henry_lee

Hi,

Newb question regarding these Mavic wheels...
what the heck is the difference between the two?
(Besides $$$)

a. the hoops themsleves?
b. hubs / bearings?
c. spokes?
d. weight?
e. strength?
f. all the above

I apologize if this has been asked before.
I tried the search function and found some info
on both wheels, but nothing regarding the actual
differences between the two types. Even the Mavic
site seems to be "under construction" and without
comparative specs.

For what it's worth, I'm considering replacing a set
of Shimano WH-R550's.

Thanks,
HL

p.s. are these things pronounced "sear-eee-um"?

rickkko

That's the way I've heard it pronounced in San Diego bike shops.

Note that they are made in France.

If you happen to feel we should continue to boycott buying French products because of their blatent resistance to supporting our attempts to effect a change to democracy in the middle east and their receipt of illegal kickbacks in the millions of dollars (US taxpayer dollars) from the UN Oil-for-Food program then you might consider other very capable wheels sets built here in the US by gifted talented Americans. I've heard mention, Mike Garcia, Rolfprima, Bontrager, etc. on this forum for example. I'm sure there are more.

The comment above is made for no other purpose than to be informative. One should not draw any conclusion as to my personal opinion from that information. I only believe its worthy of noting and should be considered no differently than how much you want to spend on wheels.

I respect each person's personal decision as that is the fundamental basis of our democracy, that we are allowed to freely educate ourselves and draw our own conclusions and make our own decisions in our capitalistic democratic society.

So, the ball is in your court. Good luck!
..rickko..
PS. Sorry, I can't help you with the differences only to say that my girlfriend's '04 SPECIALIZED Dolce Comp came with Equipe wheels from the factory. They seem to be very satifactory (She's hit a lot of bumps and pot holes I'd NEVER hit) and they remain true.

gmason

https://www.mavic.fr/english/

thewalrus

It's too bad "Freedom Fries" get the jersey pockets greasy...

EURO

rickkko - should those that boycott French products also boycott the Tour de France, one of the country's biggest exports?


Mike Garcia uses parts from DT Swiss who are German and Sapim who are Belgian.

Belgium is an important founder member of the UN - quote from Louis Michel, Belgium's foreign minister


Germany's strict non-deployment policy on Iraq is well known. In fact. many refer to it as a franco-german policy.

You have to work very hard to boycott countries who disagree with US foreign policy if you are buying bicycle parts, or following cyclesport.

cyclintom

a. No difference between these two model's rims.
b. No difference between these two model's hubs.
c. Equipe has standard round spokes, Elite has aero crap.
d. Slight difference in weight. Not worth bothering with.
e. No significant difference in strength

Pronounced K-syrium just like it's spelled. If this word has any meaning at all it's a tightly controlled secret as far as I can determine.

7rider

Is there a big weight difference between the WH-R550s and the Equipes or the Elites, or are your WH-R550s just old? Equipes came stock on my wife's Specialized Tarmac Expert, but we upgraded them to Easton Ascent IIs in the shop to shave weight.

Surferbruce

rikko
leave that crap out of the forums. democracy in the middle east...bicycle wheels...c'mon...so sick of this crap.
moderators**********

henry_lee

Thanks all for the er... "interesting" info. Sure didn't expect
a geopolitical tangent from discussing a set of wheels.

Oddly enough, my bigge$t client is French as well.

C'est la vie.




Henry Lee

Tequila Joe

HI Henry,

After reading your sig, I didn't know I had such a fan!

T.J.

henry_lee

Well...

Not sure about the weight difference. I think the Equipes are similar in weight to the R550's.
The bike has less than 300 miles on it. At first I was simply thinking about swapping for a black set R550's, but then started looking at upgrading the wheels instead.

BUT then I got a set of handbuilt wheels made for my daily ride (old steel Trek) and we / they
did MA3's on the old Campy hubs.

So I'm debating on what to do with the newer bike that has the R550's. Keep with the
modern off-the-shelf aero-type stuff or have another wheelset made.

Thanks for the info though. I'll check out the Eastons.

Gotta run, late for a meeting.
HL

henry_lee

Absolutely. 100% Agave only.

CMonster

I have a pair of each and have used both on two different bikes. If you are new to cycling, the difference isn't noticeable. If you have at least a couple of thousand miles in the saddle you can tell the difference, especially on two different bikes.

Given the right tires, the Elites are quicker off the mark and are noticeable lighter. Again this is dependent on your riding style; also your weight is a factor.

I upgraded a pair of ALX rims to Elites on an aluminum Specialized Allez. I saw a noticeable performance increase since it a huge step up rather than a minor one if I had purchased Equips.

That same season I bought a full carbon Specialized Roubaix that came with Equips. The ride was alright, nice, smooth and comfortable; but because of the tires and rims, I didn't feel the quickness nor the agility that of the heavier aluminum bike!

I swapped rims, and bought a pair of inexpensive, less soft tires from REI and now I have speed, agility and reduced weight on the Roubaix. An extremely noticeable difference.

