I'm planning on buying a pair of ksyrium Sl's. Is this a good choice or are there other wheels i should consider. Should i have any concerns with these wheels

I have been running a pair for about 8 months now, I am very happy with them. Lightish and bulletproof.

any SL made after 2007 will last longer then those made before. There is a plastic bushing that was improved at that time.
That part runs about $40-50 and if its bad your cassette will wobble.

The SL hub is easy to work on and should be lubricated/disassembled regularly (every 8k miles or more often if it drys out).

SL has only 2 pawls and they are slightly off-center, where the Eastons usually have 3 pawls. I'm told an aggressive sprinter needs 3 pawls.

The braking surface can get scored easily if small bits of AL accumulate in the brake pad. Solution is to remove the pad arm from the caliper and
use a pick tool to get any bits out. I think its easier to remove the whole pad arm, than slide out the pad from the arm.
If the brakes get noisy, its usually caused by gunk building up on the braking surface -- wash and buff down.


I see many riders baby their SL rims and never standup. I am the opposite and never miss a chance to hammer out of the saddle.

I have never owned another set of premium rims so my experience is limited.

I have a Mavic SSC SL and an ES. Bullet-proof and stiff wheels. You need to stay on top of things maintenance-wise. I service my FTS-L hubs every 500miles or so, and everything has been great.

Another thing, I use Mobil 1 synthetic oil, which I use in my cars, in lubing the freehub, and no issues yet. I use to use Phil's Tenacious Oil, but Peter at Vecchios in Boulder, Colorado recommended Mobil 1, and I've been very happy with it.

Mavic hubs are awful. The spring-loaded pawl design is absurd. And the spokes are expensive and you need a special tool to true them. Good handbuilts have them beat as far as I'm concerned.

what qqy said

That's really not my kind of wheel.

either jed19 rides in the rain a lot more than me, he's overdoing the hell out of the maintenance, or my ksyrium elite hubs are ready to explode.

without really looking at my ride data hard, I would say I've done 1,750 - 2,000 miles without any maintenance. everything seems in working order, but when I do some work soon I will check them closely..

I've had my 2010 SL's for a bit over a year now (~2,000 miles). I'm pretty happy with them. Maintenance wise... I haven't done or needed to do anything with them. They roll just as nice as day one.

They're pretty expensive for what you're getting. I do wonder what a decent set of handbuilts goes for.

About 7,500 miles riding my ksyrium SL without any problems, or any need for the "maintenance" (I weight about 181 lbs).
Before that about 10,000 miles riding elites; no problems or need for all that "maintenance".

I have been riding elites for a good LONG while, Actually, I used them as commuting wheels. They are still my favorites, I have re-lubed the hub pawls but honestly in my experience they really should not need it for a LONG time as long as you properly re-assemble the wheel and you make sure the seals are properly inserted.

I probably have 30,000 miles on a set of 2007 SSC SL's. I've raced on them, trained on them, commuted on them. I replaced the bearings about 10,000 miles ago and they just keep on going. Bombproof.

you already know how I feel about the wheels...they were solid for me and I only had to get them serviced once because I picked up some fishing line on the group ride and wound it into my front hub somehow.

You won't have any problems with them, they are built like tanks but definitely don't feel like it

If I need to maintenance as much as suggested earlier I am in trouble.

I only have about 3k on them and have not done anything besides replacing worn tires and pumping air into the tires. They are super stiff climb well

corner well. Roll faster I am not or never going pro but these wheels rock and made my bike a better machine.

There is a local club that I know allot of the riders (not in the club they are faster than me) they put on a ton of miles and at least four of them ride SL.

A friend of mine and a bike mechanic that sold them (and gave me a great deal) to me said they were perfect for me because I tend to be hard on

equipment and 185 lbs

No question a good hand built wheel by a master rocks. I decided to get some rims in the late 80's as I was going through back rims. I found some guy in

local free newspaper(the reader) and discussed the project and got a price. It was his first Mountain Bike rim build he told me. I went to his house to pick

them up. He had wheels all over the place. He told me he normally built for pros and wondered how I found him. I think his wife put the ad in. Those rims

got abused for years on and off road and lord knows how many miles and how many different tires and brake pads they have seen. They are still rolling

true today.

Either way good wheels are great

at that price and weight, i would also consider Shimano RS-80s. a little cheaper , about the same weight, silky smooth (effectively Dura-Ace rims with Ultegra hubs.). I have never ridden the Mavics, people say they are great, some say they are crap. so, yeah, whatever. but i love my RS-80s. YMMV.

I. Regret selling mine, to get some Carbone SLR's, thinking about getting another set.

I have 18.5 miles on my new SL's. So far they are great.

I can take the freehub apart, clean, oil and put it back together in less than 10minutes.

Also, although I like my mavic wheels very much, you can do much better with a custom build from a knowledgeable wheelbuilder for less money. keep that in mind.

Well over 5K on my wheels and no problems or maintenance either. I guess some people just love to work on there bikes.

it seems to me that if you use an ultrathin oil like mobil1 you will need to oil the hub more often than a heavier lubricant. not that I suggest it, but if you used marine grease it would probably require no maintenence even in a rainforest climate.

I don't suggest it because it would roll like crap, and jed19 probably does gain superior rolling with thin oil. how much he gains is unknown but to me it's not worth the effort every 500 miles.

How do they handle on corners or hills?

Over 20,000 miles on my '04s, no maintenance whatsoever until this past winter when I had the hubs lubed. No problems, just had it done because I reckoned it was about time

They corner well but take that with a grain of salt as I'm not one to bomb into a corner on a descent. As someone above said, they are "lightish" but they are responsive and climb very well provided the motor in the saddle is up to the task.

I am around 210 pounds and I can't get them to flex on sprints and they feel very solid on fast curvy descents.