Williams 30/ Mavic Ksyrium SL/Open Pro Impressions

After getting the SWorks Tarmac with a set of Ksyrium SL's, I knew that any 'spirited competition' was not going to be happening on the Ksyriums (why didn't anybody ever tell me the K is silent?). Not only did they feel sluggish, but they look like they belong on a Panzer tank and certainly don't give the impression that they're going 500mph while standing still (important prerequisite to anything that 'should' go fast).

After all the good props on the Williams wheelsets (more specifically, Keith Williams' customer service), I rolled in on a pair of Williams 30's. The first ride with Conti 4000's sprung squeaks/rattles on my bike (and molars) that I'd not previously experienced...was initially disappointed to say the least. Ksyriums felt like I was riding on a Cadillac and the Williams was similar to an unsprung go kart...I could tell if the ant was male or female...

It wasn't until I was in a pack with the bubbas that I could feel these wheels reallly take off...keeping the pedals going over the top sent the bike flying to the front of the pack. Buyers remorse removed and learned to live with the roughas**** ride.

Enter one gnarly pothole on a night group ride- pinch flatted the Williams rear and thought I must have cracked the wheel (as the leader in front of me begins to 'bunny hop'...I'm starting to think 'uh-oh' simultaneously coinciding with my rear wheel crushing the lip of well-driller's dream...or vice versa). The good news was the rim held up well and only knocked out of true about 2mm. The subsequent 'trueing exercise' on the park trueing stand revealed something I didn't especially like about the buildup: some of the nipples were perpindicular to the rim and some were along the axis of the spoke. Can't say I've ever noticed this before (not a ton of experience w/ different wheelsets), but the ramification is when you try to adjust the spoke whose nipple is perpendicular to the rim (thus not along the spoke axis), the portion of the spoke in the nipple must be 'bent' to sit in there thus creates a bit of a hassle turning the nipple. Keith says I need to use a tool to hold the bladed spoke but I'd never seen/used one before...the tools I see are no different than using an adjustable wrench to hold the spoke and either would mar the spoke surface. Some Kroil and a good grip on the spoke got the results I needed and the wheel is back in 'true' operation.

Decided that the Williams will only see race day use as they're too much of a PITA to ride daily. Will mention here that I've gotta put some of the blame on the Continentals...running them at 115 psi versus the Michelin-type tires S-Works puts out (that are on the Ksyriums) produces a harsher ride no matter what wheelset you put 'em on...may be stepping away from the Contis in search of another tire...might try the tubular clinchers...off topic...let me get back to the point.

I'll caveat that 'Cadillac' ride on the Ksyriums with my first ride on a set of handbuilt Open Pros/Dura Ace that I did for the first time yesterday...holysweetmotherofjesusgodalmighty...now I know why all y'all (ref Texas Webster) have been harping on a 'good set of handbuilts'. Add another believer to the club- these wheels on an Aluminum frameset (!) crush the level of ride comfort of my Tarmac SL2 on the Williams OR Ksyriums. I couldn't believe not only the comfort level, but how much the bike just kept rolling....and rolling...and rolling on the flats. I'm still partial to a nice polished hub and the DA delivers this in spades. I'm building my own from now on...(any two-wheeled test pilots out there? What's the 'first flight' regimen?)

Hope this helps the 'diligent consumer' out there hunting for info...

~John

 

Ksyrium anything isn't worth the money.

All bladed spokes must be held as the nipples are tightened. There are several tools on the market just for this purpose. Needle nose pliers with the jaws wrapped with electrical tape work just as well.

There's going to be very little difference in feel between tires of "x" size, inflated to 115 psi. Emotional bias greatly affects how tires "feel". Likewise, the greater acceleration felt from one set of wheels over another is mostly a mental thing and a sum of sensations from other sources that make the wheels feel fast. If you do the math, the differences in acceleration under a given load for different wheels is tiny, very tiny. That expectation of great acceleration does sell a lot of wheels. It's a great marketing tool.

 

I'll agree that the 'acceleration' factor given the rough order of magnitude delta btwn wheelsets is likely imperceptible (compare this to getting shot off the front of a boat going 0 to 150 in 2.5 sec although we still get beat by a top fuel dragster...). I've read the math behind the inertial energies involved here and can't argue that point.

So do you chalk it up to the aero design? The 30mm rims gotta be good for something...I can't belive the flat face of the Mavics is good for anything but giving the inflation nipple lock ring a flat place to screw down on....but I will stand by my perception that the Williams get outta the hole and over the top better than the Mavics....FWIW....

 

Pinkie recovery? Or early to marshall and dark as a hat fullof assholes when ya get to the ramp?

 

Well, they're good because they don't have the crappy rear hub that Mavics have, and they have to be more aero than Ksyriums which aren't. It's equally difficult to feel aero benefits. After all, even the best aero wheels only add about 0.5 mph at 25 mph.

 

Buster for the pinkie if at all possible only to get under the overcast to see exactly how dark the inside of a bowling ball is...for those who can't exactly relate...check this out [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gGMI8d3vLs[/ame] and see what its like to land on a floating strip of bacon that's moving around, say, the height of a 4 story building....

As for the Mavic hub..Peter's 2 washer tipper was *spot on* and I now have the most bitchin' mavic hub on the Left Coast!

 

Que the Victory at Sea music....Do they use MOVLAS anymore? Had a few days(and nights) in the barrel on Midway-maru, they put on 'stabilizers' that, along with a top heavy boat, made for really wicked dutchroll/deck pitch stuff..Even put a strut thru a wing about 600 miles off Japan one night. F-4S...

 

One-armed bandit 'green machine' still in proud use as far as I know...+1 on the dutch roll though never had to deal with it on a short-decked oil burner. A bit HCDAR in the Phantom???

 

Teehee, dark night, a good deck spot is worth a thousand scans...

 

Anything to make 'rats for a pre-rack slider, eh?

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same..glad to hear it. After '91 'Hook(yep, had a squadron admin on the third floor that night) and some of the 'equal opportunity' efforts by the likes of Rep. Schroeder and ADM Kelly, CincPacFlt(stood before his long green table), I was afraid TacAir would go the way of the USAF.