I was about to buy Mavic Ksyrium, now I am worried

littledove44

Did the research
Asked questions here
Found a good price (£400 for a set of Elites)

Then I read this. http://forums.roadbikereview.com/mavic/ ... 02153.html

How can opinions be so polarised?
Now I am totally confused.

jordan_217

I have a set of Mavic Ksyrium Equipes that were originally fitted to a 2006 Scott, I fitted newer ones in 2009 but am still using the original ones on my commuting/training bike. They've taken some abuse and never had a single issue.

My Enigma has the Elites, 2011 version. Again, several thousand miles of use, in all conditions and they've never had a single problem.

I have a set of 2008 Aksiums which I use for CX and off-road. That bike does exactly the same as most MTB's. Again, not a single issue.

Look hard enough and you'll find negative reviews on all wheel sets/their component parts.

If you fancy the Elites then get a set, IME they're a bloody good wheel. The only alternate I was considering was the Shimano RS80's but they had more negative reviews than the Elites Remember that people on forums tend to only post feedback when it's negative. For every one pi55ed off user, there will be significantly more happier ones.

[stands back as a can of worms has just been opened]

meesterbond

How can opinions be so polarised?

Because it's the internet and products are generally either the best thing EVER, or complete and utter garbage. Those that bought the product believe the former, those that chose a competing one the latter.

The truth almost certainly lies somewhere between the two.

dowtcha

Bought the same wheels from here a few weeks ago at £310
http://www.4thebike.de/laufraeder/rennr ... rium-elite

littledove44

Dowtcha wrote:

Bought the same wheels from here a few weeks ago at £310
http://www.4thebike.de/laufraeder/rennr ... rium-elite

Wow, was that including delivery? To where?

I tried to use the website but it wouldn't accept a uk address format

Bozman

I found Elites bullet proof, I used them all year round for a few years and couldn't fault them, they even took a side impact from a car.
I still use a set of Ksyrium SLs that I've had for six years and over 20k miles which run as true as the day I bought them, these have only been used through fair weather but they're sound.
If I compare the Elites to the Shimano RS 80s that I have now, they're pretty similar apart from I found the elites a damn sight stiffer, as soon as I'm out of the saddle I get brake rub off the RS80s but I got nothing off the elites.

giant_man

My ten year old pair of Ksyrium SLs have lasted and they're still fine, don't be worried ....

pkripper

just remember with the internet that you're likely to get a far higher proportion of negative reviews than positive reviews. It's a well documented thing - those who do have a beef want to be heard, those that don't have a beef just carry on and don't give reviews a second thought.

FWIW, I have 2013 elites - very good wheels in my opinion.

keef66

It's just the old argument about factory wheels with proprietary parts & technology vs handbuilts with cheap and available spares.

Factory wheels:-

generally quite blingy, and if you're lucky / careful you'll ride them for thousands of miles without any problems. (I have a pair of Shimano RS10's that are 6 years old and still going strong, but I weigh 66kg and don't use the brakes very much)
However, if / when the rim wears out it's often difficult and expensive to source a replacement, and if you're paying somebody to rebuild it for you it's often cheaper to buy a new wheel. Replacement spokes can also be relatively expensive and hard to obtain, and when a spoke breaks on a low count wheel, it can weaken the remaining adjacent spokes which subsequently snap. Losing one of 16 spokes can also make a wheel instantly unrideable, though a recent forum thread told of a return 30 mile commute made on a front RS10 with a missing spoke :shock:



Handbuilt wheels:-

rims generally don't look as flashy, but a good wheel builder will recommend hubs / spokes / rims to suit your budget, your weight, the type of riding you do and the surfaces you'll be riding on. Handbuilts can easily be lighter than factory wheels if required, while on the other hand heavier riders can have stronger rims and higher spoke counts. Bike tarts can have coloured hubs or flashy Chris King / Hope / Royce parts. The major benefit is if you wear out a rim or break spokes, replacements can be obtained quickly / easily, though if you're not a wheelbuilder you'll still have to pay someone to do the work.