Spending the extra money on upgrades from a quality company like Mavic is well worth the extra dollars. I've found with this sport that if you are just a recreational weekend rider around the lakes, major upgrades aren't necessary. If you are even a 'semi' enthusiast, the extra dollars will make your time on the bike much more enjoyable. This goes from the brand of shorts that you buy to the model of bars. It all makes a difference.

Zouf

Either you know, and then it's fine; or you don't, then you may need to know: it may sound like it's "Go, baby, go, go!", but it comes out more like "Are going, the child, are going, are going!!!" . Sort of real weird. And or course if you're into geopolitical and help US save the world stuff, then you should really have it in English, or in the language of any of the close allies of the US in its crusade. Can't think of any right now, but I'm sure it'll come back at some point.

DamnRock

hmm... vont must be a weird form of the verb aller... wouldn't it be "allez bebe, allez allez!"

who cares... it's french anyways... I do agree the "le" shouldn't be there... but I only took a couple years of french, and that was 10 years ago.

I am personally going to upgrade my alex 295's to Ksyrium Elites as soon as i can find a smokin deal on them. I've heard a lot of good things and hope they turn out as good as people say. But then again, anything i san upgrade over alex 295's!

J'AIME FRANCE!!! J'AIME FRANCE!!!

rock

gmason

J'aime la France?

nitropowered

Save your money and get the Ksyrium SL's. Or unless you want to buy my Elites, though I can't get rid of them till I make up the difference (probably around or after christmas).

Milford Bob

Please stop knocking the Alex 295. I have 2000 miles on mine and they have been through hell and back (I ride in NYC) and I have had no problems with them at all. Instead of this old arguement over whose wheels are better, lighter or whatever let us spend our time more wisely on how one can become a better rider through training instead of `these wheels are 80 grams lighter'. How much does 80 grams weigh anyway? If you lost 5 pounds would 80 grams make a difference? Just a thought.

Mentor58

one thing about the 550's is that the spokes are not standard, a special wrench is required to hit the nipples, and the cluster is going to have to come off to do the back wheel. I've got a set, they aren't the lighest, but work well for me. If I were to upgrade the wheels I would definatly go with something more 'Industry Standard'. For me, who could be classified as more of a 'semi rec rider' than a true dyed-in-the-wool roadie small differences in weight aren't that important, but I can understand for some that may be an issue. I can truely feel the difference in weight between the touring bike and the road bike, but not sure that I'd really notice 80 grams in the wheels on the road bike.

FWIW

Steve W.

mscycler

[QUOTE=cyclintom]...
c. Equipe has standard round spokes, Elite has aero crap.
...QUOTE]

What do you mean aero crap??? Or are you just generalizing them since you couldnt say aero spokes?

Do you think they are crap? If so, why do you think that?

Just curious...trying to steer this thread away from the political discussion.

mscycler

ewitz

a. wrong. The equipe is a standard rim with drilled spoke holes that requires rim tape. The elite has no spoke holes and reqires no rim tape.

B. wrong. the equipe is 20/24 spoke count. the elite is 18 /20.

d. wrong. the elite are 110 grams lighter and you have to add the rim tape on top of that.

The elites also have sealed cartridge bearing aluminum hubs. For the price difference get the elites. They are a much stiffer wheel. If you don't want to spend the extra then save a few bucks and get the aksium or cosmos.

EURO

My personal opinion? The aerodynamic advantages are still under argument. The weight disadvantages aren't.

henry_lee

Bingo! This is the info (quoted) I was looking for.

Don't mean to bump this yet again, but I just wanted to say
thanks for the many repsonses and perspectives to my questions.
The unusual "backward" lacing / truing of the R550's is also
a reason for my desire to switch.

So maybe I should have just bought the '05 Cannondale R1000.

Again, thanks for all the responses.
Henry Lee

SDRider

Well, speaking as one who had ALX220's on my bike stock (I know, entry level wheelset) I researched quite a bit and wound up buying a set of Mike Garcia wheels. The difference was night and day. The stock wheels were like wet noodles in comparison. Not only are my new wheels stiffer and stronger but they are also lighter!

I can't answer the question you asked originally but I can tell you that there are many alternatives and you really should make your decision based on many factors that are unique to you. I liked the fact that Mike Garcia took the time to talk to me and identify my needs and help me select a wheelset based on that and not on which one costs the most and which one has the most cache'. I live in California and bought a wheelset custom made by a guy I've never met before in Florida. I can say that I actually spoke to him on the phone and he took the time to help me choose a wheel that suits my riding style. How many Ksyrium riders can say that?

BTW-The fact that a foreign country has a different view on world politics doesn't weigh in my decision making process at all. That would be like me choosing my friends based on their voting record.

Mojo Slim

Hey. I was looking at the same wheelsets, then was directed to www.nimble.net . GO THERE AND CHECK THEM OUT! I got Spiders and they are much lighter than the Ksyiums (13 oz?). I love mine. They will match the rims to your weight and style of riding, etc.