KevinF

I had (past tense) a set of Ksyrium SL's. I broke two spokes within the first 2,000 miles. (I'm ~170 pounds, ride reasonably smooth roads for the most part). Sold 'em. I'm back on hand-builts. My last set of hand-built wheels have about 30k miles on them and have never seen a spoke wrench let alone a replacement spoke. I'll take the 100 gram weight penalty of knowing my wheel isn't going to break for a third time.

Apparently I was in the minority of those with Ksyrium issues, because most people seem to rave about how strong they are. I dunno.

Fox Farm

I think that you might write to the woman wheel builder in Portland, Sugarhouse? is the name of the company I believe, and discuss what your riding goals are and let a professional make some rim, spoke, hub suggestions to you.

kraftwerk 

I bought a used set of Ksyrium Elites SL years ago. I treat them to crappy NYC Streets & take them on VT dirt roads. Going down a dirt road at 35MPH & not a second thought, these wheels just beg for abuse. ps I weigh about 138 so that might be a factor.

KevinF

Looks like you mean https://www.sugarwheelworks.com/about-sugar/. Seems like a neat shop.

Fox Farm

Exactly.

MikeWMass

I don't like the plastic bushing inside the freehub housing on Mavics. I am also a fan of cup and cone bearings. I also am old and don't race, so these issues may not be issues for most of the rest of you.

Silvercivic27

Mavic have sealed bearings which are less maintenance and better for riding in crap conditions.

garciawork

Fulcrum x10. I LOVE both sets of racing 3 2 ways I have, and my boss loves his racing 0's (if you have the dough...).

Bob Ross

I've no doubt exceeded my word count elsewhere on BF slagging Ksyrium Elites; but for the record, I've gone through two pairs of the 2006 version and can't imagine why anyone would ever prefer those over good handbuilt clinchers. Waste of money imho.

roccobike

Cause they're bullet proof. I went with Elites back in 09 and was totally happy with them, right up until I got an incredible deal on a used set of SLs. I'm at 200lbs and ride a fair amount of settled, chip seal. Never had a problem, never had a spoke break, don't find the ride harsh. The SL's are on the main rider and the back up Bianchi has Elites. And I'm not going back.

To the OP, buy the Ksyriums, you won't regret it.

rbrsddn

Werd!! I rode my Mavic Heliums for 13 years, with minimum maintenance. That's why i went with the 2012 Ksyrium SL's. Great wheels... Got some Hutchinson fusion 3 tubeless on 'em. What a great ride. Get the Mavics.

Mansram01

Wish I could talk smack about my experience but the pair of SL's that I own are pretty bullet-proof. Sure they catch side wind gusts and not as light as other wheels but I never doubted their ability in any weather or road condition whether it was accelerating or braking. Despite thousands of miles, I never broken a spoke on my 2006 Ksyrium's so I can't complain there. Good luck with whatever you may choose. Just to change things up, I am now riding 2013 Shimano DA C35's.

JimF22003

I have a set of SL Premiums. They're getting sent out now for a new rim. 2nd one that has cracked on me.

coasting 

How long should an everyday wheel last and what regular maintenance do you do?

I do nothing other than a bit of lube in the nipples once a year if that.

mynameistaken

Yes, I did replace my freehub bushing around 2500 miles. They do wear out, but you can buy replacements on ebay for $12-24 depending on what kit you buy.

Other than that, mine have been pretty solid. Approaching 5000 miles.

NRZ

I've seen the rear rim crack on multiple Mavic wheels that people in my group ride on. My own rear rim, a close friends rear, one of the guys we see once in awhile (and he's light cracked his rear rim, he also had a friend do the same thing) and one guy has cracked 3 rear rims, he's on the heavy side but still, these are supposed to be bulletproof.

That's my only gripe. I'm not sure what I would buy for the price, maybe a set of RS80's.

bt

I have a very nice set of ksyrium ES's sitting around I would sell if someone wants.

qqy

Don't bother. My Kysrium Elites are one of my worst cycling purchases.

Over 3k miles, the wheels have seemed rock solid - never needed truing, and felt great. One day while cleaning the bike, I noticed that one of the spoke nipples had cracked, and partly broken off. On further inspection, many of the (alloy) nipples had corroded and cracked. The rear wheel remained true, but I was shocked that a well maintained wheelset would go bad so quickly. I took them back to the store, and they told me the rim and spokes were done, and it would cost $280 to replace and rebuild, and warranty was out of the question. Unbelievable. It's idiotic to have to rebuild a wheel because simple consumables like spokes and nipples can't be replaced. Predictably, Mavic's website has absolutely NO contact info.

tvJefe

Love mine!

prebsy

I'm really digging some of the offerings from campy/fulcrum, especially with the overseas pricing.

As for the handbuilt advocates out there, what are your suggestions for a set of wheels that would mimic the stiffness and acceleration of ksyriums,campy's and fulcrums?

stilltooslow

As I mentioned before, I've had a great experience with my SL's over many hard miles, but I just snagged a new pair of Zipp 303 Firecrests at a price I couldn't resist, so if you can wait a week or so I'll be able to compare and contrast the two sets. I'll be using the same tires, so the comparison should be pretty straight forward.

grolby

Eh. With 23mm tires, these differences are either very small or just not true. The aerodynamics bit is true but probably very small on shallow aluminum rims, I've raced 23mm rims in crits and they're indistinguishable in terms of handling, there is not a scrap of actual data to demonstrate that rolling resistance is reduced (and the people who've actually tested this, including Zipp, say they're unable to measure any difference), and the reduced chance of pinch flats is just made up. Narrow rims isn't a reason to avoid Ksyriums, the fact that Kysriums are crap is.

Once you go wider with tires, though, especially if you go a lot wider, the wider rims make a much more noticeable difference. With 23mm road tires, nope.

Matt Gaunt

Like all purchases, it depends on what you want out of the equipment, how you treat it and what the conditions are like in your area (i.e. weather, quality of road surface, etc.).

That said, I have a pair of 2004 Elites which are still going strong and true with no incident to report. I also have a pair of 2008 SLs which have also proved to be bombproof. A mate and I got taken out by a car. My friend's Campy Ergo lever went through the front spokes. Not only did no spokes break, the wheel remained true enough to ride home. Sourcing replacement spokes to replace the bent ones was easy enough and now the front is as good as new.

I cannot recommend the Elites and SLs highly enough based on my own as well as many friends' experience with them. They are not cheap but then given how long mine have lasted, I consider them to be very economical in the long run. I got a killer deal on the Elites - £240 for the pair as they were NOS in 2005 (so the previous year's model). Based on 8 years of riding, that's £30 per year to have some buttery-smooth, reliable and I think good-looking wheels. That's not bad at all.

achoo

Why not buy a set of prebuilt wheels like Ksyriums?

1. They're no more "bulletproof" than any good set of handbuilt wheels.
2. Look up the cost of replacement spokes or rims. Go ahead. I dare you.

Bob Ross

If "they're bullet proof" how'd I manage to go through two pairs of 'em?

Answer: I'm not a bullet, I'm a cyclist. They're apparently not cyclist proof.