So it's all a matter of choice. I regard factory wheels as value for money, but I'm pretty gentle with them, and if anything goes wrong with them beyond replacing the bearings, I regard them as disposable. I'm a low budget cyclist though; I'm only talking about wheels in the £70-100 range. Not sure how happy I'd feel having to bin a £300 - £400 wheelset...

littledove44

Order done from the German website.
£317 delivered, shipped today.
Awesome.thanks for the link.

junglist_matty

Depends on how much you weigh at the end of the day, Krysiums are generally fine and are likely to last tens of thousands of miles if you're less than 80kg.

If your closer to 100kg, they'll likely (not guaranteed) fail at some point after several thousand miles (I'm 95kg, my rear rim cracked and a spoke popped out; the wheel was fit for the bin, that was after just over 4000 autumn/winter miles).

If you're over 100kg it's very likely they'll fail at some point after a few thousand miles.


Stick to that general rule, if you're heavy and want a set of race day (or nice day out) wheels, they'll probably be fine for occasional use; I wouldn't recommend them for daily *training* *commuting* use if you're over 90kg.... That's the general rule of thumb for any lightweight factory built wheelset.

Grill

Tens of thousands? Maybe ten thousand...

jordan_217

Grill wrote:

Tens of thousands? Maybe ten thousand...

Well I'm over 80kgs (not by much) and I've covered closer to 15K on them

Living in a flat area and riding on mainly rural roads means I probably don't hammer the rims as much. Plus my bike is always cleaned after wet rides when debris is likely to be on the rims/pads.

Grill

And I'm under 80kgs and my rims wore at 9k. Need a new freehub at 5k which was expensive and took 3 weeks to arrive. I'll stick with my much nicer (and cheaper) handbuilts for now.

blablablacksheep

Got a pair on canyon. Very impressive set of wheels, they aren't the fastest but very good on climbs and require near to no maintenance.

Issue I had was a failure of hub breaking off where the spoke joins to it.
Very bad but called canyon who then followed the warranty through mavic and got hub repaired.

Would easily buy again.

Monty Dog

I bought a pair of Ksyrium SLs about 2004 - my rims wore out after about 15,000 miles (no real issues to that point) to find that Mavic don't provide spares after 5 years. Fine if you're going to use them everyday. Replaced them with a pair of Shamals which are just as light and durable, but less harsh to ride and you can still buy spares. Likewise with Fulcrums.

keef66

blablablacksheep wrote:

Got a pair on canyon. Very impressive set of wheels, they aren't the fastest but very good on climbs and require near to no maintenance.

Issue I had was a failure of hub breaking off where the spoke joins to it.
Very bad but called canyon who then followed the warranty through mavic and got hub repaired.

Would easily buy again.

I'm hoping they replaced the hub rather than repairing it :shock:

littledove44

By next summer I will be 85kg. Only planning a few thousand miles a year on them so they should be fine.

In two years I will probably have changed bike and wheels anyway.

antfly

I have them and no problems yet but people rarely mention that Mavics are pretty harsh to ride, at least compared to Shimanos.

antfly

If you click on the pdf on that German site it has "DEMO VERSION" splashed all over it.

dowtcha

Every PDF on that site has "DEMO VERSION" splashed on it, I would say it refers to the PDF format and not the product.

Anonymous

meesterbond wrote:

How can opinions be so polarised?

Because it's the internet and products are generally either the best thing EVER, or complete and utter garbage. Those that bought the product believe the former, those that chose a competing one the latter.

The truth almost certainly lies somewhere between the two.

A thread entitled 'I was about to buy Mavic Ksyrium, but now I am worried' only adds fuel to the fire :roll:

My reply to it has probably not helped either :oops:

wotnoshoeseh

littledove44 wrote:

Dowtcha wrote:

Bought the same wheels from here a few weeks ago at £310
http://www.4thebike.de/laufraeder/rennr ... rium-elite

Wow, was that including delivery? To where?

