Was going to go custom wheels, even possibly carbon tubulars, but got a good deal on some brand new '08 Mavic Ksyrium SL Premiums (basically the '07 ES's - the ones with the red hub & 1 red spoke - but with Ti axles & skewers). Wasn't going to spend the cash for a while either, but, well, we know how that goes
My rolf's are now back up wheels, and recently they've been giving me issues which is why I went wheel shopping in the first place. Differences between the two?
-Weight wise they're the same, about 1480g.
-They both climb about the same, with a slight advantage to the mavics.
-On flats, the mavics feel much stiffer and more stable, and feel 5x more stable going downhill.
-They corner much better too.
-The mavic hubs are silent. So silent that when I hear them as I'm wheeling the bike through my house, I think something is wrong, then I realize it's the pawls. The rolf's were LOUD, but I was so used them, that I didn't care (5,000+ miles on the rolfs). I do miss using my pawls to alert people/riders that I come up upon. Now I'm in complete and total stealth mode.
I'm using the exact same tires and tubes to try and get an accurate comparison. I'm pleasantly surprised by them and happy with the purchase. I've only got about 100 miles on them so far, but they seem very solid.
The only problem I had was that the bearings needed adjusting right out of the box, even though Mavic says they come set up and ready to go. It was a quick fix.
Updated pic:
