Looking to buy a "new to me" wheelset. Buying used to stay on budget. Right now to top contenders are American Classic Aero 420 (not the Aero3) and Mavic Ksyrium SLS. Any real world thoughts on the two?

Hi

The online uk retailers can have very cheap wheel sets so why buy used?

The challenge however, is though from name brands often the model is relatively unknown in the US.

I picked up a set of SLSs here and really like them. They're an improvement over the stock wheels I received with the bike. Very light and seem like they will be durable for the riding I do and weight that I'm at.

I got some 38mm carbon clinchers with Novatec hubs that are sub 1400g for $450 from China that I'm very pleased with. You may be better off getting custom built with Kinlin rims and Novatec hubs or something. Without your budget it's hard to say

I personally would not buy a new Mavic wheelset, let alone used.

Why, have you had bad experience.

Not personal experience, but the experience of some fellow riders at my club. One had spokes breaking repeated on his wheel, he took them back to the LBS, and had to wait a month for a replacement spoke to be sent to fix it (as the spokes are proprietary). Another friend had rim cracking at the eyelets after just 2 years. Mavic doesn't have customer service that talks to customers in the USA, you have to go through where you sold them. Now imagine you bought them used and they broke? You'd be looking at probably paying out what you paid for them to be fixed.

What is your budget?

Around $500

With $500 you can get new wheels from Boyd or November, and maybe a few others.

I have a set of Boyds right now and they have been great, but the upgrade from what I have is $700.

So you have $500 wheels and you are looking to upgrade to another set of $500 wheels? What are you trying to accomplish with new wheels? Lighter, wider, deeper?

Save your money, wait until you have $1000 and buy a real upgrade.

That's why I'm buying used. It's not that I don't have the money to spend more, I just don't want to.

Then spend just a little more and go with November wheels. November Bicycles: Race smart. - Nimbus Ti Select

When I upgrade my disc Cross bike, I'll likely go with their wheels. All the components are reliable, well known, and easy to find parts for.

That still doesn't answer what you expect to gain out of a new set of wheels over the Boyd you already have.

From my experience:

1. Weight. If the new wheels are dropping about 1 lb or more of the total weight of the bike that is something you can significantly notice...at least when you pick the bike up
2. Aero. Deeper profile more aero rims make a noticeable difference but whether it's a good difference depends on other factors.
3. Width. I had been riding 19-20mm wide rims. With my current carbon wheels I went with 25mm rim and have 25mm tires since it's all the rage now. There might be a difference in comfort, rolling resistance, corning etc but not night and day.

And when you get into other subjective stuff like stiffness and ability to "spin up faster" it's mostly in your head.

These are really nice. I want a second set for my Tarmac.

The trouble with used wheels is likely no warranty. Mavic wheels are infamous for breakage of some sort and as said above, take forever to get repaired.

That's the thing that has me worried with the Mavic and why I was looking for real world experience. No one has had much to say about the American Classics which isn't a good sign either. I have a chance to buy a set of Fulcrum Racing Zeros and may go that route.

Disregarding the time to repair issues, part of the reason why Mavic wheels are likely 'infamous for breakage of some sort' is that they probably the most common wheel found on bicycles, at least at the higher end. They've certainly been around longer than most other wheel brands. Kinda like how some claim Trek frames are always breaking. Might have something to do with how many people are using said product.

I haven't looked at the specific AC wheels you've mentioned but what I like about my AC 350 Sprint wheels is that they are light and use readily available spokes. Proprietary spokes are cool until you need replacements.

Perhaps, but the fact that they are made with proprietary parts that require sourcing direct from Mavic for replacement is a fact. If I were putting money into a wheelset, I'd prefer it to be hand built with parts that any bike shop can easily source or more likely have on hand.

I added a similar sentiment in my following post

+1.

Mavic is the worst company I've ever had to deal with(SRAM is the best).

Mavic sucks. If you ever have a problem with their wheels, don't say you weren't warned.

the American Classic's are flashier, but the Mavic's are more practical and are just damn good wheels...

you can't lose... get em' both.... put the AC's on in the Spring and Summer and the Mavic's in the Winter and Fall...

I have no experience with Mavic as a company primarily because I haven't needed any. I have had a pair of Mavic Aksiums on my Masi road bike for about 5 yrs. No problems and they have only needed truing twice. On my Guru steel road bike I have a set of Mavic Kysriums. I've been running them for 3 yrs. and they have been trued once. On a club ride I hit a serious pothole with both wheels at about 40 mph. Luckily I didn't go down. I was sure I would flat. I didn't. But, having dodged that bullet I took them to my LBS for truing. Didn't need it. So, while I can't compare to other wheels I can say I'm happy with Mavic. FWIW I didn't go out looking for Mavic wheels. They were on the bikes when I bought them.