Wheel conundrum

muzzan

Hi

So I'd been thinking my rear Ksyrium elite was looking a bit worn after 8,000 miles or so. Turns out I was right as the rim gave way on saturday. Just off phone with the local(ish) wheel builder & he says it could take upwards of 2 weeks to get the parts from mavic. He's offering to build me a rear wheel for £118 (or a set for about £210) consisting of a mavic open pro cd rim & a miche primato hub. Not concerned about the cost, obviously this is reasonable, but what I want to know is how would this compare with a new Ksyrium Elite which would be almost double the cost?

I said quite clearly that I'd be up for paying more, but he thought that was all I needed. I'd ideally like something that will match or surpass the Ksyrium for quality/weight etc, so should I be suggesting alternatives for rim/hub as he didn't seem to want to offer any, clearly he's not a salesman!

Should say I've been happy with the Ksyriums, I'm not a serious racer or anything, just want a good all round set of wheels that wont reduce the ride quality of my summer bike.

Thanks for any thoughts in advance.

sloppyschleckonds

Go with what your wheel builder suggests

MikeBrew

Acycles carry those rims http://www.acycles.co.uk/mavic-ksyrium- ... 13769.html and can get them to you in a couple of days. The 2011 version is slightly dearer at £60 . http://www.acycles.co.uk/mavic-ksyrium- ... 15621.html
Be sure you get the one that matches your existing wheels.
I've had them rebuilt for the price of the rim plus £25 in the past.

cycleclinic

Your wheelbuilder op is fairly cheap. Ask him if he could build you a set of wheels withe the archetype rim. Hands down it is a better rim than the open pro in every way. You can drop the spoke count too to 24f/28r if thd wheel builder is fine with that.

muzzan

Thanks All. I think I'd prefer to get the ksyrium rebuilt if at all possible, since the front one seems to have a fair bit of wear left in it, its just that I've asked a few places & it doesn't seem straightforward at all, practically or economically.

I was also a bit surprised that the guy thought I'd need 32 spokes, been fine with the 20 I have on the ksyrium, but I almost certainly don't know what I'm talking about

svetty

Getting the rim replaced is the sensible option - you'd retain matching wheels. Only thing to check is that the freehub isn't on it's way out. You could ask the wheelbuilder to replace the bearings and freehub at the same time - unless you can do this yourself (it's not that difficult - lots of on-line guides). This would add a bit to the cost but you'd effectively then have a new wheel.

cycleclinic

With the open pro you need 32 spokes. It is narrow and shallow and very flexible. Think mavic askium flexible wheel actually more than that. If the wheel had 20 spokes with the OP rim well it would fall apart quite quickly.