I'm looking to upgrade the Aksium Race wheels that came stock on my bike, and can use some unbiased opinions.

I'm 190lbs and mainly do group and charity rides and am thinking of giving a criterium a try.

Price isn't a huge issue, but I'd like to spend under a grand, and don't want to have multiple wheelsets.

Any opinions, criticism on the following wheels for me?

Mavic Ksyrium Elite
Easton EA90 SL
Shimano RS80
Reynolds Solitude
Velocity A23

Or a custom set, little more pricey. Worth the extra money?
Chris King R45 24F/28R hole
HED Belgium rims
DT Revolution spokes
Radial front, two cross rear
brass nipples

Thanks in advance.

I'm always an advocate for custom handbuilt wheels. They usually last longer and are easier to fix should you need to. Contact Rob at psimet.com for some recommendations from him.

Psimet /thread

what is wrong with the set you have? for a charity wheelset they are good and if you are just looking to try a crit they will get you going, the reality is that you ride the wheels you don't care about as in the Cat4-5 races crashes are not an IF but a WHEN...

The Mavic be the best for crits.

HAHA...thanks guys -

OP - for what you have listed - at your weight I personally would recommend against going with rev spokes. If you are dead set on them then at least go with Competition for the drive side in the rear. Also - at 190 with revs in the front I would go 2x in the front to allow for a little more lateral stiffness - sure there's a ton of debate about the validity of that but after a lot of rider feedback....it's just what I would recommend.

If not go radial but comps.

On the rims - Velocity A23's if you have to go with the wide thing, or just go with a solid rim (my well known favorite is the XR300 for it's weight and strength).

Hubs - I have gone over hubs a few times, but Chris King Hubs (R45's) are very well made hubs. My other favorites include Alchemy, White Industries, and DT to name a few.

Full disclosure - I sell and am a distributor for a lot of what I just mentioned. One could view my recommendation as biased to items I personally sell, or ...that I only sell what I think works the best for the applications I serve.

Just offering up public advise. Whatever you choose make sure you get something that makes you want to ride your bike every time you see them.

Et tu brute? BTW - been trying to recreate your iced coffee since I had it. Nothing but subpar results so far. You are indeed a barrista and veloist - both of the highest order.

Gotta be equipe.

What you recommended above is on the money for a custom set, I was going for the short answer.

As for the ice coffee it's the beans/roast and sugar used more then anything.

How many miles on the Mavic's? While a new set of wheels are nice.... Those Aksium's aren't the worst wheels in the world and they do hold up pretty well. I'd ride the Aksiums for now. When they break.... Then buy that new set.

the new elites are weighing in at 1550 grams, pretty good for a strong wheelset. a friend that weighs 200 pounds just got a set and he's a true believer.

Psimets. Really.

The elites are pretty solid - i've been riding them a while. But I just mounted a pair of Handspun wheels with the HED Belgium rim on my road bike tonight. I'll let you know how they ride Sunday night - I have to get my cross on before that.

I would go with a custom wheel builder. It's worth it even if you don't have much money. A well hand built wheel will last much longer.

Psimet offers some 30mm clincher rims that I've heard are strong and durable. You could build them up 28/24 spoke and have them be good enough for every day use while still being fast and at a decent weight.

Bike Soul offers some 40mm aluminum clinchers or you could go with the carbon 40mm clinchers.

Neuvation also has a similar set of carbon clinchers like Bike Soul.

Williams 30x comes to mind too.

If these are going to completely replace your old wheels, make sure you get something that is durable. Just make sure they're hand built.


I've heard the Askiums are a good set of training wheels. They're a bit aero, stiff, and durable.

They've got about 3500kms on them. The front is a little wonky after a minor crash and needs truing more often then they should. Rear has held up quite well, even after sucking in my cadence/wheel sensor earlier this past summer.

I'll probably keep them around for emergency use, but want something a little snappier and lighter for the climbs. But I understand that at my weight I can't go for anything too light.

I'm liking the suggestions for stronger spokes, and I'm leaning towards the custom wheels.

Anyone have any experience with the King R45s? I've read they are quieter then the classics, but how much quieter?

Yes they are. They are now no more louder than the majority of fine hubs out there.

i went from those same Mavics to a set of PSIMET.com hoops. in fact, the 1st or 2nd set to roll off his assembly line back . they are awesome, but i think i need another set. some carbon. some tubbies. some bling red. oh yeah, i gots the fever. i gots it bad. later.

I'm also thinking of stock HED Kermesse wheels?

Any opinions on their quality?

The configuration of the Kermesse wheels 24/28 with the C2 rim looks like a good fit. I don't know about their hubs, but the rim should be pretty good. Some people report premature cracking around the spoke holes with those rims, but their warranty service is pretty good. The use of CX-Ray spokes will make the wheel a little flexier than with thicker spokes but will keep the weight down, so you have to weigh the pros and cons of that.

23mm rims feel different than standard 19mm wide rims when using the same tires. You will feel more stable on turns, and I think that would benefit you during a criterium or a fast downhill with turns. There are different opinions on tire pressure using those types of rims. I believe that you can treat your 23mm tire as a 25mm tire when selecting the pressure since there will be more tire contact area with the ground than with a narrower rim even though the volume of air in the tire is the same. That will also make the ride a little more comfortable.

Another option is the Velocity A23 rims. I am using them, and they are really good. There really is a difference in ride quality with wider rims. One advantage of using Velocity rims on a set vs stock HED wheels is that you will have more options on number of spokes. For example, you can go 24/32 or 28/32 if you want. Even though the 23mm rims are wide, they have a low profile and are not as stiff as deeper rims.

These:
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Sh...et/5360030874/

My DT Swiss rear wheel failed (after 13K) and were custom built. Picked up the 7850's and they are sweet!
Good luck on your choice!

How did they fail? Please give the build details and rider weight.

Those were originally the wheels I wanted, they are just a little bit out of my price range, and worse if I can't get around paying duty. Also, the low spoke count spooks me.

I tried a set of HED Ardennes this season and I was very disappointed. They required truing twice in a month and I passed them along. My buyer said that he had them go out of true and snapped one of the spokes. Turns out, his bike mechanic told him that the CX-Ray spokes from the factory weren't all CX-Ray. About half were clones. A couple were even round. It was easy for him to have fixed, but it should have been unnecessary.

Another vote for Elite.

That is really interesting about imitation spokes. I really doubt that HED would ruin their reputation by doing that, but apparently some other spokes got mixed up with them. Were the wheels bought from an official source or from EBAY? At least as far as the Sapim Race spokes go, the older ones are slightly different than the current ones. I'm not sure about CX-Rays.

The rear rim started cracking around the eyelets (inside of rim). They look like eyebrow cracks. Most are on the drive side, but they are on nearly all of the eyelets. My weight fluctuates from 215-224. These were built by Joe Young, RR1.1 double eyelet rims and were recommended by him for my weight and size. I'm not blaming Joe, I did a little research (after the fact) and it seems that this cracking is not an isolated issue with these rims. The front is nearly as pristine as the day I got them.....