[rossb]

The Ksyrium ES wheels arrived yesterday, and I have just returned from the first ride with them, a fastish 85km bunch ride with both climbs and fast flats. Just to make things interesting, it was raining for part of the ride. Rest of the kit is a Look 585/Record with GP4000 tires.

In the past few years the wheels I have owned include Bontrager Race X Lites, Velomax/Easton Ascent IIs, Velocity Aeroheads/Formula hubs, and custom DT Swiss 240s hubs with RR1.1 rims. The Ksyrium ES beat them all, hands down.

I have never felt a wheel roll this smoothly and yet feel completely secure in corners. The Ksyrium ES made the ride of my Look noticeably smoother and more comfortable, and this is a bike that is already very comfortable. Cornering was tight and controlled, even on wet roads. And the hubs were smoother even than the 240s hubs.

For the first time, I was also able to mount tires entirely by hand, with no levers.

Obviously, I need a lot more riding to form a complete picture of these wheels, but so far I am extremely impressed. And they look great with red tires on the black Look.

 

[ergott]

The Ksyrium ES wheels arrived yesterday, and I have just returned from the first ride with them, a fastish 85km bunch ride with both climbs and fast flats. Just to make things interesting, it was raining for part of the ride. Rest of the kit is a Look 585/Record with GP4000 tires.

In the past few years the wheels I have owned include Bontrager Race X Lites, Velomax/Easton Ascent IIs, Velocity Aeroheads/Formula hubs, and custom DT Swiss 240s hubs with RR1.1 rims. The Ksyrium ES beat them all, hands down.

I have never felt a wheel roll this smoothly and yet feel completely secure in corners. The Ksyrium ES made the ride of my Look noticeably smoother and more comfortable, and this is a bike that is already very comfortable. Cornering was tight and controlled, even on wet roads. And the hubs were smoother even than the 240s hubs.

For the first time, I was also able to mount tires entirely by hand, with no levers.

Obviously, I need a lot more riding to form a complete picture of these wheels, but so far I am extremely impressed. And they look great with red tires on the black Look.

Lighter, stiffer, more comfortable, better handling! It's amazing what dropping over $1000 will do to your senses! ;-)


-Eric

 

[edlouie]

The Ksyrium ES wheels arrived yesterday,.... And they look great with red tires on the black Look.

I'd ride Ksyriums just for the bling factor too!

 

[rossb]

Lighter, stiffer, more comfortable, better handling! It's amazing what dropping over $1000 will do to your senses! ;-)

I didn't say "lighter" or "stiffer" and I paid a lot less than $1000. My senses are just fine, thanks - I suggest you look at your own knee-jerk responses before making comments about what you think are mine.

 

[alienator]

I didn't say "lighter" or "stiffer" and I paid a lot less than $1000. My senses are just fine, thanks - I suggest you look at your own knee-jerk responses before making comments about what you think are mine.

You might want to note the emoticon at the end of Ergott's post. And you should also take note that he knows his wheel stuff...

 

[ergott]

I didn't say "lighter" or "stiffer" and I paid a lot less than $1000. My senses are just fine, thanks - I suggest you look at your own knee-jerk responses before making comments about what you think are mine.

I was kidding. Sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way.

-Eric

 

[rossb]

You might want to note the emoticon at the end of Ergott's post. And you should also take note that he knows his wheel stuff...

I did note his smiley face. However, you can't seek to undermine someone's comments and then deflect criticism for doing so merely by adding a smiley face. I don't doubt he knows about wheels, but the response was so predictable I really should have anticipated it in my opening post: you know, the one that says "you're wasting your money buying any factory-built wheels when you can get a better custom built pair for half the price" and the other one that says "you just bought an expensive, exotic component - of course, you're going to say nice things about it".

I was kidding. Sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way.

No problem.

 

[jbillow]

So back to the wheels...

Have you had a chance to get more time on the ES's? I'm interested to hear about your impressions on their climbing prowess and weather or not it is as Mavic claims or if it's just Mavic's marketing dept..

I'm ISO of a more capable climbing wheelset to upgrade to from my Ksyrium Elites.
Thanks for your post and looking forward to hearing more.

 

[rossb]

Yes, I've done a couple more rides and my initial impressions were confirmed. The overwhelming impression of these wheels is the liquid smoothness of the hubs. I haven't noticed much difference in climbing, and in reality these wheels are probably marginally heavier than my previous DT Swiss RR1.1/240s wheels.

I haven't ridden either Ksyrium Elites or SLs, but FWIW someone on saturday's ride mentioned that they knew someone who had upgraded from SLs to ESs and found the latter much smoother. If true, it wouldn't surprise me given the smoothness of these wheels, but this is obviously hearsay.

 

[ergott]

Yes, I've done a couple more rides and my initial impressions were confirmed. The overwhelming impression of these wheels is the liquid smoothness of the hubs. I haven't noticed much difference in climbing, and in reality these wheels are probably marginally heavier than my previous DT Swiss RR1.1/240s wheels.

I haven't ridden either Ksyrium Elites or SLs, but FWIW someone on saturday's ride mentioned that they knew someone who had upgraded from SLs to ESs and found the latter much smoother. If true, it wouldn't surprise me given the smoothness of these wheels, but this is obviously hearsay.

