Wheelset- What would you do?????

Same stats at you... would get the Mavic Kysrium SL.

If you want something bulletproof then the SLs are the way to go, although they are not real aero. I have a set and a set of Easton EC90s, I mostly use the SLs because they are so tough, the EC90s are mostly reserved for racing.

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm leaning towards. Im ok with the lack of aero on the mavics. I'd rather they be lighter.

ROLF Vigors are a more aero wheel and are just as light as the SLs, you may consider taking a look at those as another option.

Mavic Kysrium SL are a solid wheel.

Hmm, don't know much about the Rolf's. Looked them up, same weight as Kysriums. Know anything about their durability?

I've had the exact same problem with my EA90 aeros. Except EASTON never replaced the wheel they rebuilt it but in a crit 2 weeks ago, sure enough 3 laps to go PWANG! My LBS rebuilt the wheel with a PT SL+ hub, heavier round spokes, and brass nipples... hopefully now since the only thing Easton is the rim the wheel will make it through a race or two.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by southtownrider [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Hmm, don't know much about the Rolf's. Looked them up, same weight as Kysriums. Know anything about their durability?

Yeah they are a good wheel, a lot of the guys in our club use them and I rarely hear of any issues. If I had to have 1 set of wheels for everything they would be my pick..

thanks for the input everyone. that helps alot.

I would go for the Ksyrium wheels. Everyone I know who has them loves them. I was fortunate to be able to ride a buddies bike who has them and they were a dream. I really want a set myself.

I have had the same problem with my HED wheels. Had a pair of Bastogne's and less than 1500 miles, spoke breaks on drive side-no pot-holes or abuse. LBS fixes spoke and then a week later , less than 100 miles again broken spoke. Hed replaces with Ardennes LT and its good about another 1200 miles, another spoke breaks. Again to LBS and they replace spoke and then 40 mile later breaks again. Just got replacement Ardennes CL we will see how it goes. Now I called a another shop and the guy was telling me that Easton was also having problems and that they were experienceing problems with the HED wheels and stopped using HED. He claims it't the spoke manufacturer, Sapim, and that its been an ongoing problem for the last 2 years.
Problem is if you break a spoke with the HED's and cannot get a ride and have to ride back on broken wheel it shreds the tire sidewall due to rubbing against rear frame. I replaced a tire, LBS replaced a tire, 3rd time I was able to get picked up and this last tiem HED is trying to be penny wise/dollar foolish in replacing my tire. There line is "You shouldn't have ridden on broken wheel." My response. "You admitted you have had defective spoke issues and you suspect that is cause. What am I supposed to do 15 miles form my car when everyone I called is unavailable to come and be my personal SAG? Walk?! So yes I rode back on the broken wheel, what would you have done."

The same shop that told me about Sapim having issues also recommended the Mavic Kysirium SL's.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by geezerjock [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I have had the same problem with my HED wheels. Had a pair of Bastogne's and less than 1500 miles, spoke breaks on drive side-no pot-holes or abuse. LBS fixes spoke and then a week later , less than 100 miles again broken spoke. Hed replaces with Ardennes LT and its good about another 1200 miles, another spoke breaks. Again to LBS and they replace spoke and then 40 mile later breaks again. Just got replacement Ardennes CL we will see how it goes. Now I called a another shop and the guy was telling me that Easton was also having problems and that they were experienceing problems with the HED wheels and stopped using HED. He claims it't the spoke manufacturer, Sapim, and that its been an ongoing problem for the last 2 years.
Problem is if you break a spoke with the HED's and cannot get a ride and have to ride back on broken wheel it shreds the tire sidewall due to rubbing against rear frame. I replaced a tire, LBS replaced a tire, 3rd time I was able to get picked up and this last tiem HED is trying to be penny wise/dollar foolish in replacing my tire. There line is "You shouldn't have ridden on broken wheel." My response. "You admitted you have had defective spoke issues and you suspect that is cause. What am I supposed to do 15 miles form my car when everyone I called is unavailable to come and be my personal SAG? Walk?! So yes I rode back on the broken wheel, what would you have done."

The same shop that told me about Sapim having issues also recommended the Mavic Kysirium SL's.

Sounds like your LBS is making things up as they go along. First, how much do you weigh and how many spokes (front and back) do your wheels have? What kind of shape are your roads in? What kind of riding do you do? That stuff is important background information. With that said, when spokes break on new wheels, it's usually the result of uneven spoke tension in the wheel. If when someone replaces the broken spoke they don't de-tension and then properly tension the wheel, it's likely more spokes will break.

Sapim makes great spokes, and issues because of "bad" spokes are pretty rare anyway.

While Ksyriums in general are alright, they've also had issues. There are some reports of short working lives for the Delrin bushing in Mavic rear hubs.

Rarely, it seems, do LBS suggest an excellent wheel option which is to have some wheels custom built for you. A wheel builder can work with you to build a wheel appropriate for your weight, riding, and desires. This means you can get the rims you want, the spokes that tickle your sensitive bits, and hubs that inspire onanistic relief efforts. Boutique wheels are big because they're made by companies that have money to do loads of advertising and to sponsor teams, all serving keep their wheels in the public eye. Some of these companies (Mavic, for example) can even make sweetheart deals with bike manufacturers to put their wheels on said bikes as OEM pieces. Custom wheels can also be quite inexpensive.

