Coachgordie

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased some Giant p-sl rims from an lbs shop for a steal but after 6 months I have started breaking spokes. 3 in one week to be exact. I am hunting for a good bombproof wheel that I don't have to worry about breaking or coming out of true. I have been told either the mavic ksyriums or the fulcrums will offer me that.

What do you guys think? For the fulcrums I heard the Quattro, racing 1s, or racing 0s are unreal but may have a weight limit. My good friend who owns a shop told me the ksyriums are great and will hold true (not sure which model because their badging is confusing).
How are these choices? If it helps, I do mostly commuting through the warzone know as Toronto and am considering doing some group rides. I am a about 16 stones but usuly ride with some weight in a back pack. So I could top out at 18 stones. Also I commute 6 days a week about 30-40 km. Any feed back is appreciated!!

Cheers

dr_lha

At 16 stone (225lbs) you're nearer the bottom end of Clydes, so should have less issues with wheels than many of us. Still I find it hard to recommend getting Mavic Kystriums based on my experiences with friends. I know a guy who rides on them, in your weight range, and he's had nothing but problems. They're compounded by the fact that when he broke spokes, it took 3 weeks for Mavic to send replacements to the LBS (the spokes are non-standard on his wheels).

I know nothing about Fulcrums, other than they are some off-shoot of Campagnolo. They have a good rep, but no idea for Clydes.

Honestly if you're riding at 16 stone with a 2 stone pack, you might want to look around for wheels with a higher spoke count, say 32 in the rear.

TrojanHorse

Who uses stone anymore? It's 2015 for crying out loud. That's about my weight, btw.

My chief complaint about Mavic wheels is that they tend to use proprietary parts, which can be a PITB.

I'd say skip the low-spoke, lightweight wheels if you're commuting. The chief characteristic of wheels that I personally value is reliability. No point in constantly fiddling with your wheels. What you may want to do is get something reliable for your daily commute, with a nice wider-range cassette on the back and then get something lighter and tighter-ranged for your weekend group rides. I love having multiple wheelsets and if you bust a spoke or need to leave one at the shop overnight? You're all set with a ready-to-go spare.

mprelaw

I agree. It's high time we stopped using outdated weights and measures.

You guys are 100 kilograms.

RubeRad

Well everybody in England still uses stones, I would have thought Canadians would use kg though...

How many spokes in the wheels you're breaking?

At your weight I'd recommend min 32 rear, 28 front. Sheldon Brown has some great info about "How many spokes".

dr_lha

Everyone from England who hasn't been brainwashed into using the metric system!

Flatbroke

I'm down 3 stones. Peed them out a few years ago. As far as rims I had good luck with the Ksyriums rims on my Allez. The rear rim started cracking around the spoke holes this year. I got 4 years riding them and I'm a cheeky fellow.

I took the fulkrum 4s off on my Roubaix and opted for built wheels instead. Only put about 75 miles on them before the new rims arrived from Joe Young

adrien

I have experience with both, though I tend to go hand-built now.

I don't like the proprietary Mavics, and their stuff can sometimes be problematic. There have been some issues. Oddly, I find their lower-end stuff better, more reliable. I've got about 300 miles on rental bikes using Aksiums, with zero issues. I am not kind to rental bikes -- tend to hammer them to see what they can do, and I rent nice, but different, stuff to expand my experience. But my mech generally winces a little when someone brings in a proprietary Mavic wheel, because parts take time, there are some known issues, pawls and hubs can be problematic, etc. Everyone I know with fancy Mavic wheels has a backup set, if that's any indication. I'm also not a fan of the branding, but that's nothing a little elbow grease and a hairdryer can't fix.

I like Fulcrums a lot. For the previous poster -- Fulcrum is indeed Campy, except they were an offshoot designed to go after the Shimano and SRAM users. Hard to sell a Campy wheel to go with Shimano, though that's less relevant now with all the 11 speed stuff out. My experience is with both ends of the spectrum -- Racing 7s (less expensive) and Racing Zeros (among the most expensive alloy wheels). The 7s on a bike I borrow in France, and the 0s on a $15k Wonderbike I rented for the first attack on Ventoux. The Zeros were incredibly stiff and responsive, almost to a fault. Solid, solid wheels. The 7s are great in feel, and have had no issues under the bike's owner over several thousand kms. And he's your size.

Of the two, I'd go Fulcrum, and go for the lower end. I would also consider something handbuilt.

LGHT

I'm about 220 now and I had Fulcrums 7's on my roubaix and they worked fine, but a little flexy. Then got a tarmac with 4's on it and wow a lot stiffer and more responsive. I just got the latest release of the 3'r on a great deal for $350 and other than being a little lighter not much difference over the 4's.

professorbob

Have some custom wheels built by someone who knows what they're doing. I've got Mavic Open Pros with 105 hubs 32f/36r that have given me zero problems. They're light and strong.

Coachgordie

Ya I have no idea why I wrote stones? I think I read another forum and it latched on to me. Yea I am about 230 but always ride with a pack so I am over that weight. I have heard good things about Mavic OPs but a wheel builder told me I'd be truing them often, even at 32h. I originally had fulcrum 1s and they were unbelievable but my braking surface was paper thin and minutes away from cracking so they're long gone. I like the idea and the price of the ring 3s. I am a stronger guy and like to mash so I think a stiffer wheel would be better for my riding style.

Coachgordie

We are predominantly metric but Americans have brained washed us to use pounds. I couldn't even tell you my KGs without looking up conversion charts.

I broke 3 spokes within a week of one another. I was climbing and heard a 'ding' sound the felt my wheel dragging the brakes.

Coachgordie

I have heard the spokes are hard to find on the Mavic and Fulcrums. My good friend owns a shop but I hate bothering him.

Coachgordie

If you have a wife, kiss her everyday! lol I would love to have multiple wheelsets but a tuition and a girlfriend who wants to move out do not support that lifestyle!

Coachgordie

Are they still available for $350? If so, where?

TrojanHorse

Well, if your girlfriend is moving out that will give you a lot more time to go riding. Kudos for giving her the boot and welcome (back) to the he-man women haters club!

Yes, my wife is extraordinarily tolerant of my various hobbies.

RubeRad

Sorry...

ColaJacket

The big thing for a clyde is to make sure that the LBS has consistent tensions in the spokes. Some LBSs will "ping" test the spokes to see if they are good. For a Clyde, that is not good enough. They need to use a meter to measure the tension.

GH

LGHT

Someone here actually posted the sale on PBK a few months ago. I just checked and they are now back to the normal price of $450. I was initially worried about paying a duty fee or tax, but 3 weeks after they ordered they arrived safe and sound with no extra cost. Not to mention the free shipping.

Coachgordie

Damn that is a good price! I'll be searching for some Racing 3s or something at that level. Was that free shipping in the U.S or Can? I get nervous getting anything shipped to me because of insane duty charges here.

Coachgordie

HAHAHA Luckily my GF does triathlons so she understands somewhat but because she is tiny she never breaks anything. I ride hard and break everything I touch.

Coachgordie

Oh for sure!

LGHT

I'm in the US and I believe anything over $75 gets free shipping from PBK. Not sure about CA or how their duty charges are calculated, but based on the value and the item being shipped I calculated a possible additional $36 fee, but lucky I didn't get hit with any fees.

TrojanHorse

Well, bike parts are technically duty free in the USA although we're obligated to report out of state purchased at income tax time and pay state income tax (muffled laughter)

Gordie, you're really lobbing softballs man, but this is a family forum so I'm going to leave that last one alone.

Coachgordie

@Trojan
I just read that over... Hahahah amazing! Ya those were easy targets hahaba