Mavic Ksyrium SLS

Crispyapp

Hi does anyone on here own this Wheelset and can you let me know what you think please? I cannot find any reviews for them online but having read the manufacturers info about them they seem pretty impressive.

Thanks

Monty Dog

The SLS is an update of the Ksyrium SL which as a design has been around since 1999 and has evolved over the years. I bought a pair in 2004 and used them for racing, training throughout the year.
Good points are that it's a proven design and is pretty bombproof.
Less good is that they're not that aero, can be pretty harsh for lighter riders and there are lighter wheels bought for the money.
Worst point is that Mavic's spares policy is to discontinue spares support after 5 years - so, if like me you have more than one bike then when your rims wear out after 6 years, you're left high and dry as you can't buy spares - not what you expect for £800!

ugo.santalucia

Monty Dog wrote:

The SLS is an update of the Ksyrium SL which as a design has been around since 1999 and has evolved over the years. I bought a pair in 2004 and used them for racing, training throughout the year.
Good points are that it's a proven design and is pretty bombproof.
Less good is that they're not that aero, can be pretty harsh for lighter riders and there are lighter wheels bought for the money.
Worst point is that Mavic's spares policy is to discontinue spares support after 5 years - so, if like me you have more than one bike then when your rims wear out after 6 years, you're left high and dry as you can't buy spares - not what you expect for £800!

And while spare rims are still available, they are priced at nearly 200 pounds each, so just the same as being discontinued

Captainlip

Monty Dog wrote:

The SLS is an update of the Ksyrium SL which as a design has been around since 1999 and has evolved over the years. I bought a pair in 2004 and used them for racing, training throughout the year.
Good points are that it's a proven design and is pretty bombproof.
Less good is that they're not that aero, can be pretty harsh for lighter riders and there are lighter wheels bought for the money.
Worst point is that Mavic's spares policy is to discontinue spares support after 5 years - so, if like me you have more than one bike then when your rims wear out after 6 years, you're left high and dry as you can't buy spares - not what you expect for £800!

some good points and has made me reconsider getting these as until now were number 1 on my list.

what alternatives do you suggest.

ugo.santalucia

Captainlip wrote:

Monty Dog wrote:

The SLS is an update of the Ksyrium SL which as a design has been around since 1999 and has evolved over the years. I bought a pair in 2004 and used them for racing, training throughout the year.
Good points are that it's a proven design and is pretty bombproof.
Less good is that they're not that aero, can be pretty harsh for lighter riders and there are lighter wheels bought for the money.
Worst point is that Mavic's spares policy is to discontinue spares support after 5 years - so, if like me you have more than one bike then when your rims wear out after 6 years, you're left high and dry as you can't buy spares - not what you expect for £800!

some good points and has made me reconsider getting these as until now were number 1 on my list.

what alternatives do you suggest.

Have a look at wheelsmith race wheels... Carbon tubolars aside, they are probably the fastest set for that money.
I would however spend a bit less and get something along those lines

Monty Dog

If you want factory-built, look at Shimano C24s or Fulcrum Racing 1s.
I replaced my Ksyriums with Campagnolo Shamals which are near identical to Fulcrum Racing 1's (apart from spoke pattern) - not quite as harsh and a little more aero. Apart from a tweak of the hub bearing adjuster, not touched them since.
For the same money, and you're not a heavy rider, then some handbuilts using Stans Alpha rims, Sapim CX ray spokes and hubs of your choice from a reputable builder will weigh less and cost the same/less than the SLS.

Crispyapp

Thanks everyone. Is a claimed weight of 1395g really that heavy though for a clincher Wheelset? I don't think it is, well not without having rider weight limits set etc....I weigh 13s 12lb now and aiming to reduce this to 13stone dead come march. I've looked at the fulcrums and I actually do like them however these are heavier than the mavics.

If I was to go down the hand built route and then start looking at less weight will I not just have problems with flex etc?