Seriously, it's nice to hear that you like the wheels. Mavic has a great reputation for quality hubs. The last one I owned was in a Cosmic Carbone and I can also testify to the quality. The Ksyrium wheel line has build up a solid reputation as a whole and worth considering if you can get a deal on the (sounds like you did). I still maintain that you can get more for less and they are not for everone, but there is a large market where they suit the rider's needs.

-Eric

 

[Mark McM]

I have never felt a wheel roll this smoothly and yet feel completely secure in corners. The Ksyrium ES made the ride of my Look noticeably smoother and more comfortable, and this is a bike that is already very comfortable. Cornering was tight and controlled, even on wet roads. And the hubs were smoother even than the 240s hubs.

In what way were the smoother? Were they somehow rounder than other wheels? I hope you don't mean that they somehow absorbed shock and vibration better, since with a vertical stiffness somewhere around 15,000 lb/in or so, they can absorb very, very little shock or vibration.

Also, how did the wheels know whether or not the roads were wet? Also, how could you tell the hubs were smoother from a test ride?

 

[henry]

Have you had a chance to get more time on the ES's? I'm interested to hear about your impressions on their climbing prowess and weather or not it is as Mavic claims or if it's just Mavic's marketing dept..

I'm ISO of a more capable climbing wheelset to upgrade to from my Ksyrium Elites.
Thanks for your post and looking forward to hearing more.

I have been using Rolf Elan Aero clinchers for a year including the long climbs in the Dolomite granfondos and cannot praise them enough for climbing wheels.. light (1300g inc QLSq) and super strong at least at my weight (approx 60kg).

 

[Buck Satan]

I too recently purchased a set of ES's. ( I paid nowhere near retail - team deal.) I have been on Elites the last 2 years. I can confirm that these things roll like crazy. Some of it might be the tires (Conti GP4000), but I was using Conti Force/Attack on the Elites. Handling was significantly quickened on the ES, so much that it took some getting used to. And they do accelerate noticeably quicker. I've ridden lots of wheels in 20 years, these are the best so far.

 

[gary skaggs]

i run a set of 2006 es's for everyday riding and run a set of rolf elan aero's for climbing.both
are very stiff and roll very nice and fast.i've found the new mich pro 2's roll faster than the
gp4000's and hook up better in bad weather.also found veloflex pave blacks are good
climbing tires.

 

[Kerry Irons]

Whew!

ii've found the new mich pro 2's roll faster than the gp4000's and hook up better in bad weather.also found veloflex pave blacks are good climbing tires.

So, any actual data to back up these interesting claims? Like faster time trial times on a repeated course, or climbing times, or traction data from some sort of valid test? No personal disrespect, but I tend to get a little tired of the constant claims on this forum about faster tires, faster wheels, stiffer wheels, etc. when there is no objective support for the statement.

 

[rossb]

If "actual data" or "objective support" were required to post an opinion on an internet forum, no one would ever post anything. Sure, there are plenty of contradictory, inconsistent, unsupported, and plain wrong opinions posted on this and other forums all the time. (Some would say I have done so in this thread.) That's the nature of a discussion forum - people post their opinions and experiences, rightly or wrongly. If you want objective data, go read a technical journal.

 

[henry]

If "actual data" or "objective support" were required to post an opinion on an internet forum, no one would ever post anything. Sure, there are plenty of contradictory, inconsistent, unsupported, and plain wrong opinions posted on this and other forums all the time. (Some would say I have done so in this thread.) That's the nature of a discussion forum - people post their opinions and experiences, rightly or wrongly. If you want objective data, go read a technical journal.

2nd that !

 

[stihl]

We have this forum to share experiences with each other. I'm just glad I'm a part of it.

Not everyone has time to do scientific analysis on their tires btw.

 

[rruff]

If "actual data" or "objective support" were required to post an opinion on an internet forum, no one would ever post anything. Sure, there are plenty of contradictory, inconsistent, unsupported, and plain wrong opinions posted on this and other forums all the time. (Some would say I have done so in this thread.) That's the nature of a discussion forum - people post their opinions and experiences, rightly or wrongly. If you want objective data, go read a technical journal.

All the subjective opinions and placebo fueled sensations reported as actual fact can be quite wearying at times. I for one am looking for *objective* data on discussion forums. True, it is not common and a bit tedious to find... but it is the only info worth reading, IMO.

 

[BugMan]

All the subjective opinions and placebo fueled sensations reported as actual fact can be quite wearying at times. I for one am looking for *objective* data on discussion forums. True, it is not common and a bit tedious to find... but it is the only info worth reading, IMO.

I agree - everyone who enjoys this forum for sharing off-the-cuff impressions and talking smak should stop. It interferes too much with gathering objective data. I suggest appointing a knowledgeable person as editor who can receive submitted posts and forward them to individuals selected from a previously identified pool of experts with knowledge relevant to the subject of the post. The reviewers can then return the post to the editor with their opinion on its suitability for posting along with suggested edits. The editor can then return the post to the OP requesting the revisions be completed, and upon receiving the revised post determine its final acceptability for posting. That way, all those who use this forum to seek objective data will not be forced to read any subjective, joking, contradictory, unappealing, off--subject, humorous, etc. opinions.[/sarcasm]