Wheel choice & weight constraints

ai_1

I'm ordering a new bike which comes with Mavic Ksyrium Elite S WTS wheels or I could upgrade to Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLE WTS Exalith 2 wheels for an extra €600.
I do a mix of flat and hilly cycling. Mostly sportives to date but I've started doing duathlons and triathlons too so aero wheels will be on the cards at some point even if i don't get them now.
I weigh about 88kg at the moment but that should come down to low 80s over the next few months.

My question is this: If you were me, would you buy the bike with the Carbones and get some cheaper €300ish wheels for training and windy days or would you get the Ksyriums and wait a while to upgrade to aero wheels?
The Carbones are usually about €1500 versus €550 for the Ksyriums so €600 for the upgrade looks like a good deal.

Here's why I'm not sure:
1. Both are pretty lightly built wheels. 16/20 spokes for the Carbones and 18/20 spokes for the Ksyriums - and I'm nervous they might be a little marginal on durability at my weight in which case bad idea to splash out.
2. Not sure the Carbones are the ideal aero wheels. Supposedly they're not as good in the wind as some other designs. However I do like the idea of the Exalith brake track which seems to get good reviews.

ugo.santalucia

Once you accept that you are only human and you want the Cosmic for the way they look and you really don't give a toss about the extra 0.2 mph they give you on a flat road, then you know what to do.

Peer pressure and nonsense aside, the Elite S are a high end race wheel set

ai_1

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Once you accept that you are only human and you want the Cosmic for the way they look and you really don't give a toss about the extra 0.2 mph they give you on a flat road, then you know what to do.

Peer pressure and nonsense aside, the Elite S are a high end race wheel set

Yeah, there is that

Actually. Now that you mention it peer pressure is a good reason NOT to get the aero wheels. I reckon if I get a load of fancy gear it'll be used as a joking excuse whenever I beat my friends and will be a source of amusement whenever I lose!

Okay - Ksyriums Elites it is!

Incidentally Ugo - do you know how these perform with riders around my weight? Mostly okay?

Thanks

rayjay

I ride with a set of hand built clinchers, cost me under £500 they weigh 1182grms pair. [20x24]

I am a solid 85 kilo's [minimum fat] and have had no issues at all and I am out riding most days.

Hand built wheels are the way to go IMO

sloppyschleckonds

Ai_1 wrote:

do you know how these perform with riders around my weight? Mostly okay?

Probably not

pirnie

I've got a set of Ksyrium elite Ss and am about your weight. No problems so far and they've done about 3000km. A friend who's about the same weight had a set for 5 years and they never went out of true.

ugo.santalucia

I don't see your weight being a major issue. Most Mavic customers are happy, some experience problems and that's when they give up Mavic altogether, as the support to what they sell ends with the warranty and if you want the warranty to cover the extras, such as crashes etc, then you have to pay extra for their protection plan

ai_1

Thanks for the help guys

Brassknocker

rayjay wrote:

I ride with a set of hand built clinchers, cost me under £500 they weigh 1182grms pair. [20x24]

I am a solid 85 kilo's [minimum fat] and have had no issues at all and I am out riding most days.

Hand built wheels are the way to go IMO

Hi Rayjay, Can I ask what these wheels are and where you got them?

I'm a lanky 75kg, and would love a pair of clinchers fitting this description for an alpine holiday... the lighter and stiffer the better.

Sprool

1182g a pair for under £500, that is quite amazing. The usual saying: light, strong, or cheap, pick any two of the three. You seem to have found all three with these, I'd also be interested to source some.

dwanes

rayjay wrote:

I ride with a set of hand built clinchers, cost me under £500 they weigh 1182grms pair. [20x24]

I am a solid 85 kilo's [minimum fat] and have had no issues at all and I am out riding most days.

Hand built wheels are the way to go IMO

These sound like what ive been looking for for a long long time.
Can you give us more details?