LegendLust

Crispyapp wrote:

Thanks everyone. Is a claimed weight of 1395g really that heavy though for a clincher Wheelset? I don't think it is, well not without having rider weight limits set etc....I weigh 13s 12lb now and aiming to reduce this to 13stone dead come march. I've looked at the fulcrums and I actually do like them however these are heavier than the mavics.

If I was to go down the hand built route and then start looking at less weight will I not just have problems with flex etc?

I have a pair of Wheelsmith's IRD aero 30mm's built on Novatec's with CX Ray's. Very stiff but comfy wheel, and no flex. If you went for a lighter hub you could get below 1395gr but it will make your wallet lighter!

ugo.santalucia

Crispyapp wrote:

Hi does anyone on here own this Wheelset and can you let me know what you think please? I cannot find any reviews for them online but having read the manufacturers info about them they seem pretty impressive.

Thanks

Last week you were all revved up on 38 mm carbon tubulars (totally inadequate for your riding), now you have sobered up and looking at something more adequate.

All the upgrades, as compared to the standard SL make the wheels a whole lot worse. Zycral spokes are a complete waste of money, if not a con. The lighter rims are surely less durable and considering spares come at 200 pounds each...
If you like the Ksyrium, stick with the Elites, which are decent value for money

Crispyapp

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Crispyapp wrote:

Hi does anyone on here own this Wheelset and can you let me know what you think please? I cannot find any reviews for them online but having read the manufacturers info about them they seem pretty impressive.

Thanks

Last week you were all revved up on 38 mm carbon tubulars (totally inadequate for your riding), now you have sobered up and looking at something more adequate.

All the upgrades, as compared to the standard SL make the wheels a whole lot worse. Zycral spokes are a complete waste of money, if not a con. The lighter rims are surely less durable and considering spares come at 200 pounds each...
If you like the Ksyrium, stick with the Elites, which are decent value for money

Yes I was. I've given up on that idea and I'm now looking at traditional style wheels again. Fulcrum s, campag wheelsmith race etc.... Ideally I'm after something light ish without compromise on rider weight, so ideally about 1350g to 1450g I'm after a stiff Wheelset that obviously rides amazing. I was after a deeper rim, and always loved carbon but until the braking is improved and the threat of popping tyres has dissolved I'm gonna stay clear, alu carbon clinchers are too heavy unless your spending silly money which I don't want to do as I've got enough still to buy.

velocissimus

I have the SLS wheels on my recently purchased Cervelo R3 Team. I’ve only done around 400 miles on them, but so far I’m very impressed and would recommend them based on this limited use. I wanted light, non-areo wheels and the SLS seemed a good choice. I bought them with the bike so can’t compare how it would ride with other wheels.

They feel light on the bike due to the low rim weight and Mavic claim they remain as strong as the SL wheels. I’m 6’2 and 81 kg, the wheels feels very stiff but not overly harsh. They are super responsive and it feels like every bit of extra power input is converted in to immediate acceleration. The light weight helps on the climbs and they are very fast rolling on descents. I also like them aesthetically.

They come fitted with the Mavic tyres and while I wouldn’t have chosen those tyres I have to say I like them so far. They are fast rolling, good grip and good road feel. The roads have obviously been a bit damp recently and I’ve hit the odd wet patch while cornering on descents and they’ve coped fine.

Time will tell how the wheels cope with racking up the miles on less than perfect roads and ultimately whether they were a good buy. If you are looking for non-areo wheels in the price range I would say they are well worth considering.

Crispyapp

velocissimus wrote:

I have the SLS wheels on my recently purchased Cervelo R3 Team. I’ve only done around 400 miles on them, but so far I’m very impressed and would recommend them based on this limited use. I wanted light, non-areo wheels and the SLS seemed a good choice. I bought them with the bike so can’t compare how it would ride with other wheels.

