Ksyrium SL

bmxboy10

If you could buy a set of SLs for £500 brand new would you buy them? I want them but i dont need them (and cant really afford them :roll: )

loismustdie

Probably, yes.

I prefer my Dura Ace C24s though.

Monty Dog

Bought a pair a few years ago, but wouldn't buy another pair because of Mavic's cr@ppy spares support policy - basically if you wear or break anything after 5 years you're $crewed because you can't get the parts. I've got a pair with worn rims that I can't do anything with - I have 6 bikes, so even based on the amount of riding I do, I'm unlikely to wear anything out in that time.

anto164

I had the option of SLs for £580, or DA C24s for £540.

I went for the DA's. They're currently sat in my room, waiting delivery of the rest of the bike.

Bozman

Bullet proof, like new after 3 years of abuse, can't fault them.

giant_man

Don't listen to the haters on here, Ksyrium SLs are absolutely fine and pretty bullet proof.

Contrary to some people's 'opinions', you can still get spares for them, mine are nine years old this year and the only thing that went was the rear plastic axle housing, which I did get a replacement for, not a problem.

Dadmo

The SLs are the best wheels I've ever used - I've never had one go out of shape

bmxboy10

What if your 90 kg plus?

napoleond

If you're 90kg plus then even more reason to go for the SLs.
I've had the DAs, they were very good but flexy when climbing, I got some Ksyrium elites as a stop gap but, well, they are no longer a stop gap, they're ace! SLs would be even better.
The ksyriums aren't the lightest, most bling, most aero but they do everything very well and anecdotally bombproof.

sopworth

solboy10 wrote:

If you could buy a set of SLs for £500 brand new would you buy them? I want them but i dont need them (and cant really afford them :roll: )

Where can you get them for that price? I can't find them for cheaper than £620.

tp2000

Had the same dilemma, went with the DA which are fabulous. Heard good things about the Sls though, so doubt you're going to go too far wrong.

marjorie dawes

Monty Dog wrote:

Bought a pair a few years ago, but wouldn't buy another pair because of Mavic's cr@ppy spares support policy - basically if you wear or break anything after 5 years you're $crewed because you can't get the parts. I've got a pair with worn rims that I can't do anything with - I have 6 bikes, so even based on the amount of riding I do, I'm unlikely to wear anything out in that time.

i just had my 2006 ksyrium es's in for new rims'n'spokes, had no issues at all

Monty Dog

I can assure you that I can't get spares as the Mavic Tech centre is up the road and a friend is a director of the company that owns Mavic...

jordan_217

marjorie dawes wrote:

Monty Dog wrote:

Bought a pair a few years ago, but wouldn't buy another pair because of Mavic's cr@ppy spares support policy - basically if you wear or break anything after 5 years you're $crewed because you can't get the parts. I've got a pair with worn rims that I can't do anything with - I have 6 bikes, so even based on the amount of riding I do, I'm unlikely to wear anything out in that time.

i just had my 2006 ksyrium es's in for new rims'n'spokes, had no issues at all

So are they like Triggers broom then???

jonomc4

I have Ksyrium Elite - I like them a lot but have been only using them for 2 months. My reason for buying them was I was told the rims are very durable and don't wear so easily as many other makes - also they have replaceable bearing cartridges - so are easy to replace rather than throwing the wheel away when the bearings go - as with some other wheels.

Either way I like them. So going one step up they will be all the better.

marjorie dawes

Monty Dog wrote:

I can assure you that I can't get spares as the Mavic Tech centre is up the road and a friend is a director of the company that owns Mavic...

sorry monty dog, i'm not disputing what you say, i am only letting the OP know my experience

marjorie dawes

So are they like Triggers broom then??? [/quote]

it did feel a bit like that!
mavic insisted spokes were fitted, doesn't leave alot of the original item

surfgod

Having owned a pair of Ksyrium SL wheels, my advise is to steer well clear of them.
If you break a rim, they are almost impossible to to buy seperately as a spare part.
Mavic will offer to replace a rim, but it's usually costs the same as buying a new wheel.
They have been very cleverly engineered to be non user servicable, while its possible to replace a single spoke. It's a nightmare job to replace a damaged rim (thats if you can obtain a replacment rim)

Although they are very light and very strong, they give quite sketchy handling especially if you are heavier than 80 kilos. Their bead seats are too narrow in my opinion, this causes the tyre sidewalls to flex alarmingly at times.

The current trend is for wider road rims, Hed Ardennes/ Hed Jett/Zipp 101/Velocity A23.
These wider road rims give your 23c tyre a straight sidewall, that seems to make for a smoother ride with less wind/rolling resistance.

marjorie dawes

the induvidual who i spoke to at mavic told me that there suggested retail price for rim and spokes was £120inc vat and labour, per wheel, i was happy with that as the wheels were in excess of £600 when purchased,

cubicboy

I recently wanted to re-rim my Ksyrium ES wheelset (the SL's forerunner). I tried three different LBS and they all came back with the same price of circa £170 per wheel. There was no way round fixing them other than sending to Mavic. I chose to sell them on and bought a set of Elites.

napoleond

surfgod wrote:

Having owned a pair of Ksyrium SL...

Although they are very light and very strong, they give quite sketchy handling especially if you are heavier than 80 kilos. Their bead seats are too narrow in my opinion, this causes the tyre sidewalls to flex alarmingly at times.

I wholeheartedly disagree. I find no adverse effect on handling. I've got a pair of A23 wheels coming soon so I'll be able to do back to back comparison...

fizz

I had a pair of these. I really rated them. I did break a spoke in the rear wheel which the LBS sorted out for me no problem.

Bike always felt stable and felt planted when cornering and they felt like they climbed really well. I was gutted when I got knocked off by a car driver and the impact destroyed the front wheel. I Had no intention of replacing them.

I'm over 90KG and apart from broken spoke I never had a problem with them. I would buy another pair like a shot, in fact I did, well the K10 version anyway. But I did'nt pay for them the drivers insurance company did.

Gary D

I have a pair of the Ksyrium SL Premiums and they are great!
I am only just under 95kg now - and I have lost a bit of weight since I bought them :oops: :oops:
However, they are still absolutely true and I have never had any problems with them whatsoever.

I got a great deal on mine about 3 years ago - £425 on Ebay including wheel bags . They hadn't been used at all, but had had tyres fitted at some stage.
I would definitely buy another pair. Go for it!
Gary.

kettrinboy

My 2006 SL,s have 11,000 miles on them , have been totally trouble free, well if you dont count one instance of "Mavic scream" but a quick service of the freehub and alls well again, for 500 quid i would be tempted, mine were ~450 quid brand new 6 yrs ago, even now the rims show very little wear, and they havnt moved at all, still dead true.