[TimV]

Ksyrium Rear Rim and Replacement Wheelset

I have a set of Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheels that I bought new back in 2001. They have been holding up alright, with the exception of one problem. The rear rim has developed cracks where the spokes thread into it. This is the second time this has happened, actually. The first time was about three years ago. I replaced the rim and spokes, which ran around $150 at the time, and went on my way.

Well, while I was riding this weekend I noticed my rear wheel was creaking. I got home, and sure enough, the rim is cracking around the spokes just like the first one. Just for reference, I weigh about 175 and have put over 6000 miles on the rim since replacing it. Unfortunately, it seems the price of the replacement parts has gone up. My LBS is quoting over $250 for a new rim and spokes.

My plan is to repair the rear wheel (again) as a short term fix to get me back on the road. Then I will build up a set of custom wheels that will be a more durable for the long term. I will probably keep the Ksyrium wheels as a back up set.

So, my question is, where can I get a replacement rear rim for Ksyrium wheelset? Is the price I was quoted now the going rate for such a thing? Thanks.

On another note, what are some good replacements wheels I should be looking at? I was thinking of building a set myself using Chris King R45 hubs and Mavic CXP33 rims. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go for these? I'm pretty sure about the hubs, but what about the rims? Are there better rims I should consider? Thanks again.

 

[Pieter]

You guessed it already - time to move on to 'On another note' before you blow more money on repairs.

Others will no doubt help you with detailed recommendations. A wide variety of nice and economically viable built-yourself options will work better for you.

 

[sdeeer]

My rear ksyrium SSC was smashed in a car vs. bike about 6 weeks ago. The LBS said $270 to rebuild the rear. He also told me about $150 before he called to make sure. So the price sounds right.

I am in the same boat, trying to decide which wheels to get.

 

[Lectron]

That's the part of the story they don't tell you when they sell you the wheels
.
.
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Charming, isn't it...

 

[Marc]

I was thinking of building a set myself using Chris King R45 hubs and Mavic CXP33 rims. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go for these? I'm pretty sure about the hubs, but what about the rims? Are there better rims I should consider? Thanks again.

Those would be some nice hoops. If CK made Campy rear hubs, I'd have made a some CK/Kinlin hoops. Only reason not to do a CK build is that you don't really need to spend so much for hubs unless you want to. Lots of nice hubs out there, although they aren't as blingy as the CK.

 

[Mike T.]

Cut your losses and bale out of these overpriced, overweight and underserviced wheels. Their main benefits occur when the bike is not moving - their weird spoking patterns, their "looks", their decals. None of this can be seen above 4mph. Real wheels can be had for much less money, are much easier to fix and beat the "boutique" wheels in every area except cost (high cost that is). Anything handmade will be better. Anything. Yeah the King hubs will be fantastic. Have a peek through the website of this site's sponsor - Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. Their OpenPro rimmed wheels, DT's or their Blackset Race rimmed wheels are great. All rims can be had with custom builds with spokes, hubs and nipples but King hubs are not a choice at BWW. DT 240 or DuraAce are some of their top ones. I have their basic Blackset Race wheels but with CX-Ray aero spokes. The basic Race go for $330 and they are a true 1451 grams. That's really really tough to beat. I've got a big database of wheel weights versus price and the Blackset Race are the leader.

The CXP33 rim is a heavy rim. Do you need something this heavy?

 

[TimV]

Thanks for all the replies. It sounds like it really is time to retire the Ksyriums and move on to something else.

Re: the CXP33, I don't think I need something that heavy. I weigh about 175. What are some other good, aero rims I should be considering? Also, what are some good carbon rims?

As far as the hubs go, at $500 per pair, the Chris Kings are a bit steep. I just remember them being very light and durable from my MTB days. What are some other hubs I should look into?

Thanks again.

 

[valleycyclist]

Here are two aero rim options:
Kinlin XR-270 (27mm deep) as an aluminum rim option
Edge 45 as a carbon rim option

White Industries hubs are very nice.

-------------------------------
http://www.valleycyclist.com

 

[200miler]

SSC's

I had the same cracking issue with a set of SSC's I acquired a couple of years ago that were part of a deal for a frame set I wanted. I rode them sporadically for about 6 months and found the cracks during routine maintenance. My LBS sold me a new hoop and a set of replacement spokes for about $165-175, IIRC. [It was 2 years ago and being olde my memory fades in and out!] I laced the wheel up myself and still use it, albeit sporadically. I agree with the theme of earlier postings; Ksyriums = over priced, high maintenance bling.

I've been building my own wheels for the past 10 years and stay with more conservative set ups; reasonable hubs, solid hoops, 32x3 double butt spokes. I've used Aeroheads/Aerohead OCs, XP-33's and OP's all laced to Ultegra hubs. For my money the "value received" vs. "cost paid" of an Ultegra hub can't be beat. Sure you can pay a lot more for a hub, but what do you REALLY get for it? I've found the Ultegra's to be rock solid; still have my 1st wheel set with them in use today. I've just run up a pair of Velocity Deep-Vee's and used Velocity's own "road" hubs, 32x3 with DT Comps. After almost 1000 miles I'm really impressed with their performance, and will be doing another pair later this summer.