They feel light on the bike due to the low rim weight and Mavic claim they remain as strong as the SL wheels. I’m 6’2 and 81 kg, the wheels feels very stiff but not overly harsh. They are super responsive and it feels like every bit of extra power input is converted in to immediate acceleration. The light weight helps on the climbs and they are very fast rolling on descents. I also like them aesthetically.

They come fitted with the Mavic tyres and while I wouldn’t have chosen those tyres I have to say I like them so far. They are fast rolling, good grip and good road feel. The roads have obviously been a bit damp recently and I’ve hit the odd wet patch while cornering on descents and they’ve coped fine.

Time will tell how the wheels cope with racking up the miles on less than perfect roads and ultimately whether they were a good buy. If you are looking for non-areo wheels in the price range I would say they are well worth considering.

Thanks for that, I agree aesthetically I think there probably 1 of a the best looking wheel on the market, if I'm honest it's what drew me towards them in the first place. At 1400g I think there plenty light enough without sacrificing flex from rider weight. I know people on here slate mavic for poor service and expensive part replacements however in all my life of cycling I've only ever smashed 1 wheel so that side of things doesn't worry me in the slightest. I'm gonna also look at the wheel smith race 23 and I'm also looking at the fulcrum zero dark label.... 3 sets now On my short list. Slowly I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere now.

ugo.santalucia

Spokes suffer fatigue, fact.
Aluminium alloys, and Zicral is one, have the lowest fatigue life of all metal alloys, fact.

Simple transitive property tells you that Zicral spokes will not last very long. I would be surprised if you don't get a few popping before 6-8000 miles. That has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with potholes or bad roads... Fatigue is related to the number of cycles = wheel spins = miles.
When one goes, you might stay off your wheels for two weeks while a spare comes to the shop, can be less, but can be more.. Make sure it is not the only wheelset you own

TOM14S

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Spokes suffer fatigue, fact.
Aluminium alloys, and Zicral is one, have the lowest fatigue life of all metal alloys, fact.

Simple transitive property tells you that Zicral spokes will not last very long. I would be surprised if you don't get a few popping before 6-8000 miles. That has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with potholes or bad roads... Fatigue is related to the number of cycles = wheel spins = miles.
When one goes, you might stay off your wheels for two weeks while a spare comes to the shop, can be less, but can be more.. Make sure it is not the only wheelset you own

Sh1t! better start building aeroplanes out of steel and stop building bikes out of Al as they'll fall apart after 8000miles due to Al not having and indefinate fatigue life unlike steel I can't see it happening

ugo.santalucia

TOM14S wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Spokes suffer fatigue, fact.
Aluminium alloys, and Zicral is one, have the lowest fatigue life of all metal alloys, fact.

Simple transitive property tells you that Zicral spokes will not last very long. I would be surprised if you don't get a few popping before 6-8000 miles. That has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with potholes or bad roads... Fatigue is related to the number of cycles = wheel spins = miles.
When one goes, you might stay off your wheels for two weeks while a spare comes to the shop, can be less, but can be more.. Make sure it is not the only wheelset you own

Sh1t! better start building aeroplanes out of steel :roll:

You joke, but fatigue, as you should know, is the biggest problem of airliners... the MAIN reason Boeing is moving to composites is not much the weight saving, but rather the better fatigue life composites have

In wheel building fatigue can be fought either by using higher spoke count = less stress per spoke per cycle = longer fatigue life or by using spokes with a better fatigue life. Mavic is doing the exact opposite, using low spoke count and Zicral spokes.
Have a look at an S-N curve for a given metal alloy and you will have an idea of what I mean

alihisgreat

TOM14S wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Spokes suffer fatigue, fact.
Aluminium alloys, and Zicral is one, have the lowest fatigue life of all metal alloys, fact.

