Mavic Rim Joint. Acceptable?

SCR Pedro

Hi. This Aksium Elite wheelset is brand new. This is the rim joint on the front wheel. It's slightly raised, and sharp. I reckon it would destroy my brake blocks. Or is it just normal, or will even out after a while?



Other side of the wheel



I've never had a wheelset where the joint is so pronounced. The back wheel is the same, but less pronounced/sharp.

What do you all reckon?

Cheers

Bobbinogs

I reckon it looks gash and, as you say, will wear a block quicker than a block will wear it. I would reject both. If that is not an easy option then turn the front wheel around such that the sharp edge is rotating back so that the block does not take the brunt of the edge (if you see what I mean).

dowtcha

I had this on a set of Aksium's a while back. Front wheel was pulsating under braking, I reversed the wheel for a couple of weeks until the edge was flat and then changed it back. Shipping the wheels back to Germany was just to much hassle.

SCR Pedro

The problem there is that whichever way the wheel rotates, one of the blocks will get shredded. So that's unfortunately not an option.

I will try to return them. The shop first has to accept that the product is faulty, otherwise the postage is on me.

How did these pieces of crap even get through QC? or have Mavic given up on QC?

flanners1

I think if you send the shop pics they will quite clearly see that the wheels are faulty.awful quality that.

cycleclinic

It is a sleeve joined rim, the joins are not always perfect. Actually you pads will not be harmed much. As the rim wears the join will even out. sales of goods act means you can return and exchange but I would not get overly worried by this either.

ugo.santalucia

Unacceptable. It will bug you every time you brake

earthvspace4XTuUWcX

This is why they are relatively cheap, like most things in life, quality costs.

SCR Pedro

Thanks for the replies. I think the photos don't show how sharp the edges are. Having never knowingly owned sleeve joined rims, I have nothing to measure them against. However, my Shimano R501 rims in comparison are much smoother.

I'll see what the shop says before doing anything.

redvision

I would send them back. Braking will be affected and even if it does smooth out over time it shouldn't have passed QC like that.

pinno

That is cr4p with no question and should not be anything to do with price. As a stop gap, I bought a pair of Scirocco's once - similar price but immaculate and also a pair of Fulcrum 7's as a set of winter wheels for just over £100 brand new. Those Fulcrums were perfect, solid and seemingly under priced for the build quality. I think (though much heavier) the finish and solidity of those Fulcrum's were on a par with a pair of Ksyrium's I had previously.

Sleeved or welded, doesn't matter. They should be spot on. £160 or thereabouts is still £160. Mavic aren't selling re-branded cr4p from the far east(?). There even appears to be a step and that means the wheels are possibly not even round.

Let us know how you get on Pedro.

BarleyPointer

Just though I'd let you know that a friend of mine had a set of these on a new bike with exactly the same issue.

SCR Pedro

BarleyPointer wrote:

Just though I'd let you know that a friend of mine had a set of these on a new bike with exactly the same issue.

Do you know if it evened out, or destroyed his brake blocks?

The shop took mine back without any problem, and over the weekend I was at the local mega-store LBS and had a good look at the Ksyrium Elites. Neither me nor my mate could even spot the weld. They just felt like a solid, well made wheelset. It was hard to believe that both wheelsets are from the same company.

rampax

I had this on my Aksiums too.
I assumed I had knackered it going over a pothole, but when a replacement arrived it was the same.
Also the new wheel needed the cones tightening too as there was substantial play there, straight out of the box?!
As others have said, these are a cheap wheelset (by modern standards).
For my level of use they are "just about" acceptable.
Brake block wear seems normal.

ugo.santalucia

rampax wrote:

I had this on my Aksiums too.
I assumed I had knackered it going over a pothole, but when a replacement arrived it was the same.
Also the new wheel needed the cones tightening too as there was substantial play there, straight out of the box?!
As others have said, these are a cheap wheelset (by modern standards).
For my level of use they are "just about" acceptable.
Brake block wear seems normal.

They have become cheap wheels... ten years ago a pair of Aksium was a very decent wheelset and a pair of Ksyrium Elite was the best you could buy for those trips in the Alps... now the former are shite and the latter are used by folks to commute to work

SIgn of the times

SCR Pedro

Update pt2:

I was so impressed with Ksyrium Elite build quality, I ordered a pair.

They were stolen from outside the back door when UPS decided to deliver them while I was on holiday. UPS tried to blame me, and told me where to go. So now I'm out of pocket and without wheels. FFS...

keef66

I think it's the retailer who's out of pocket, not you. You should be getting a refund or another set of wheels. And the retailer should then be making a claim against the courier.