I weigh in at 185 to 195, depending upon whether Sierra Nevada is on sale or not, and stay well clear of LSC wheel sets. When you are out on a ride, and 25-35 miles beyond "Resume Speed", losing a spoke on a LSC wheel means a LOOOOONG walk. I figure at my weight, losing some grams to get an extra light "ride" can be accomplished with a ride on the porcelain bus before I get on the bike.
YMMV
-dg

 

[Mike T.]

Thanks for all the replies. It sounds like it really is time to retire the Ksyriums and move on to something else.

Re: the CXP33, I don't think I need something that heavy. I weigh about 175. What are some other good, aero rims I should be considering? Also, what are some good carbon rims?

As far as the hubs go, at $500 per pair, the Chris Kings are a bit steep. I just remember them being very light and durable from my MTB days. What are some other hubs I should look into?

Thanks again.

Carbon rims? There are basically two types - cheap copies of the real thing and very expensive good ones. Look at the carbon rims at Wheelbuilder.com - you can buy two good sets of wheels for the price of ONE of their carbon rims. I can't imagine hitting a pothole with my $800 rim.

You're 175 - 5lbs more than me. If *I* had to do it over again (I have lots of wheels so I don't) I'd go with either BWW Blackset Race rims (I have a set) if I wanted really light wheels or 28hole OpenPros on DuraAce hubs or if money is an object, then Ultegra hubs. I've got all those hubs and rims and they're 100% and cost effective too.

 

[Kerry Irons]

Hubs

What are some other hubs I should look into?

While lots of people swoon over the high-bling specialty hubs, they really don't offer any noticeable performance benefit over something like Campy Chorus or Shimano DuraAce (or even Ultegra). Just saying.

 

[Fogdweller]

I had an ES anniv rim crack and I bit the bullet, had the repair done (yup, $250) and sold the set for a loss ($550 on Craig's List). I never warmed up to them, thought they rode like crap. It was a good jumping off point and I'm glad I did. Between two bikes, I now rotate three sets of wheels , DA 7800 hubs on open pros (32h, 3x), CK hubs on DT rr1.1 (3x) and DT 240s hubs on rr1.1(28h, radial and 2x). I'll never go back to factory wheels as I've been on 3 cross for almost 30 years.

 

[SHIF]

...As far as the hubs go, at $500 per pair, the Chris Kings are a bit steep. I just remember them being very light and durable from my MTB days. What are some other hubs I should look into?

Thanks again.

Tim, The Kings are not that expensive when you consider using 15% off coupon codes and no sales tax if you buy them from Universal Cycles.

Other hubs to consider are the DT240s, these are very popular and high quality. Cost about the same as CK.

Cheers,
Shif

 

[Zen Cyclery]

If you dont want to fork over a whole lot for hubs such as CKs the White Industries are going to be your best bet. They are a very durable yet elegant hub that are very reasonably priced. You can get the set for $370. This would be fine on an alloy or a carbon rim. But as mentioned above, if your going to get carbon you should not get a cheap knock off. If nice carbon hoops are out of your price range, Kinlins are a very reasonable deal with great durability coming in right around $55-$60 per rim depending on which one you want. Dont get faux-carbon unless you dont give a damn about performance.

 

[TimV]

I went down to my LBS today to pick up my rear rim. Unfortunately, they didn't get the right one. I got a refund, instead. So it looks like I'll be building up some new wheels, after all. I've decided on using Chris King R45 hubs and Kinlin XR-300 rims. My question now is what spoke count do I run? I'm thinking either 20F/24R or 24F/28R. Any ideas? What about spoke gauge (14, 14/15, 15, 15/16, etc.)? I am about 175lbs and a moderately strong rider (at least I think so ) Thanks!

 

[SHIF]

Tim,
I think you should consider 24F radial laced and 28R 2-cross both sides. DT Swiss Supercomp spokes and prolock nipples. These spokes are 14 gauge at the elbow, nice and strong, and will fit well in the flange holes. They are quite skinny in the middle, somewhere between the DT Comp and Revolution, and they use 15 gauge nipples which are stronger than 14 gauge nips, especially in alloy.

Sapim CX-Ray spokes are also worth consideration however they cost twice as much as Supercomps.

Call me to discuss...

-Shif

 

[Mike T.]

I went down to my LBS today to pick up my rear rim. Unfortunately, they didn't get the right one. I got a refund, instead. So it looks like I'll be building up some new wheels, after all. I've decided on using Chris King R45 hubs and Kinlin XR-300 rims. My question now is what spoke count do I run? I'm thinking either 20F/24R or 24F/28R. Any ideas? What about spoke gauge (14, 14/15, 15, 15/16, etc.)? I am about 175lbs and a moderately strong rider (at least I think so ) Thanks!

Pullleeezzzz go with 24/28 as the extra strength far outweighs any minimal gains in weight savings or aerodynamics that 20/24 might bring. Go with CX-Ray too. And for those who might say "they're 2x the price of other spokes" I could reply "And so are his hubs too and he isn't worrying about that."

 

[TimV]

I guess another option would be 20/28. My Ksyrium front wheel only had 18 spokes and it's still perfect after eight years and 20K+ miles.

 

[TimV]

I'm still on the lookout for a Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL rear rim, circa 2002. Apparently they are unavailable from Mavic. Does anyone here know where I might be able to find one of these? Anyone, anyone??