Simple transitive property tells you that Zicral spokes will not last very long. I would be surprised if you don't get a few popping before 6-8000 miles. That has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with potholes or bad roads... Fatigue is related to the number of cycles = wheel spins = miles.
When one goes, you might stay off your wheels for two weeks while a spare comes to the shop, can be less, but can be more.. Make sure it is not the only wheelset you own

Sh1t! better start building aeroplanes out of steel and stop building bikes out of Al as they'll fall apart after 8000miles due to Al not having and indefinate fatigue life unlike steel I can't see it happening

..but planes do get fatigue damage -> its just the part is inspected at appropriate intervals so accidents caused by failure are very rare.

TOM14S

yep, the usual example is the Comet disaster.
But exactly, they've used an alloy (7000series alloy IIRC) that has a significantly improved fatigue life and is used in automotive and aero industries, so I'd like to think they're fit for purpose! Lets just hope they don't get a stone chip on the spokes otherwise they are screwed

TOM14S

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

TOM14S wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

..but planes do get fatigue damage -> its just the part is inspected at appropriate intervals so accidents caused by failure are very rare.

True, Saying I can't see it happening is probably not what i meant..
Yep I understand it may, can and will happen. But, because they're made of an alloy doesn't mean they will fail prematurely, not be fit for an acceptable product life, and a reason not to buy the wheels.

ugo.santalucia

TOM14S wrote:

yep, the usual example is the Comet disaster.
But exactly, they've used an alloy (7000series alloy IIRC) that has a significantly improved fatigue life and is used in automotive and aero industries, so I'd like to think they're fit for purpose! Lets just hope they don't get a stone chip on the spokes otherwise they are screwed

7 series alloys are mainstream these days... nothing new there. Theory aside, reality is there are countless reports of these zicral spokes popping.
Per se is no big deal, if you can open the calipers enough to go back home... what is really annoying is the supply chain. Mavic spokes are frequently out of stock and as Mavic stops supplying parts for older wheels, in practice these are an expensive luxury to either use very little to avoid problems or bash very quickly before it gets superseeded by a newer model and spares become impossible to find
That I expect from a set of wheels made in India for the < 50 pounds market, not from a set that cost a "monkey" to buy

Crispyapp

ugo.santalucia wrote:

TOM14S wrote:

yep, the usual example is the Comet disaster.
But exactly, they've used an alloy (7000series alloy IIRC) that has a significantly improved fatigue life and is used in automotive and aero industries, so I'd like to think they're fit for purpose! Lets just hope they don't get a stone chip on the spokes otherwise they are screwed

7 series alloys are mainstream these days... nothing new there. Theory aside, reality is there are countless reports of these zicral spokes popping.
Per se is no big deal, if you can open the calipers enough to go back home... what is really annoying is the supply chain. Mavic spokes are frequently out of stock and as Mavic stops supplying parts for older wheels, in practice these are an expensive luxury to either use very little to avoid problems or bash very quickly before it gets superseeded by a newer model and spares become impossible to find
That I expect from a set of wheels made in India for the < 50 pounds market, not from a set that cost a "monkey" to buy

UFO in fairness though I can honestly say I've never kept a set of wheels for more than 3 or 4 yrs. I've usually got bored by then and bought something else, my LBS have told me the y do carry all spares for mavic and in the event they need fixing isn't a problem...

Captainlip

Ive just ordered a set of these and will see how I get on with them, I did want something more aero but know lighter will benefit me more right now.

nolight

Monty Dog wrote:

Good points are that it's a proven design and is pretty bombproof.
Less good is that they're not that aero, can be pretty harsh for lighter riders and there are lighter wheels bought for the money.

Why is it harsh for lighter riders?

I weigh 60kg. What would be good for lighter riders like me?

giant_man

They are not harsh at all, regardless of weight of rider, and you can still get the spares, contrary to some rubbish advice on here. My nine year old Ksyriums SLs are still going strong, a broken plastic axle housing was replaced by Mavic UK a couple of years ago no problems, apart from that they are indeed bulletproof, highly recommended imo.

ugo.santalucia

giant man wrote:

They are not harsh at all, regardless of weight of rider, and you can still get the spares, contrary to some rubbish advice on here. My nine year old Ksyriums SLs are still going strong, a broken plastic axle housing was replaced by Mavic UK a couple of years ago no problems, apart from that they are indeed bulletproof, highly recommended imo.

