Road Cycling - New Wheels

I am in the market for a new set of wheels. My choices up until a few days ago were the Mavic Ksyrium Elites, but now I’m not so sure. I’ve been reading some threads here and never realized that your body weight made such a difference on wheel selection. I don’t race, but do ride about 150 miles a week and will do several centuries over the summer. I realize that the Elites may not be the most comfortable (but they do look good!), but my main concern is that I don’t want to risk a spoke popping in the middle of a 100 mile trip and getting stranded. I have been riding on Rolf Vector Comps and have had no problem for over 5000 miles (I’m switching from Shimano to Campy which is the reason for the new wheels). Am I making too much of this?

i just checked out velomax circuits and they might be a good alternative to the ksyriums. i don't know about the comfort (haven't ridden them yet, but they're coming on my new Felt F45... ordered it yesterday :D ), but they're both lighter and cheaper than the K elites (around $440 and 1650g vs $550 and 1770g for the K's). they get great reviews from this forum. they're a higher spoke count than the K's and supposedly are as durable (my lbs said they think the circuits are actually more durable).

lots of great wheelsets out there. most say you can't go wrong with the ksyriums, but check out velomax and see what you think.

Whynot just respace your existing cassette for campy, and keep the same wheels ou already have? There's no reason to switch if you are happy with what you've got.

Demoncyclist -- I'm moving from a Shimano 9 to a Campy 10. My LBS is saying that the conversion isn't possible.



Whynot just respace your existing cassette for campy, and keep the same wheels ou already have? There's no reason to switch if you are happy with what you've got.

Well I beg to differ, you may have to have the
wheel rebuilt with a campy hub but it can be done.
Then there are the Wheels Manufacturing spacer
kits like these http://www.branfordbike.com/cassette/cog9.html
which will convert 9 speed to 10 etc.

Hope this helps,
Marty

Wheels makes a remanufactured cassette to do exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Their website is: www.wheelsmfg.com

Demoncyclist -- I'm moving from a Shimano 9 to a Campy 10. My LBS is saying that the conversion isn't possible.

Sure it is. You just need an American Classic 10-speed conversion cassette.

LINK (http://www.amclassic.com/Cassettes_Conv.html)

No need to ditch your wheelset for compatibility issues if you don't want to.

if you found the Rolfs ok in terms of comfort then the Ksyrium Elite's will be a sofa....

You can try for the Spinergy Xaero's. I got some for 300 and they are slightly lighter and more aero than the mavic ksyrium ssc sl. Not to mention they have the dampening power of pbo spokes.

I'm 192lbs and have 2000 on my elites and ride about 100 miles aweek. They are the same as the day they were put on.

If you don't race then why the expensive wheels? Have you considered Mavic Open Pros or Torelli Master Series (these are $20 per rim less and just as good as Mavic's)? Then use DT Competition all the way round if your over 180lbs or DT Comps on the rear and DT Revolution on the front if under 180. Lace them 3x for strength and use alloy nipples if you want a slighty lighter wheel or brass nipples if you want long term reliablity. Use these in conjunction with Campy Record hubs, which are the best in either Campy or Shimano due to the grease port which enables you to maintain your hubs more often which will translate into longer life due to the cleaner grease. My Superbe hubs have the grease ports and those hubs still roll silky smooth after over 140,000 miles because I put in new grease every 3 months.

Oh,so 20 bucks less makes them non-racing wheelsets,wrong.Elites are not that much when you consider racing wheelsets could be 800 bucks up,way up. When people ask about racing you dont here elites.

What shokhead said. I don't know about the Elites but the SSCs are light and durable. They're not incredibly aero though unless you consider the bladed spokes but the rim cross-section is a standard box. However, they can definately take abuse. I've had mine for almost 3 years now with around 12,000 miles on them and have never had to true them despite subjecting them to a few punishing moments. I wouldn't use them for loaded touring but they're definately strong wheelsets... at least as strong as you can get with a lightweight factory performance wheelset.

Oh,so 20 bucks less makes them non-racing wheelsets,wrong.Elites are not that much when you consider racing wheelsets could be 800 bucks up,way up. When people ask about racing you dont here elites.

I was comparing the Mavic Open Pro to the Torelli Master Series, the Torelli's are $20 less per rim than the Mavic's.