Cyclocross - Mavic Aksiums for Cyclocross?

Anyone using these wheels for offroad use? Any opionions? One concern I have is that I think I read that they can take a 32 width tire max. and I'd like the option of going wider.

I've mounted 40mm tires on Mavic rims where the recommended width was 28. Don't worry about the supposed 32 max width.

Now that I've done a little more research, I've noticed that they come with a few 'cross bikes, so that must be a good sign. My current concern is that they appear to be on the heavy side. Also considering Neuvations.

Are you racing, trail riding, a little bit of both? I raced Neuvation M28 Aeros last year. They held out against my poor curb-hopping skills until the last race of the season, when I knocked the front 2 mm out of true... 10 minutes in the stand fixed that.

I haven't ridden Aksiums, but they look pretty durable. Consider also an inexpensive build from Colorado Cyclist or another wheel builder. 32 spoke Ultegra CXP33s are around 290 shipped.

Well, part of the reason I'm looking around is that I want to buy two identical wheelsets and have one always mounted with road tires and one always mounted with cross tires, so I can swap out quickly without having to adjust the brakes. I currently have the Bontrager Selects that came with the Poprad and a set of Ritchey wheels that I got on ebay for road wheels, and I like them both, but they're slightly different as far as the brakes are concerned, so I'm thinking about selling both of those to help offset this new identical wheelset purchase.

But as far as offroad use is concerned, mostly I'm riding fireroad, sometimes hitting some pretty smooth singletrack. Not racing. What I love about the CX bike is its versatility. But I don't like changing tires.

So I'm thinking I'll sell the existing wheelsets to help fund the purchase of the new wheelsets. I'd love two sets of the CXP-33s, but that might be a little out of budget. Two sets of the Neuvations can be reasonable, especially if I have a couple hundred from selling my existing wheelsets.

Well, part of the reason I'm looking around is that I want to buy two identical wheelsets and have one always mounted with road tires and one always mounted with cross tires, so I can swap out quickly without having to adjust the brakes.

Two sets of wheels is a great way to go, but they don't necessarily have to be identical. I've got two highly dissimilar sets (one set pretty light for the road, the other much more heavy-duty for racing and trails), but the widths are close enough that I don't have to adjust the brakes when I swap.

If you're buying online identical sets would ensure identical widths, but if you're someplace you can try them before you buy them you have a wider range of options.

I have no knowledge relevant to your actual question. :)

Mr. Helmet, thanks for the reply. (BTW, I require a big helmet, too -- go big heads!)

Is rim width the only calculation, though? Wouldn't hubs cause variation as well? Specifically where the hub is (dish, etc)?

Is rim width the only calculation, though? Wouldn't hubs cause variation as well? Specifically where the hub is (dish, etc)?

Yeah, I'm sure it could. I'd think though that a properly dished wheel would need to have the rim pretty well centered between the two ends of the hub. But I'm not that knowledeable about such things to be honest. I bought the second set at a pretty good LBS at the same time as I bought the bike, so they took care of making sure everything worked together. I was there while they did the initial set-up though, and it didn't seem like they had any issues or difficulties.

It certainly wasn't a case where we had to try a whole bunch of combinations to find two sets that matched. It's possible I suppose that they'd sold similar setups before and already knew a combination that would work. I don't really know to be honest.

Whatever way you go having the second set of wheels is well worth it in my book. I know for a fact that I wouldn't go through the effort of swapping tires very often if that's what I needed to do for the changeover. Two sets of wheels on a cyclocross bike is almost as good as two different bikes.

I think having 2 identical sets is a good idea. I also have 2 non-identical sets and slight adjustments are always necessary on both the brakes as well as a twist to the rear der cable for some reason.

Not sure of your weight, but the Forte Titan wheelset is a pretty decent wheelset and I'm sure you've heard that they are the same as one of the Neuvation models. Remove the decals. 1750g. Wait til they go on sale, we picked up a pair last fall for about $120-140 as I recall.

I've had good luck over the past 2 years with a set of Xero XR-1s on my road bike. It's a really light wheelset so I probably wouldn't use it for anything more than fire roads you speak of. Then again, if you're wanting to run a wide tire, it might absorb the shock.

Someone told me that in 'the fine print' Aksium wheels shouldn't be used for CX. That said, I've got some 35 tires on them and have used them for some XC races where they took a beating. As a result, they both need to be trued slightly, but seem like a fine wheelset (came with my 08 JTS)