mavic ksyrium elite vs zonda c17 vs ultegra

little wiser
little wiser Posts: 662
edited October 2017 in Road buying advice
Hi everyone thought on the above wheel sets ?.

Mavic £480 with tyres
Zondas £400 ish with good tyes
Ultegra £340 ish with good tyres

or something else?.

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • dannbodge
    dannbodge Posts: 1,152
    I've got the Mavics on my Tarmac (with red hubs/nipples for extra watts)
    They roll very well especially paired with 26c Sworks Turbo tyres

    Basically I've got no complaint and they are miles better than the fulcrums I had previously
  • Joshgav
    Joshgav Posts: 158
    I've got Zondas on my best bike and Aksiums on my hybrid. Love the Zondas (except the freehub is a bit clicky, not that you an hear it when you're actually cycling).

    Can't compare to the Krysiums as I've never owned any.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Hi everyone thought on the above wheel sets ?.

    Mavic £480 with tyres
    Zondas £400 ish with good tyes
    Ultegra £340 ish with good tyres

    OP, you really have to give a bit more or you will just get 101 comments on how well their wheels roll which won't really help you. You need to explain what you have and what you want from the new purchase, e,g, "Currently rolling on heavy stock wheels which are wearing out and want to spend up to £500 on new wheels to make the bike feel nice over rolling rides of up to 100 miles", that kind of thing. Also, are you a heavy rider? The options for a 100kg rider are very different to some light fly boy. Are you ok with hub maintenance? Do you ride in wet weather or are these a summer bike purchase? Planning on big mountain descents where braking becomes a big factor? Is bling a big factor or are you looking for a common sense solution?

    FWIW, all the options you list are good, but so are about about 20 other wheelsets without even getting into the handbuilt options available!
  • little wiser
    little wiser Posts: 662
    Hi thanks for the reply.
    In answer to the questions asked I am 72 kg and are looking for rim brakes, to upgrade my current wheels which are giant pr2 (stock wheels on a giant defy 2014), looking to spend up to 500 pounds and would like some bling.
    They will be wheels to commute, train and ride sportives.
    I am ok with maintenance and appreciate any suggestions.
    Thanks
  • SCR Pedro
    SCR Pedro Posts: 912
    I'm 74.2kg and upgraded my PR2 wheels to Fulcrum 5. There's bugger all difference, save for the weight savings. I should have had Ksyrium Elites on, but they got stolen. The 5s have red nipples, which are hypnotic when you're on a boring piece of flat road.
    Fulcrum 3 are supposed to be equal to Zondas. I would have considered them, had I had a larger budget.
    Giant TCR Advanced II - Reviewed on my homepage
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  • birdie23
    birdie23 Posts: 457
    I've not had the others but I have the previous model Zondas and I have the C17s too. I'd recommend them, reasonably light, pretty robust for the rough UK roads and look pretty good too.
    2012 Cube Agree GTC
  • chippyk
    chippyk Posts: 529
    I have Zondas and Ksyrium Elites.

    The Zondas are about 4 or 5 years old have probably 10,000 all weather spring to autumn miles on, not had to have them trued yet but the other week the freehub started making a noise when freewheeling like when you stuck a card in your spokes as a kid, I'll replace it.

    The Kysriums came with my Ridley which normally has my P-X carbon wheels on. They've at most 2,000 miles on and have been trued three times. The last time with 25mm tyres on the wobble rubbed the paint off the Ridley seat stays. And the Mavic Yksion pro tyres were rubbish, punctures and no grip.

    If I was parting with money today, Zondas every time based on my own experience, I've no doubt somebody has had the exact opposite experience.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Yepp, hard to look past the Zondas since the OP wants a bit of bling. The common sense option at this kind of price is actually handbuilt but they don't have the same look as factory options, IMO. My old Zondas were pretty good for the money but were a tad harsh...but that was on a 15mm rim whereas the C17s (with a 17mm internal rim) should be spot on.
    The Ultegras wheels have great hubs but feel a little 'wooden' so I would actually plump for the RS81s as I really liked the RS80s (same wheel, different stickers)...but they are looking decidedly old hat now as they are based on 15mm rims with a flat profile (although not really a factor at the height they are...they just look older).
    The Mavics are very good at bling and very decent stiff/light wheels and have a good width rim, etc., but the hubs can still have freehub issues and bits of plastic where they shouldn't at this price point. So, nice wheels, but I cannot see past the C17s for the money.
  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    Have had ksyrium elites for about six years and have only needed truing once, i'm 65 kg. Next purchase will probably be the Zondas though, just because of the price difference between the two. I believe that they are same as the racing 3s, save for the spoke configuration.
  • bmxboy10
    bmxboy10 Posts: 1,958
    Dannbodge wrote:
    I've got the Mavics on my Tarmac (with red hubs/nipples for extra watts)
    They roll very well especially paired with 26c Sworks Turbo tyres

