09 Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR Vs Zipp 404

ginger J
ginger J Posts: 68
edited November 2008 in Workshop
Hi All.
I have been pondering for a while about some new wheels.

I have decided on one of the following:

Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR 2009

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=31027

Zipp 404

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Zipp_ ... 360034954/

These are to be used for everyday riding + weekend fun.

Does anyone have any thoughts and experience of either wheel. Will they stand up to everyday use on the fabulously well maintained London roads :wink:

All help much appreciated

Cheers
J

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,337
    Are they not a bit pricey for every day riding?

    I would consider them for time trials only
    left the forum March 2023
  • APIII
    APIII Posts: 2,010
    The Old Carbones have a reptutation for being bombproof - at least from people I know who have used them, but both wheels (assuming you're looking at the Zipp clinchers) are pretty heavy. That's ok if you are travelling at speed where the aero advantage will prevail over weight penalty, but would think the stop-start nature of London traffic, a lighter rim would be more suitable
  • alan_sherman
    alan_sherman Posts: 1,157
    For everyday riding get a shallow rim wheel, otherwise when it is windy the cross winds will be unpleasent.


    I have the older cosmic carbone premiums and they are pretty solid - the newer ones are a slightly lighter rim but with the new spokes. My only concern with the new approach is what can you do if a spoke breaks? They don't appear to be replaceable.
  • James_London
    James_London Posts: 530
    The rear Zipp 404 clincher isn't very stiff so probably not great if you're over 75kg and intend riding them hard at some point. 404 tubulars are a lot better than the clinchers - stiffer and a decent weight too.

    A riding buddy of mine ponies around London on Cosmic Premiums and hasn't had problems - well actually he did have a cracked rim that Mavic warrantied - but in general they are very hardy and repairable.

    52mm is a bit of a handful on a windy day but depends on your weight, upper body strength and willingness to deal with it! You can always stick a shallow rimmed wheel on the front if it's blowing a gale I suppose.

    You're only really going to benefit from the deep section around 40km/h which you won't hit often around the streets of London. If you're stopping and starting a lot none of these are efficient wheels - relatively heavy with more mass at the rim - as has been pointed out already.

    The SLR spokes ARE replaceable - that's one of Mavic's selling points. They're similar in construction to the Cosmic Ultimates (though not identical) and the CCUs are ludicrously stiff and bulletproof. There's a hilarious video of someone jumping up and down on the CCU spokes somewhere with no ill effects. Price premium on the SLRs seems a little out of whack at the moment though.

    I'd go for Mavics if you're absolutely set on deep section clinchers - either Cosmic SLR or Premiums - but you'd be better with deep tubulars at the SLR price point. Depending on what you have now you may even have more fun with shallow sections...
  • andrewgturnbull
    andrewgturnbull Posts: 3,861
    James_London wrote:
    I'd go for Mavics if you're absolutely set on deep section clinchers - either Cosmic SLR or Premiums - but you'd be better with deep tubulars at the SLR price point. Depending on what you have now you may even have more fun with shallow sections...

    Agreed.

    The significant difference in construction between these two wheels is that the Mavic's spokes are connected directly to the alloy rim, then the carbon fairing is bonded to the inside. The Zipp's carbon rim is connected to the spokes, then the outer rim is bonded to that.

    I think this is the reason behind the Cosmic's bombproof reputation - but also the source of the extra weight.

    FWIW I've been riding around with the '08 Cosmics all year on my best bike, only leaving them in the shed on really wet days.

    Cheers, Andy
    http://www.andyturnbull.co.uk
    http://www.stirlingtri.co.uk
  • ginger J
    ginger J Posts: 68
    thanks guys for your help. I've currently got a set of Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels which I really like. I take the point about London traffic not being the best place to get any speed.
    I'll use them at weekends and for trips abroad. The Mavics seem to be the better option I think, people seem to think they are pretty bombproof.
    Does anyone know of a London shop that stocks the Mavics ?

    Thanks again for the advice

    J

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