A quick search of this forum or others will result in quite a list of wheel builders: Fairwheel Bikes, Ergott Wheels(Eric Gottesman), SpeedDream (Dave Thomas), White Mountain Wheels (Ron Ruff), Wheelbuilder, Peter White, Vecchios (Peter Chisholm is a member of this forum), and a large number of LBS that serve their local bike community.

Sapim is pretty highly regarded - especially the cx-ray spokes. Have a few friends that ride them Pretty hard in road, cross, and mtb competition without problems. Have about 8,000 miles on two cx-ray wheelsets myself without issue. Would surprise me if the problem was Sapim's.

It was HED that stated they had some spoke issues. Maybe they are deflecting the blame? I doubt how well the LBS de-tensioned and re-tensioned. Seemed to just tension the replacement spoke.
I am 185-190, most roads are smooth, few rough spots. Occasional holes, but no pot-holes. Some hills, buddy saw about 1,000ft of climbing 3/4 through recent ride, but mostly N. IL rollers. Slow is about 19, typical is 20-21 MPH average. Like Big front ring a lot except for a couple of bigger hilss we frequent. What else can I tell you about my riding. Do a lot of riding with my riding buddy and some club group rides. Don't race, do several centuries a season to give me goals to train for.

The Ardennes LT's I had were 24 spokes in rear, they replaced it with a CL that has 28 rear spokes.
BUT I have an LT up front with 18, they didn't send an LT for the front that would have 24 spokes.
Is this going to be an issue or cause problems?

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by geezerjock [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

It was HED that stated they had some spoke issues. Maybe they are deflecting the blame? I doubt how well the LBS de-tensioned and re-tensioned. Seemed to just tension the replacement spoke.
I am 185-190, most roads are smooth, few rough spots. Occasional holes, but no pot-holes. Some hills, buddy saw about 1,000ft of climbing 3/4 through recent ride, but mostly N. IL rollers. Slow is about 19, typical is 20-21 MPH average. Like Big front ring a lot except for a couple of bigger hilss we frequent. What else can I tell you about my riding. Do a lot of riding with my riding buddy and some club group rides. Don't race, do several centuries a season to give me goals to train for.

The Ardennes LT's I had were 24 spokes in rear, they replaced it with a CL that has 28 rear spokes.
BUT I have an LT up front with 18, they didn't send an LT for the front that would have 24 spokes.
Is this going to be an issue or cause problems?

Iffin' it were me (180lbs), I'd have at least 24 up front and 28 in back with a low profile rim like the Ardennes, and actually I have nearly that in the rear (a 28 spoke Velocity A23, which is a lot like the Ardennes rim). In front, I've got a 24 spoke 25mm deep Kinlin rim. I've got some roads with crappy pavement, as well as some gravel and dirt roads. The wheels are laced 2x in front and 3x in back. I'm not a wheel builder, though, I'd suggest contacting a couple of wheel builders to get a sampling of advice. Peter at Vecchios can be reached at [email hidden] . He's a fairly conservative builder, so by contacting a few others you can get a range of suggestions from which to sample. It's likely the range won't be huge and that suggestions will be similar.

If you're just using it for training and recreational riding or races on suspect roads, I'd get rid of the pre-built stuff and get a good hand built wheel with a sensible number of spokes for your weight - ie 32 - have them built by someone with a proven track record of wheel building excellence.

Sapim make some great spokes, so somewhere along the like someone is making up stories and trying to cover up for crappy wheel building. Back in the day when men were men and sheep were scared, quality control in the ol' spoke factories might have been a bit suspect, even for the likes of DT but now it's hard to find a truly bad spoke and it's more of a case that the better spokes are better and the 'worse' ones are still more than adequate to build a good wheel.

I don't get the fad for going with low spoke counts on rims that aren't all that deep, especially for training wheels. Being out in the boonies with a busted wheel has to suck - that said I wouldn't know because I don't train on stupid low spoke count wheels. I also prefer riding wheels that don't feel like limp noodles and rub the brake blocks.

My rear wheel is a 32hole velocity aerohead OC, sapim cx-ray spokes and a PT hub. The only thing that sucks reliability wise is the PT hub the rest is bombproof. During winter the trusty ol' 36 spoke Campag Lambda V on Campag Chorus hub laced with DT competition spokes. It's a 1987 vintage wheel and has seen a fair few changes of cones and bearings but has never been trued since the day that it was built (apart from a rim replacement around 92 because the braking surface was 'wafer thin'😉 and that's what a wheel built by one of the best will get ya and it's taken some big hits - one big enough to push a Reynolds 501 fork back 1/2". Super stiff, super strong. Very awesome. During the summer months, when there's no standing water on the road and potholes the size of NYC hiding in the drink (hey, I live in California!) the Ksyrium SL Premium that came with my race bike goes on the front purely because I prefer the wider rim on a 23mm tire.