    Basically I've got no complaint and they are miles better than the fulcrums I had previously
    Do you have any photos of this combo on your Tarmac?
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,808
    http://www.ptcycles.co.uk/prod/25641/Pa ... +Hope+RS4/

    Hope hubs with the new Pacenti Forza rims. Superb, reliable hubs, wide and light rims. Your choice of colours to add the requisite bling.
  • dannbodge
    dannbodge Posts: 1,152
    solboy10 wrote:
    Dannbodge wrote:
    I've got the Mavics on my Tarmac (with red hubs/nipples for extra watts)
    They roll very well especially paired with 26c Sworks Turbo tyres

    Basically I've got no complaint and they are miles better than the fulcrums I had previously
    Do you have any photos of this combo on your Tarmac?

    0bd47959e75e810caf85bc2f297e6f46.jpg
  • little wiser
    little wiser Posts: 662
    Well I have ordered the zondas with gp4000s2 25mm tyres and tubes for 360 pounds which to me seems like a good deal.
    Will post a review if people want to know how I get on?.
    Thanks for your comments.
  • bmxboy10
    bmxboy10 Posts: 1,958
    Dannbodge wrote:
    solboy10 wrote:
    Dannbodge wrote:
    I've got the Mavics on my Tarmac (with red hubs/nipples for extra watts)
    They roll very well especially paired with 26c Sworks Turbo tyres

    Basically I've got no complaint and they are miles better than the fulcrums I had previously
    Do you have any photos of this combo on your Tarmac?

    0bd47959e75e810caf85bc2f297e6f46.jpg
    Yeah nice - never seen that colourway before what year is that? Mine is Gulf blue and I love it.
  • dannbodge
    dannbodge Posts: 1,152
    solboy10 wrote:
    Dannbodge wrote:
    solboy10 wrote:
    Dannbodge wrote:
    I've got the Mavics on my Tarmac (with red hubs/nipples for extra watts)
    They roll very well especially paired with 26c Sworks Turbo tyres

    Basically I've got no complaint and they are miles better than the fulcrums I had previously
    Do you have any photos of this combo on your Tarmac?

    0bd47959e75e810caf85bc2f297e6f46.jpg
    Yeah nice - never seen that colourway before what year is that? Mine is Gulf blue and I love it.

    It's 2017. I only got it in Feb.
    They are great bikes. I love mine too
  • Hello,

    may I open this topic again?

    I live in hilly area (every 1 hour of ride with some 400-600hm), I'm quite heavy (100kg at moment)

    thiniking about upgrade for older Mavic Ksyrium Equippe

    I just found online 2016 Ksyrium Elite wheelset with price almost equalled to Zonda C17 wheelset

    call to Mavic hotline confirmed me that 2016 wheelset is almost the same to 2017-18 (this new is just tubular ready)

    I can't try any of those on bike as nobody rides them here ...

    so the question is what would be the better choice for me? I will ride 25mm Conti 4000SII tyres

    Peter
  • birdie23
    birdie23 Posts: 457
    Get the Zondas
    2012 Cube Agree GTC
  • navrig2
    navrig2 Posts: 1,851
    There is a thread on here suggesting that fitting tyres to the Ultegra rims can be difficult. This is backed up by the experience of one of my friends. He struggles whenever he changes tyres and we all dread it when he gets a puncture out on the road.
  • svetty
    svetty Posts: 1,904
    zozzi wrote:
    so the question is what would be the better choice for me?

    Losing some weight? :D
    FFS! Harden up and grow a pair :D