Are Mavic Ksyrium Elite SL Wheels Fit for a Clydesdale?
 

I am about to purchase a new CF road bike, but I have some questions about wheels that is bothering me. The bike shop owner is telling me that the Mavic Ksyrium Elite SL is strong enough to work for me at my weight of 220Ibs.

She told me her husband weighs about 235Ibs, has had the same wheels for about a year, with about 5000miles on them, and has never had the wheels out of true.

Frankly, I am sceptical of this claim re:her husband's wheel.

Wheels are terribly important to me. I do not want to break spokes on rides, nor do I want to have to true my wheels every other ride. I want wheels that are sturdy enough for a clydesdale.

Well, would you recommend the Mavic Ksyrium Elite SL for a 220Ib clydesdale like me?

Thanks for all responses.

Regards,

If you are looking for a semi-trick wheelset, you will be fine w/ the K SLs. The "elite" is the model 'below' the SLs - you'd also be fine w/ those. There is not a model "elite SL"

I've used the K SLs for over 2K miles and I weigh 215 w/ zero problems. I regularly bunny hop off curbs and do not 'baby' the wheelset. A lot of people cyclo-cross on these - which speaks volumes @ their durability.

You have to maintain the rear hub a couple 'o times/year. (easy)

http://www.mavic.com/e_upload/pdf/Us..._FWB_FTS_L.pdf

I'm 6'1" 215lbs. Was riding OEM Bontrager Race Lites - hairline cracks and spokes pulled thru the rims after ~2.5kmiles. Went all out and bought Mavic Ksyrium SLs - not one problem or need to true after 3k miles. They look great; easy to keep clean.

http://mavic.com/ewb_pages/p/produit...hp?gamme=route

Get yourself a set of AC Hurricanes. Certified for 235 lbs and only weigh 1550 gms. I put 3500km on mine with no truing or retensioning. I weigh 230lbs.

AC are the only wheel maker I've found who clearly state the weight limits of their products.

got elites and they are good for 250 lbs. wanted velomax orion, good fat kid wheel

Here's my experience with Mavics (but not your model):

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=201510

I've had them when I was as much as 250lbs, they are strong and stayed true. I was skeptical but they made a believer out of me. I hit some really nasty potholes too and was amazed they could take it.

Kysrium elites
 

Bought a Giant TCR C1 in June '05 -- 6'5" 235 at the time. Stock wheels were ksyrium elites. Couldn't keep the rear true. Literally in the truing stand every third ride. Bought a mavic CXP33 laced 32 hole 3 cross to a ultegra hub at he LBS and has never been out of true ~120$. Built up a set of Interloc racing design cadence aero 24 1 cross front and 32 3 cross rear on white industries H1 hubs -- also never been out of true. Stiff, semi-aero, and fit for clydes like us. ~650$

I did plenty of riding with riders that owned K's. I wuldn't waste my money on them. 2 or 3 guys had them rip out at the spokes holes. Another female rider (140lbs) had her rear wheel out of true 2 or 3 times. One guy 150 lbs had his hub come apart riding up a mtn ride with us.

Maybe they are good wheels but not for Clydes.

9000 miles on the elite version at 230. Front wheel went slightly out of true when I nailed a bad RR crossing at 40 mph. Shop trued it in 5 min. Otherwise no problems at all. I run 700x25s on them btw.

I have Ksyrium Elites and I'm 240, which I chose because they don't have spoke holes in the rims. So far so good with just under 1,000 miles. I haven't checked the truing closely. I will probably take them in just for safety soon. Definitely a good purchase.

I use both the Ksyrium SLs and Elites and have for the last three years or so and have had very little trouble with the Elites. I ride anywhere from 10K to 14K miles every year and only had trouble with the Elites when I hit a bad pot hole at 30 mph and bent the rim. I had to have it replaced, but other then that the Elites have been fantastic for their durability. I race my SL and those I have had a bit more trouble with. I have the older black/sliver models and have had to replace the rear twice. Once when I found 5 cracks radiating from 5 spoke ferrals and more recently, when I broke one of the rear hubs spoke seats.

I weigh anywhere from 220 down to 200 and ride them very hard. I generally ride big fast pack rides and crits and have found the Elites to be a wonderful training wheel. But as far as the SLs go, I am currently searching for a race wheel that will hold up better.

maybe on flat terain or if you dont get up on the pedals they are ok, but if you ride in the hills and get up and take advantage of gravity, they dont hold up. i had to have mine trued about once a week, about every 200 miles, broke spokes constantly and eventually had to have them rebuilt. i never keept track, but i think keeping them going cost more than the $800 or so i spent on them.

see ya

wheels for a clydesdale
 

Hi Guys,
I live in Belize Central America.
I weigh 235 pounds.
My country is a third world country and our roads are rough with pot holes all around.
I ride a 2008 trek madone 4.5 with bontrager race wheels.
I have 5200 miles on my madone and no problems with my wheels so far.

Have you look at HED wheels? Many of their rims have a "Stallion" option that's listed for up to 230

Great wheels for bige guys!
 

