Are mavic wheels that bad?

[sawyer]

There are a lot wide rim and tyre fashion victims yes ... there is a bit more comfort and grip, but the CRR / pressure equation is pretty much a wash ... and of course weight and aero are penalised ... in terms of feel I prefer the more agile feel you get with a narrower front tyre. Currently running a 21mm tub up front and the transition to the rim is beautifully smooth. Feel agile and fast. I've had remarks at my club from people are gob-smacked that anyone could be so stupid as to run a 21mm tyre ...

I still think Mavic hubs are off the pace vs Shimano and Campagnolo. It probably makes very little difference performance wise, but the cup and cone hubs feel and sound better and faster to me. Unless Mavic changed that I would not buy their products again (having previously owned CCUs, various Ksyriums and Cosmic Carbones)

[kulivontot]

Oh man, have I got a rant for this.
I've had to throw away no less than 4 ksyriums over the last 4 years because of their stupid proprietary design. Oh you want to true your wheel? Sorry, you need our stupid proprietary spoke wrench that costs $15, because the plastic one we ship the wheels with wears off instantly. In one case, the spoke nipple itself, had corroded, and sheared off halfway inside the rim. In another case the threads in the rim had become cross-threaded meaning that the spoke physically could not be tightened anymore. In a third case, I simply needed to replace a broken spoke, but since there are like 6 individually proprietary versions of the ksyrium in the last 10 years, no bike shop has them, because who wants to buy 6 sets of proprietary spokes to service the customer who only will buy one from you in the end anyway? So then you contact mavic directly for help. Who then tell you "we don't provide service to customers, you must go to one of our authorized shops." Who then in full circle, tell you that they can't help you but they can order you a minimum 10 replacement spokes, but only in the current model that you don't have. So then you have a stupid proprietary rim that you can't replace and a stupid proprietary set of spokes that you can't replace, so you end up throwing out the whole wheel. Four times.
So great, I weigh 120 pounds and never race, I fully accept that these wheels when they die will die and I won't fix them. Let's look at the actual design. "how much do they weigh?" is the question everyone asks, and it is true it is competitive around 1500g. But they get there in the most asinine way possible. The hubs are boat anchors that are easily 150g heavier than any other comparable wheel out there. So they cut weight on on the spokes with an 18/20H build, and the rim with one of the shortest and narrowest alloy rims out there at around 17x19mm. What other wheel manufacturer thinks it's a great idea to put 20H on the rear wheel without triplet lacing for a super-lightweight alloy rim? Does mavic have some sort of magic technology that allows them to defy the laws of physics to minimize the two key parameters for wheel stiffness and not have a serious impact? But they feel good because of that low rim inertia. So poor aero because 19mm deep, poor stiffness because 20H, poor cornering because 17mm wide, poor durability because proprietary, not tubeless ready, and not exactly cheap either at around $700.

[junchen]

Oh man, have I got a rant for this.
I've had to throw away no less than 4 ksyriums over the last 4 years because of their stupid proprietary design. Oh you want to true your wheel? Sorry, you need our stupid proprietary spoke wrench that costs $15, because the plastic one we ship the wheels with wears off instantly. In one case, the spoke nipple itself, had corroded, and sheared off halfway inside the rim. In another case the threads in the rim had become cross-threaded meaning that the spoke physically could not be tightened anymore. In a third case, I simply needed to replace a broken spoke, but since there are like 6 individually proprietary versions of the ksyrium in the last 10 years, no bike shop has them, because who wants to buy 6 sets of proprietary spokes to service the customer who only will buy one from you in the end anyway? So then you contact mavic directly for help. Who then tell you "we don't provide service to customers, you must go to one of our authorized shops." Who then in full circle, tell you that they can't help you but they can order you a minimum 10 replacement spokes, but only in the current model that you don't have. So then you have a stupid proprietary rim that you can't replace and a stupid proprietary set of spokes that you can't replace, so you end up throwing out the whole wheel. Four times.
So great, I weigh 120 pounds and never race, I fully accept that these wheels when they die will die and I won't fix them. Let's look at the actual design. "how much do they weigh?" is the question everyone asks, and it is true it is competitive around 1500g. But they get there in the most asinine way possible. The hubs are boat anchors that are easily 150g heavier than any other comparable wheel out there. So they cut weight on on the spokes with an 18/20H build, and the rim with one of the shortest and narrowest alloy rims out there at around 17x19mm. What other wheel manufacturer thinks it's a great idea to put 20H on the rear wheel without triplet lacing for a super-lightweight alloy rim? Does mavic have some sort of magic technology that allows them to defy the laws of physics to minimize the two key parameters for wheel stiffness and not have a serious impact? But they feel good because of that low rim inertia. So poor aero because 19mm deep, poor stiffness because 20H, poor cornering because 17mm wide, poor durability because proprietary, not tubeless ready, and not exactly cheap either at around $700.

Not trying to be rude here, but an honest qn : if it sucks as what you have described in the last paragraph, why did u end up buying it 4x? 2x I can understand, but 4????

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[Miller]

I've always been curious why Mavic don't have a line of componentry though (at least bar/stem/post, anyway), and I wonder if something might happen there.

A long time ago they did nicely made drivetrain componentry, eg the 631 'starfish' chainset. They were pioneers in e-shifting first with Mavic Zap and later with Mektronic.

[spookyload]

But they get there in the most asinine way possible. The hubs are boat anchors that are easily 150g heavier than any other comparable wheel out there.
If you have to carry extra weight in a wheel, the hub is the place to do it since it creates the least inertia. Much better to use a heavy hub than a heavy rim

...and the rim with one of the shortest and narrowest alloy rims out there at around 17x19mm.

You didn't consider you were buying 1990's state of the art when you purchased them four times?

What other wheel manufacturer thinks it's a great idea to put 20H on the rear wheel without triplet lacing for a super-lightweight alloy rim? Does mavic have some sort of magic technology that allows them to defy the laws of physics to minimize the two key parameters for wheel stiffness and not have a serious impact? But they feel good because of that low rim inertia.

Rolf Prima, Bontrager, Reynolds, Zipp, Shimano...

[spookyload]

I've always been curious why Mavic don't have a line of componentry though (at least bar/stem/post, anyway), and I wonder if something might happen there.

A long time ago they did nicely made drivetrain componentry, eg the 631 'starfish' chainset. They were pioneers in e-shifting first with Mavic Zap and later with Mektronic.

[kulivontot]

Used single wheels off Craigslist or stevebay. When you have one perfectly good wheel, you tend to want to match it with a replacement of the same type. What I probably should have done is just sold the remaining one to somebody else.
Did not realize 20H rear wheel was commonplace. I still think it's a poor design choice for a 390g rim. If somebody has mavic stiffness data to prove otherwise, I'm all ears.

[gangbang]

It's all about the money you pay for them. Just bought a pair of Ksyrium SL Superlight Premium '10 for 200$. Yes, this model is 6 years old and have crappy hubs, but it's still weights sub 1500 gramms, 11 speed compatible and looks great. Just give them new SKF bearings and you have pretty good winter wheels for cheap.

[coloclimber]

CCUs are phenomenal ride and durability. But yes, the freehub design with the plastic bushing is absolutely the weak point. They require a lot more maintenance and eventually keep needing larger diameter bushings (from ebay) but other than that I would rather ride any Shimano or Campagnolo wheel than Mavic except CCUs.