Unless you gave explicit instructions for the courier to leave them where they did, they cannot just dump stuff and drive away then claim they delivered it.

SCR Pedro

I gave instructions to leave them with a neighbour. That instruction got cancelled out when they decided to change the delivery date without telling me, but the authorisation to leave them remained. As if I would authorise them to be left outside while I was on holiday. That was enough for UPS to hide behind their T&Cs and deny responsibility.

I'm giving up on buying wheels. I'll just ride the sh!tty stock wheels until they finally fall apart.

Bobbinogs

Hang on, "Leave them with a neighbour" and "Dump them outside a door" are not the same thing. The first case would leave you a clear claim against the retailer...the second makes it more difficult. What did you mean in your last post? I would not be giving up on £400 so easily, that's for sure!!

term1te

My understanding is that the goods good bought online remain the property of the seller, until you have accepted them. That is not the same as them being left by your door. So the seller has had their wheels pinched, not you.

keef66

Term1te wrote:

My understanding is that the goods good bought online remain the property of the seller, until you have accepted them. That is not the same as them being left by your door. So the seller has had their wheels pinched, not you.

That was my understanding too.

nonlinear

I have exactly the same problem. New Aksium elites from Acycles. The front makes a loud clicking under braking and is shredding the pads. The rear was initially bad but quietened down after the lip filled in with rubber from the pads. Acycles will not pay the return postage and I suspect returning them to France will not be cheap.
I am considering grinding or sanding the lip off and putting it down to experience.

Alternatively, as I paid with paypal it might be worth seeing if I can force a refund from Acycles under paypal's "substantially not as described" policy.

Either way I will never buy Mavic again.

slowbike

nonlinear wrote:

I have exactly the same problem. New Aksium elites from Acycles. The front makes a loud clicking under braking and is shredding the pads. The rear was initially bad but quietened down after the lip filled in with rubber from the pads. Acycles will not pay the return postage and I suspect returning them to France will not be cheap.
I am considering grinding or sanding the lip off and putting it down to experience.

Alternatively, as I paid with paypal it might be worth seeing if I can force a refund from Acycles under paypal's "substantially not as described" policy.

Either way I will never buy Mavic again.

If one side is worse than the other can you turn the wheel around?

Bobbinogs

...but what if he then cycles backwards? I must admit that I tried that once to see if I could get more life out of some worn tyres, didn't work though.

nonlinear

I actually spoke to the Mavic UK service centre. They acknowledged that this is a known problem with these wheels. They suggested I take them to my nearest Mavic dealer who would help and if necessary return them for me. I have a problem with this as why should my LBS support an item they didn't sell.

I had a chat with them anyway and we agreed I would sand the rims down.

Bizarrely I then got a follow up email from Mavic, which sounds like great customer care, but it was in Italian!

SCR Pedro

What a shambles. They let them through QC (in the case that QC exists), then admit there's a problem and offer a solution.
That's total bullsh!t. What's wrong with just doing things properly to begin with?

BTW: There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'll ever see my Ksyriums. The cops said they can't do anything without a suspect, the courier told me where to go, and the online shop said it's out of their hands.

DeVlaeminck

SCR Pedro wrote:

What a shambles. They let them through QC (in the case that QC exists), then admit there's a problem and offer a solution.
That's total bullsh!t. What's wrong with just doing things properly to begin with?

BTW: There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'll ever see my Ksyriums. The cops said they can't do anything without a suspect, the courier told me where to go, and the online shop said it's out of their hands.

What country do you live in? Sounds like in the uk you would have the law on your side.

SCR Pedro

Germany. The cops told me to get a lawyer. It was then I realised how much I miss the UK at times.

Bobbinogs

I don't reckon you need a lawyer, you need to start a dispute with the company that processed the payment, so Visa/Paypal, etc. You have paid for goods that did not turn up. Keep it simple, no need to get bogged down in detail. Persevere.

SCR Pedro

An ex-UPS employee was coaching me for a while, but disappeared. I reckon UPS got to him before he could send the letter.

Unfortunately, I paid by bank transfer, which is common here. A lot of the bigger chains offer discounts and quicker shipping for this payment method. The downside is that it leaves the customer without any protection.

It went wrong when UPS' partner company, (or the middleman) changed the delivery date without telling me. UPS let you specify a delivery date, but that's obviously as much use as a chocolate tea pot.