2013 Mavic Ksyrium ELITE S First Impressions

andy46

I got a set of 2012 Elites in April this year. I bought my bike a few months earlier but didn't get wheels with it so I made do with some Bontrager's I had which came on my old Trek 1.1. These also had Bontrager tyres on them.

While my new bike was an obvious improvement over my old Trek I still wanted some wheels it deserved. So, after a lot of research I went with the Mavic's along with some Michelin Pro 3 tyres and these transformed the bike

As others have said it's when climbing you notice the difference, plus the whole bike just feels loads lighter than with my old wheel/tyre combo.

Just Cannondales

My SuperSix came with Elites, I upgraded these to Ksyrium SL,s but found them to be more flexy than the Elites so I sold them and put the Elites back on. Great wheels for the price.

I also have a set of Shimano RS80,s one another bike and these are as good as the Elites for a bit less money.

Rich...

Bozman

Just Cannondales wrote:

My SuperSix came with Elites, I upgraded these to Ksyrium SL,s but found them to be more flexy than the Elites so I sold them and put the Elites back on. Great wheels for the price.

I also have a set of Shimano RS80,s one another bike and these are as good as the Elites for a bit less money.

Rich...

Sls flexy, are you 300lb? The Elites are a v good wheel and there isn't much difference between the two but there's no flex on my SLs, they're stil going strong after 4 yrs of country lanes and run as smooth as the day I bought them.
I've had all three sets and after 18 mths with the RS80s which replaced the Elites..... they maybe light and smooth but flex is an issue with them and given the choice I'd have the Elites.

ddraver

Recent convert to the Elite 2012 club here too. I am a big boy and I can't make them bend at all! The only problem is that on some of the cobbled bits around here they re a little too stiff if you see what I mean

To paraphrase Ketih Bontrager - Light, Stiff, Cheap. pick 2 - Well i think the Elites are the best balance of all 3. It's just a shame there i no MTB equivalents cos I'd have brought them too!

Moreyn

My new Mavic Ksyrium 2013 Elite S Wheels arrived yesterday. I'm really impressed with them! I bought mine at my LBS. Had a cracking deal which included a new Ultegra Cassette 11/28, fitted to the wheels.

I looked for the cheapest offer on the Elite's 2010/2011/2012, models. Best deal was (WAS) Wiggle, selling them at £332 for the 2011, wheels, then Merlin or CRC selling them at £389, But I'm sure they are all sold out now? I would suggest to anyone looking to buy the 2013, version of the Mavic Ksyrium Elite S Wheels with Tyres. Ask your LBS for their best deal. Chain-Reaction are best at present for 2013, Elite S Wheels at £469.99.

I had mine for less at LBS

rdt

Moreyn wrote:

Chain-Reaction are best at present for 2013, Elite S Wheels at £469.99.

Currently £427.49 at Merlin, for 2013 Elite S.

Scubapimp

I've just ordered a set of 2012 Elites from Rose Bikes in Germany for £362 + £5 for postage. Can't wait to try them. I'm upgrading the Aksium's that came on my Look 566.

bmxboy10

Just took delivery of a pair of 2013 Elite S WTS.

Has anyone else bought these and thought how narrow the tyres are?

They say they are 23mm but next to my Rubinos are a goot 3/4mm narrower. Having measured them they are about 21mm wide! Sure this may help with speed but does this make the ride harsher or more importantly for me less stable? . The tyres seem very grippy.

Boxerstore

Hi,

Do these wheels really make that much difference, I have an opportunity to buy a new set for £300 (without tyres) and am currently comparing to others including Cole rollen elite/ shimano ultegra....I live and ride on Dartmoor and need climbing wheels!!...currently have Giant stock wheels that came with my defy and want to upgrade before the @classic' in June so any advice on wheels choice would be appreciated

Thanks

petemadoc

Boxerstore wrote:

Hi,

Do these wheels really make that much difference, I have an opportunity to buy a new set for £300 (without tyres) and am currently comparing to others including Cole rollen elite/ shimano ultegra....I live and ride on Dartmoor and need climbing wheels!!...currently have Giant stock wheels that came with my defy and want to upgrade before the @classic' in June so any advice on wheels choice would be appreciated

Thanks

A new set for £300, I'd go for it. They are great climbing wheels, very stiff. Good tyres are just as important though.

Boxerstore

Thanks I think I will.....I have new Michelin pro service course 4, which seem zippy enough on my current wheels and are good in wet!, which, was the main factor when I was choosing them

plymouthsteve

One year on.. (Well nearly)

Still running true after 3000+ miles including one winter, several unnoticed potholes and several inadvertent trips on cycle paths which became rocky forest tracks (top parts of Tarka Trail or Camel Trail anyone?). No maintenance whatsoever.