I tried to use the website but it wouldn't accept a uk address format

Shimano freehub.

I too bought a set, last Friday.
I simply put the UK address into the comments section. They were delivered on Wednesday via DPD. Full 2013 Elite S with WTS and Shimano freehub. Delivered to Northern Ireland for £317. 370 Euro + 5.95 Euro for delivery.

I also called them to check my order went through, as they had not taken payment. It seemed I selected to pay by bank transfer, so I was able to pay with credit card over the phone for the full amount.

I've also been running Ksyrium Equipes for over 2 years now with no issues whatsoever. At one stage I was ~95-100 kgs too, and have not had an issue. They are now on the winter bike with the Ksyrium Elites on the "good" bike.

littledove44

Dowtcha wrote:

Every PDF on that site has "DEMO VERSION" splashed on it, I would say it refers to the PDF format and not the product.

You are correct. The wheels are new and Mavic warranted.

pippi_langsamer-2

I used to have a set of old Ksyrium SL's that were probably the most reliable wheelset I've ever owned.

I raced on them (crashed and potholed too), then demoted them to training. Never saw a truing stand in about seven years until I accidentally put my rear mech into them in a race. Before that time, they were as true as the day I bought them. Astonishingly strong wheelset.

junglist_matty

wotnoshoeseh wrote:

I've also been running Ksyrium Equipes for over 2 years now with no issues whatsoever. At one stage I was ~95-100 kgs too, and have not had an issue. They are now on the winter bike with the Ksyrium Elites on the "good" bike.

I don't think anyone is denying they are good wheels, but that many heavier riders have been unlucky with the wheels and they've broke, obviously you've been lucky if you do (or did) weigh that much.
Here's what happened to my rear Ksyrium Equipe wheel after about 4k miles of almost daily use; maybe I was unlucky, before they broke I loved them, they are good wheels but don't expect them to be as bombproof unless you're sub 80kg:

littledove44

The new elites have arrived from Germany.
Current model, well packaged, brand new, not demo models.

Shipped and delivered at over £100 less than anyone offering in the UK.

Might try that again.

bmxboy10

I love this thread. So the OP posts because he is worried about mixed reviews, durability of a low spoke count wheelset and gets a fair response on the forum but then does what many other people do and buys them anyway because they are discounted or cheaper than the RRP! Dont get me wrong i have these wheels myself and that is a good price but I find this thread a bit confusing :?

littledove44

solboy10 wrote:

I love this thread. So the OP posts because he is worried about mixed reviews, durability of a low spoke count wheelset and gets a fair response on the forum but then does what many other people do and buys them anyway because they are discounted or cheaper than the RRP! Dont get me wrong i have these wheels myself and that is a good price but I find this thread a bit confusing :?

No, I posted because I was worried about a US thread that was negative.
What you have missed is my original thread where I asked for wheel advice on this forum and the Mavics were the recommended wheel.
Also, there are as many positives, and pm's to me, and the advice of my lbs, and a mate who is a bike maintainer all saying the Mavics were the right choice.
Nothing to do with price. However, having been willing to pay £425 it was nice, thanks to a recommendation on this forum, to get them for £325.
The repost was dimply to let people know that the German thing worked out as there was scepticism about it.
Feel better now

dragonontheedge

My Elite rear wheel has just developed a crack. So that is one new wheelset thank you very much after not so many miles.

They look good, I will give you that, but a cracked rim after modest mileage is not my idea of VFM. Out of warranty also.

littledove44

First ride with the new wheels today. Wet roads, cold, and a bit windy.

35 miles on local roads with a small hangover.

14 Strava PR's, all on uphill sectors.
Either my turbo has worked wonders over Christmas or the new wheels are awesome.

Not sure I really care which.