Mavic Ksyrium Elite vs. Bontrager Race Light vs. Fulcrum Quattro LG

m1g
m1g Posts: 11
edited May 2016 in Road buying advice
Mavic Ksyrium Elite vs Bontrager Race Light vs Fulcrum Quattro LG??

There are surprisingly few reviews of the Fulcrums (the new ones) on the net (?).

Mavic and Bontrager about the same price and Fulcrum nearly half the price...I want wheels with for a good fit with 25mm tires (17mm inside width?).

Comments

  • bendertherobot
    bendertherobot Posts: 11,684
    There are a few reviews, but of the non LG version. My review is here:

    https://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/04/15/fu ... dget-aero/

    They're very good. That said, the Elite are no doubt a better wheel overall if that's your budget. I've no experience of the Bontrager.
    My blog: http://www.roubaixcycling.cc (kit reviews and other musings)
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  • trek_dan
    trek_dan Posts: 1,366
    I've got a set of the Bontragers. Pretty sure there rebranded DT Swiss. I'm not into wheel mumbo jumbo but they seem fine to me. Keep a look out on Ebay as they come up pretty often brand new for cheap, mine were £170. They come on high end Treks, but chances are if you're buying a 5k Emonda you'll be putting something a bit nicer than alloy training wheels on. The absolute best thing about them is every tyre I've tried are an absolute breeze to fit clincher tyres to, unlike a lot of handbuilt rims on the market and factory Shimano/Campag wheels.
  • dinyull
    dinyull Posts: 2,979
    Having owned a set of Mavic Cosmic Elite for a couple of years, I'd advise you to do a search on Mavic Death Squeal.
  • m1g
    m1g Posts: 11
    Dinyull wrote:
    ...do a search on Mavic Death Squeal.


    :shock: I will, my guess is that it´s not a good thing...
  • JesseD
    JesseD Posts: 1,961
    I have the Quattro LG's and I like them, light (compared to what I was used to), stiff under load, look good, cheap, ticks all the boxes for me.

    I had an older pair of the Mavic Elites with the narrower rim and liked them too so can only imagine the newer wider ones are better.

    Rode some Bonty Race wheels ages ago and they felt very lively but did flex a bit when out of the saddle.

    Not much help I know.
    Obsessed is a word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated!
  • dinyull
    dinyull Posts: 2,979
    Different users will have different experiences. I had to replace the freehub 3 or 4 times in the space of 2 years @ £30 a pop.

    If your not handy with the tools, taking the rear wheel to get serviced every 1500 miles, as Mavic advise, will become tiresome and expensive. And if you are, it's still a poor design fault.

    Something to consider if your shelling out on new wheels, I know I'll avoid their wheels in the future.
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    edited May 2016
    Dinyull wrote:
    Different users will have different experiences. .
    That's very true. With a little research I found a very elegant solution by "HubDoctor". Basically the Mavic Freehub body is a lot tougher than most. It's made of steel rather than alloy, and so doesn't notch like alloy ones.
    What does wear is the nylon bush it runs on. The Hub doctor kit replaces this bush with a roller bearing, giving you a freehub that will out last your wheels.
    It's £30. Alternatively, you can get a replacement nylon bush for about a tenner , rather than replacing the entire free hub just because the bush has worn. If you think about it, the bearing kit is really only about £20 if you buy it at the point that you needed a new nylon bush anyway.
    Mavic are superb wheels and to not use them due to an freehub issue that has an easy fix is to miss out. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-HUBDOCTOR ... SwT5tWLBHW

    Removing the Free hub requires just 2 allen keys. Most people have allen keys
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    m1g wrote:
    Dinyull wrote:
    ...do a search on Mavic Death Squeal.


    :shock: I will, my guess is that it´s not a good thing...


    See above post. If you ever get that squeal it probably means that the freehub has been neglected for a very long time indeed. There is no such thing as 100% maintenance free, but in a lot of peoples cases it really is, as the saying goes - "only the squeaking wheel that gets the grease".
    Or in the case of the Mavic freehub, light oil rather than grease.
  • dinyull
    dinyull Posts: 2,979
    It's a doddle to service and replace, I just found it a hassle having to service every 1500 miles - which is 3 months riding for me. And even with servicing the bushing was only lasting 4000 miles. The same scenario played out 3 or 4 times.

    The hub doctor kit might solve all problems, but I'd prefer to buy a wheelset without a known problem I'm likely have to solve shortly down the road.
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    What oil were you using to service it ?
  • dinyull
    dinyull Posts: 2,979
    Shimano Mineral Oil, as recommended by a local Mavic dealer. It's a moot point though, as the mineral oil was lasting the same period of time that the original had lasted out of the factory.

    Anyway, don't want to hijack the thread, just something I'd want to consider if spending £300+ on a wheelset.
  • MikeBrew
    MikeBrew Posts: 814
    Fair enough and, as you rightly say, different users do have different experiences. I never found it a big enough issue to stop me owning 4 different sets of Mavics. I used Pedro's Road Rage then, when it was discontinued, Pedro's Go on mine.

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