The tyres were disappointing though. Quite noisy and although alot of grip, this came over mostly as drag. After 3 punctures in 3 rides, all from intrusions too small to find, I put on an old set of (heavier) gatorskins and went faster.

Conclusion.. 100% worth getting, but put a bit aside for some GP4000's or Gatorskins to complete the package.

johnmcsorley

So why Mavic's over say Shimano Dura Ace 9000 C24, which are cheaper and lighter?

NewTTer

johnmcsorley wrote:

So why Mavic's over say Shimano Dura Ace 9000 C24, which are cheaper and lighter?

Really

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... tAodbn4APw

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mavi ... tAodjBUAvA

I guess Chain reaction have priced them wrong by making the Mavics £158.50 cheaper then

And the Shimano are only allegedly 156g lighter, as a pair, not enough for us to notice!

bushpixy

I choose these as an upgrade on my new Specialized Tarmac Sport a month ago. Now 500 miles on and I'm in love with them.

They climb really well and are very stable and confidence inspiring on the descents. I find they roll effortlessly and pickup speed nicely.

chanjy

Any thoughts on when these will get cheaper again?

Can't find it lower than £425 atm, nothing near the £360ish deals mentioned a year ago

Bar Shaker

chanjy wrote:

Any thoughts on when these will get cheaper again?

Can't find it lower than £425 atm, nothing near the £360ish deals mentioned a year ago

£425 now includes tubes and tyres. The deal is just about the same value as for the bare wheels at £360.

Ridiculously cheaper for such good kit.

chanjy

Not that useful when I already have my own tubes and tyres ready to go on the wheels

Not sure I personally consider £425 ridiculously cheap for these... my target price is under £400 I reckon. But that could equally mean I am destined never to have these wheels :P

wheezee

The RS80s are a good alternative for less cash (so I read).

Paid £450 for my Elites. £425 is a bargain as far as I'm concerned.

daniel_b

I have just ordered a pair of these from a German website, alerted to the deal on the commuting forum.

The picture and weight is of 2012 Elite wheels with no tyres, but the price is for 2013 Elite S wheels AND tyres, so the lighter weight, and works out by my reckoning at about £320/£330 delivered - mine were despatched today apparently, so should have them next week!

http://www.4thebike.de/laufraeder/rennrad/20/mavic-ksyrium-elite

I had ordered some Zondas from Evans for £255, but the ywere getting delayed and delayed, so have decided to cancel those, and go with these puppies - pleased the general concensus is that they are excellent wheels.
Cheapest I can find in the UK is £450.

Oh by the way, if you order it will not initially charge you for postage (Only €5.90 anyway) but either e-mail them and they will send you a seperate invoice, or they may well do so if you do not contact them, but I was worried it might hold things up.
I used Google translate to help me register and complete the purchase via paypal.
Also, as it is a German website I foud it really difficult to get my work delivery address to display as I would like, so I e-mailed them with how it should look, and he said he would amend it accordingly - all positive so far.

daniel_b

madasahattersley wrote:

Here's the mistake I've seen a lot of people make - being so tight and determined to get the lowest price that they end up with a set of wheels completely sans warranty. If those wheels explode you'll be a very angry customer with no consumer rights and wishing you'd just sucked it up and bought them at retail price.

It's only a mistake if you haven't thought it through properly.

I've weighed up the pro's and cons, as have many others, and decided the risks are worth taking.
I would not have spent £450 on a pair of wheels anyway, I would have stuck with the Zondas had these not come up.
I won't be getting angry if they detonate and I can't get anywhere with replacing them FOC, the way I see it I am on my own after 12 months anyway, and if something breaks I tend to pay out myself, I'm not one for trying to wring companies dry for repairs, I tend to take responsibility for it myself - these things do happen after all, it's only an item at the end of the day.

daniel_b

Fairly detailed review here: http://cycle-art.co.uk/reviews/mavic-ksyrium-elite-s-wheelset-review/

W12_Lad

Daniel B wrote:

I have just ordered a pair of these from a German website, alerted to the deal on the commuting forum.

The picture and weight is of 2012 Elite wheels with no tyres, but the price is for 2013 Elite S wheels AND tyres, so the lighter weight, and works out by my reckoning at about £320/£330 delivered - mine were despatched today apparently, so should have them next week!

http://www.4thebike.de/laufraeder/rennrad/20/mavic-ksyrium-elite

I had ordered some Zondas from Evans for £255, but the ywere getting delayed and delayed, so have decided to cancel those, and go with these puppies - pleased the general concensus is that they are excellent wheels.
Cheapest I can find in the UK is £450.

