front wheel happened during shipping, as the boxes they came in were in good condition. Also even if the spoke had not been bent, the front wheel should have never left the Mavic factory in the condition it was in, dished to one side. It also should have never been sent to me by Lickbike. A cursory check at any one of these points would have shown the wheel to be unquestionably unfit for riding.
After getting the front wheel replaced I then have ridden about 3500 miles on them in the last 15 months without a problem what so ever, until this past Friday when I went to wash the bike. When I was going over the rear wheel I noticed cracks in the rim running away from the spokes at two locations. I have been doing some research on this and it appears this is pretty common. Way too common to be anything other than design flaw or a quality problem in manufacturing or materials.
It looks like the warranty is one year which I am out of. I'm not sure what is going to happen with my wheel. It will have to be re-built with a new rim and probably new spokes, probably at my cost. When I bought these I did so because everything I had read was that they were bomb proof. I have also heard that some who have replaced rear rims with cracks have not had any additional problems with their replacement rim which would suggest a manufacturing or material problem.
How this all turns out will probably decide whether I continue to by Mavic products or not.
I would be looking into Velomax OrionII or Ascent II depending on your weight and riding style (ie race, sprint and hill climbing). Also consider Bontrager Race X lite. All these are with 15 to 45 grams of each other per set and about 100.00 less than the Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL. Also google bike reviews and will see a good site comparing all types of wheels. Good luck in the hunt for the perfect wheel set, but remember one thing, you have to like them and be satisfied with your choice.
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