I wish people stopped using the terms "bulletproof" and "bombproof" they really don't apply to any wheel. Mavic Ksirium in general are very good, the latest alloy spokes are debatable, but generally speaking they are probably the best machine built wheels around. Mavic pitfall is the cost of spares. For a spare rim you are looking at nearly 200 pounds once it is fitted, which is nonsense. Bear in mind a rim might need replacing because it gets dented in a pothole, damaged in a fall, worn out prematurely due to winter use... there are many reasons why you might need a spare rim. Although Mavic has a replacement policy that you can buy in, I am pretty sure that doesn't come without smallprint and anyway you have to factor it in the price of the set.
Personally I think the Elite are still their best built product, pound for pound

All front wheels built radially with bladed spokes feel a bit harsh compared to a crossed double butted construction, but that's not necessarily an issue if you don't plan to do 600 Km Audaxes... some riders actually like the feel, others like me prefer a smooth ride...

bernithebiker

Another thing to watch out for on Mavic rear wheels is the freehub.

Inside there is a plastic bushing that wears. This then presents play in the freehub body which you can feel by grabbing the cassette and wiggling it - it moves slightly, and gets worse with time.

This is a known issue, and as far as I know all Mavic road rear wheels use this (poor) system.

I have Mavic Ultimate Carbone tubulars, and absolutely love them, but this is a major disappointment for me.

Mavic have already replaced my bushing once FOC, but I can feel play again 5000km later.

ugo.santalucia

bernithebiker wrote:

Another thing to watch out for on Mavic rear wheels is the freehub.

Inside there is a plastic bushing that wears. This then presents play in the freehub body which you can feel by grabbing the cassette and wiggling it - it moves slightly, and gets worse with time.

This is a known issue, and as far as I know all Mavic road rear wheels use this (poor) system.

I have Mavic Ultimate Carbone tubulars, and absolutely love them, but this is a major disappointment for me.

Mavic have already replaced my bushing once FOC, but I can feel play again 5000km later.

Typically a modern freehub has two bearings kept apart by a spacer... the bearings are responsible for play, as the axle is machined to fit perfectly inside those... how does the Mavic one work?

Millidog

Great wheels. Some say Mavic spares policy is not good - Don't believe them, it is on a par with anything else out there so pretty good. Some say hard ride again not in my opinion.
These wheels are great, very stiff, great power transfer and fairly light weight.

foggymike

The mavic free hub has a sealed bearing on the outside and a "delrin" or plastic to you and me bushing on the inside. The idea is this is lighter than a bearing and wears before the hub itself so this should not need replacing if you keep it all clean.

The delrin bushing does wear and get play over time but then shimano freehubs always seem to have play from new! A new mavic free hub is about £30 and can be swapped in 3 minutes so personally I think it's no big deal, if not the most slick solution. At least servicing is super simple. Early ones had 2 bearings but from what I remember it was weight saving that led to the change.

Millidog

Very good all rounders..... Stiff and great ride, reasonably light (don't forget some light wheels also lack stiffness and life span so there's always a compromise) Go for them ! but ditch the tyres !

robbo2011

Slightly different advice, use the tyres until they wear out and then buy another make of tyre. The tyres are not that bad.

davoj

Crispyapp wrote:

Hi does anyone on here own this Wheelset and can you let me know what you think please? I cannot find any reviews for them online but having read the manufacturers info about them they seem pretty impressive.

Thanks

I have these wheels for the last 18 months and have had no issues at all, they have never been trued or serviced since i bought them. They have over 7000 Miles on them and have used them for racing and sometimes even commuting and also for one winter.

I would recommend them.