Oh by the way, if you order it will not initially charge you for postage (Only €5.90 anyway) but either e-mail them and they will send you a seperate invoice, or they may well do so if you do not contact them, but I was worried it might hold things up.I used Google translate to help me register and complete the purchase via paypal.
Also, as it is a German website I foud it really difficult to get my work delivery address to display as I would like, so I e-mailed them with how it should look, and he said he would amend it accordingly - all positive so far.

They list Great Britain as free delivery for an order >250 euros. As you say, not a huge saving but worth noting for any future orders.

daniel_b

Good spot - oh well!

Amazed to report than having ordered these on Thursday, they are being delivered in the next 30 minutes!

Had I ordered them Wednesday I guess I would have had them only 2 working days later that same week, pretty amazing all the way from Germany.

macroadie

plymouthsteve wrote:

Lucky enough to have got my hands on a set of these, and know there may be one or two people wondering how they measure up.
Well, after 4 rides of 20 - 40 miles I have to say .. THEY ARE AMAZING.

OK, I knew they'd be better than the stock Shimano's that my Specialized Roubaix came with, but these have exceeded my expectations. It doesn't feel like I've got a new wheelset; it feels like I've got a new bike. Everything is more responsive, and they're worth a couple of gears on the hills. The first big ( Sorry, Big for me is 40 mls) ride, I genuinely thought I must have a slight tailwind, so Imagine how I felt when I turned back and .. no wind!

The figures from my Garmin Edge 200 (Best toy ever) show that my average on this bike this year is 15.2 mph and on the 4 rides on the same wheels ON THE SAME ROUTES i'm on 16.6 mph average.
I got these comfortably under £500 from my LBS Certini at Saltash Cornwall, and I've just spent £42 adding the Mavic MP3 2 year damage warranty.

The scary thing is that I was toying with spending a couple of grand more than this on a new bike, hoping to achieve exactly the gains that I've achieved with these wheels alone. Personally I'm counting this ass £1500 saved, not £500 spent.
By the way, the 2013 wheels come with Mavic Tyres fitted so the price increase isn't as big as it seems when you take this into account.
I was looking for a review like this this before buying these, so I hope this is useful for somebody.

I've had my Ksyrium elite for 4 months then bought some Boyd Vitesse (1500g) 28mm for $650 and they trump my kserium elites pound for pound. I still like the elites for climbing but for flat roads the Vitesse feel faster and smoother.

DavidJB

Lol at this 'review' on chain reaction...

Removed the standard wheels that came with my £1600 pound bike and brought these after hours of searching and not knowing which way to go with new wheels. Struck gold with these ride slightly harder on these wheels but instantly added 3mph to my average. Chain reaction delivery 2 days superb as usual. Great buy esp getting tyres with the wheels. Kick hard and instantly rewared

3mph....lmao

bigbeezer

http://bikes.merlincycles.com/search?p= ... rid&cnt=32

Is that the latest version of this wheelset?

looking for a new wheelset myself and could really be tempted by these ones.

cheers

adamfo

In terms of performance per £ these are hard to beat.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-zond ... -wheelset/

gubber12345

bigbeezer wrote:

http://bikes.merlincycles.com/search?p=R&srid=S13-UKLD01&lbc=merlincycles&w=mavic ksyrium elite&url=http://www.merlincycles.com/mavic-ksyrium-elite-s-wts-wheelset-2014-58929.html&rk=1&uid=776779654&sid=2&ts=ajax&rsc=pvqv3vfN:fZJ4Vwa&cnt=32&method=and&isort=score&view=grid&cnt=32

Is that the latest version of this wheelset?

looking for a new wheelset myself and could really be tempted by these ones.

cheers

yeah thats them,i got a set earlier on about feb time,great wheelset well pleased with them.i changed the tyres tho over to my conti 4000s and its a sweet pairing IMO.

heard rumours that altho the yksiums are good enough tyres they were a disaster in the wet.

pearceygy

I have the 2013s for a year now now and I'm really surprised with all the loving going on for these wheels on this thread, I am thinking of upgrading these wheels to the dura ace c24s but having read some of the comments on this thread in saying that there's not a lot of difference I'm now seriously wondering wether to bother.
For the record before I got the ksyriums I had stock giant wheels before upgrading to giant pslr1 which was a good improvement, I then got the ksyriums with my new bike and to be honest the haven't impressed me, yes they are bullet proof as the saying goes and I rode them all through the winter hitting plenty of potholes and they are as good as new, they feel ok climbing nothing special,but my gripe with them is that they are hard work to keep up my average speed of around 19mph.
To say they feel like riding through mud would be an exaggeration I'm not expecting aero performance I'm after a good climbing wheel that will hold speed better on the flat so I'm hoping and asking if these dura ace will spin a hell of a lot better for £600.