Mavic Aksium or Shimano RS11

minusnothing

Given the choice, which wheels would *you* use on a winter trainer, and why - Mavic Aksium or Shimano RS11?

Ta,

desweller

The Shimano wheels, mainly cos I think the Mavic freehub body design is minging.

Aksiums have lots of fans though.

bill_gates

I've got a set of Mavic Askium Race getting lined up for sale which have Shimano freehub on them and also a set of Gatorskins. They have been bomb-proof so I would say that would be my preference over the RS11.

They had been my wife's summer wheels but I've moved wheels around this summer on our bikes and these are now surplus.

Bobbinogs

The Aksium is, IMO, the slightly better wheel but it does (as noted above) have a bit of an Achilles heel in that the freehub/body is liable to sudden death and bad weather seems to hasten this. Sure, it can be replaced cost effectively but the right tools/parts will be needed. The Aksiums also come with cartridge bearings which have to be replaced rather than serviced and I have found cartridge bearings can be very hit/miss to replace well (particularly without a specialist bearing puller). The Aksiums do have a handy rim wear indicator (groove) which is always useful on winter wheels as rim wear is definitely one thing to keep an eye on.

For me (and it probably does come down to personal preference), I would go for the Shimano wheels in that they tick all the basic boxes (they also come with a rim wear indicator dot) and the bearings can easily be serviced due to the cup/cone design. Bearing grease can therefore be topped up and cones regularly checked. At the same time, any play is easily adjusted.

Not much in it though. Some folks find cartridge bearing replacement easy/preferrable and that may tip the balance towards Mavics for them.

JesseD

I have the Shimano's after my rear wheel kept breaking on my Felt (felt replaced it with the Shimano wheel).

Now I am a big lad (90kgs) with a history of destroying wheels (Fulcrum Racing 1's, Mavic Open Pro handbuilts, Pro 50mm carbon jobbies etc etc), but the Shimanos have really impressed me, I have had them trued once (after they settled in) and they have remained straight ever since. I have raced on them (though they do flex a bit when sprinting), do fast club rides on them and am averaging around 200 miles a week and they have been great (hope I am not tempting fate here).

So if you want robust then go for the Shimano's IMO, that said I have never ridden with then Mavics so cannot provide a direct comparison.

dinyull

Can't comment on the Shimano's but I do have a set of Mavic Cosmic Ellite's.

As noted above, the Mavic freehub is a big let down. I've had to replace mine twice in the 20 months I've owned them (covering around 10k miles). For that reason I won't be looking at Mavic wheels when the rims have worn down.

bobones

I've worn through 2 sets of Aksiums and I think they're just a bit too expensive for disposable wheels (I think I paid around £145 for them). I had no problems with the freehub that couldn't be fixed with a bit of oil, but the cartridge bearings started to get a bit rough after a while. I think the Aksium rims are super soft and it doesn't take a lot to ruin them. Given the same choice, I'd go for a set of hand builts on 105 or Miche hubs or super cheap R501s or RS11s and throw them away after a couple of winters.

keef66

I went for the budget R501's for my winter build. Sensible numbers of plain gauge round j-bend spokes, and serviceable / adjustable cup and cone bearings.

RS10's on my best bike; still a bit of life in them after 8 years, some of those ridden year round / all weathers. The freehub comes off for lubrication and the hub bearings are serviced annually; new ball bearings last year. Needed truing a couple of times after hitting potholes at night, and one drive side spoke broke last year.

(annoyingly on the gloriously sunny day the TDF came through and I'd taken the day off work. Went to watch the race go past in the morning, then to the pub / spot of lunch, then an afternoon bike ride. 6 miles later BANG! Pringle shaped rear wheel, tyre hitting the stays, no prospect of correcting it roadside using my spoke key. Couldn't even push the thing along in my attempt to find a mobile phone signal. Examining the stricken spoke it looked like it had been chewed a bit by an over-shifted chain, so I can't blame Shimano for that. They could however make replacements easier to source; I now have one silver spoke in an otherwise black wheel. Mind you, I do have one black and one silver shift lever, so it's not entirely incongruous )

TLDR: go for the RS11's