I'm 230lbs and have put over 2k on my Ksyrium Elite wheels. I ride hard and have not had one problem with these wheels. I routinely broke spokes on my old bike due to my weight. These wheels have stayed true and roll excellent. The only thing I would do is upgrade to the SL's.

I'm running Ksyrium Equipes, and am not having any problems a few hundred miles in. lots of riding on so-so roads in race conditions with a 315 lb dude on the bike and they seem to be holding up just fine. And the Equipes are the level down from the SL.

I think a lot of the ones that people have problems with were the ones with the bladed spokes.

I am 250 and have had two bikes with Elite wheel sets. One rear wheel went out of true very early and was serviced twice more before being replaced under warranty. Since then both wheel sets have remained maintenance free. One bike gets limited service on flat terrain at my vacation home. But, I commuted on the other set with 700x23 tires. My route included some cobblestone streets and steep climbs. I would estimate at least 7,500 miles on the set I used for commuting. They are still true and are now my backup wheel set with 700x28 tires. Had a friend who weighs about 180 have a rear Elite that had to be re-tensioned after two seasons and one other friend of similar weight that had to have his rear wheel rebuilt after 14,000+ miles. It could not be trued after a crash because the spokes had seized in the rim.

Not bulletproof, but reasonably tough wheels. However, unless you're getting a really great price on the Elites, I believe you can getter better value for your dollar.

Hello Clydes & Clydettes.

Old thread that's getting bumped twice, but I feel this post belongs here.
I believe this is my first post here. I just turned 228 @ 5'9".
My experience with my 2011 Ksyrium Elites...

The short version? Crashed on my first real ride on my brand new Elites...no worries. They held up.
___________________________________________________________________________________

The Details...
On my first "real" ride with them, after a couple of miles while riding a bike path that was under construction,
at the last minute, I had to turn off of the path, went into a grass ditch front wheel first and flipped over the bike.
Luckily, I landed on my wrists in front of me (a little martial arts reflexes kicking in) with the bike landing on my back.
The saddle hit me in the rear back (possibly bruising my kidney) and I was literally holding the bike up with my body.

Now, the front wheel itself went "into" a 2 foot hole that was hidden by grass with all MY weight on it.
It was knocked out of alignment by about 2" and my shifters were both turned inward. That's how hard I hit.
I got up with a combination of curses, looked over everything and straightened everything out as best possible.
My mechanic (who prepared race bikes for his brother) purposefully left my shifters just snug-tight in case of such an incident.
If he didn't, I'm pretty sure I would've been "out" a pair of Dura-Ace 7800 shifters right now and crying about it.

Anyway, out of anger, I rode another 5 miles and plowed through my pain and managed a wicked small, but steep climb.
I was dead when I got home. Didn't even look at the bike for a few days due to excessive rain.
Yesterday, I decided to detail my bike and take a good look at my wheel. Despite that horrible crash
(which I was sure I'd have to have the front wheel serviced over), I kid you not, it was as true as new.
Unbelievable. It held up. I didn't even want to look at it right after the crash, but dangit, it was perfect.

I am a believer in Mavic Ksyrium Elites. I struggled with spending $600. on a set of wheels when I could've gotten
a set of lighter wheels for about half the price, but I have to tell you, Mavics are worth every penny (for me).
Was it just a light crash? No. I was hospitalized for 5 hours the day after and had to take pain medication.

Again, I went up over my front wheel, it turned 90 degrees with ALL my weight on it and stayed true.

:)

Ksyrium Wheels for Clydesdales
 

OK.. PERSONAL experience, not something I heard. I'm a Clydesdale, currently 5'10 215, but have been and ridden at 240. I have Ksyrium's on my Cannondale and have over 11,000 miles on the bike with the same wheels.

I have NEVER blown a spoke and the wheels still spin true!

Pete
"Clydesdale... Because size DOES matter"

Agreed.
I almost made the mistake of getting out of my Ksyriums for a lighter wheelset.
There's just nothing better than Ksyriums for how I ride especially for the money.
I'm looking forward to many years on this set.

About a month ago a car pulled in front of me when leaving a driveway, I was going about 15 MP and I hit the rear of the car hea on and flipped over my handlebars. My strong 600 gram carbon aluminum fork was bent, and my shifters were also out of place. Ksyrium elite front wheel shows absolutely no sign of damage. They ae the best wheels I've ever owned.

Hell's yeah. It takes a lot to bend those Viagra stiff wheels! :thumb:

I am very happy with all the Mavic products. I have vintage mavic on my race bike, Open Pro's on my touring bike and hubby has CPX33's on his touring bike. They are a wonderful company.

http://share.ovi.com/media/currentre...resident.10072 http://share.ovi.com/media/currentre...resident.10050 http://share.ovi.com/media/currentre...resident.10017 http://share.ovi.com/media/currentre...resident.10018 save your money buy Weinmann 519 rims they do not crack then if you want spend the money you saved on triple butted spokes http://www.bikemania.biz/ProductDeta...de=Sapim_Force