Mavic Aksium Upgrades

godtabh

I currently have a set of stock Mavic Aksium that came with my bike.

Looking to upgrade them in the next 3 months or so. Looking for a good set that would have a high bang to book ratio for upto €500 but would like to spend a little less also

Looking for a 10 speed Shimano hub.

Any recommendations?

macnab

I bought a Shimano RS80 wheelset when I upgraded my wheels, at €405 delivered they seemed like a good choice to me. I have never had any issues with them after 5000km plus.
Aksium are a good wheel also if a little on the heavy side, I presume you have a nice set of folding tyres (Continental GP4000s are my pick) and lightish tubes fitted already, if not then do that first.

G rock

Handbuilt?

For your kind of mileage this option could be a runner.

Open pros or a wider rim on a nice set of hubs would set you back a good bit less than 500

godtabh

yeah have Continental GP4000s on at the moment

mossym

swap the aksiums for kysriums? on sale here at the moment

http://www.swimcyclerun.com/end-of-year-sale/mavic-ksyrium-equipe-s-wheelset-black.html

godtabh

G rock wrote: »

Handbuilt?

For your kind of mileage this option could be a runner.

Open pros or a wider rim on a nice set of hubs would set you back a good bit less than 500

Don't know much about hand built rims. What are the advantages?

Seweryn

godtabh wrote: »

Don't know much about hand built rims. What are the advantages?

Basically, any off the shelf wheels are designed for anybody and nobody in particular at the same time.

Handbuilt wheelset has the advantage of being built for your weight, your riding style, your choice of tyres, type of bike, weight and strength preferences, type of bearings, number of spokes and the way they are laced, etc. This option allows you to spend the money where you want it, i.e. care about the hubs sacrifice the rims or the other way round. You can put the weight (or lack thereof) where you want it (stronger rims/lighter hubs or vice versa)...

And importantly - handbuilts have the advantage of readily available spokes and rims should you need to replace them in the future (due to wear) and it will not break the bank.

G rock

Seweryn wrote: »

And importantly - handbuilts have the advantage of readily available spokes and rims should you need to replace them in the future (due to wear) and it will not break the bank.

This, for me anyway.

Also, you can look into the ongoing discussion about wider rims and wider tyres (e.g. Mavic a319 (I think) or h+ SON rims) with a 25c tyre giving a better ride quality than the narrower rims and tyres.

I have open pros on two wheel sets and am very happy-while not the flashiest wheels in the world they're more than up to the job for me

Wishbone Ash

godtabh wrote: »

I currently have a set of stock Mavic Aksium that came with my bike.

Looking to upgrade them in the next 3 months or so. Looking for a good set that would have a high bang to book ratio for upto €500 but would like to spend a little less also

Looking for a 10 speed Shimano hub.

Any recommendations?

I also need to upgrade my Aksiums as I seem to be losing spokes on a more frequent basis. I'm more interested in strength and durability than weight/speed as I do a lot of night riding on substandard roads. I asked my LBS for a ballpark price for a durable hand built set and they said €300-€400 (without going into any specifics about brands/components etc.)

yop

I had the krysiums until I got taken down there last Sept and one was wrecked. I found them a great wheel and from what I understand they were put on the bike by the original owner. I put about 10.000km on them and the lads before me would have been serious cyclists.

Amprodude

mossym wrote: »

swap the aksiums for kysriums?

This is what i upgraded to. Happy out.

godtabh

Don't have the money yet but would be looking to upgrade in the summer but the kysriums look a decent upgrade.

Given that i'm on the heavier side for.a.cyclist.strength is.probably key

murph226

Which Ksyriums to go for though?

Amprodude

murph226 wrote: »

Which Ksyriums to go for though?

I have the sls and they are fine.

BadCharlie

Check out Campagnolo Zonda. I got mine from bike discount.

murph226

Amprodude wrote: »

I have the sls and they are fine.

Where did you pick them up?

Amprodude

murph226 wrote: »

Where did you pick them up?

I got them new in my local bike shop. Any decent bike shop should supply them. You could also get them second hand on ebay or adverts.

Salmonman

mossym wrote: »

swap the aksiums for kysriums? on sale here at the moment

http://www.swimcyclerun.com/end-of-year-sale/mavic-ksyrium-equipe-s-wheelset-black.html

Thinking of buying those ksyrium but I'm new to cycling and wondering will they fit my carrera tdf or are they all standard fitting

MD1983

Seweryn wrote: »

Basically, any off the shelf wheels are designed for anybody and nobody in particular at the same time.

Handbuilt wheelset has the advantage of being built for your weight, your riding style, your choice of tyres, type of bike, weight and strength preferences, type of bearings, number of spokes and the way they are laced, etc. This option allows you to spend the money where you want it, i.e. care about the hubs sacrifice the rims or the other way round. You can put the weight (or lack thereof) where you want it (stronger rims/lighter hubs or vice versa)...

And importantly - handbuilts have the advantage of readily available spokes and rims should you need to replace them in the future (due to wear) and it will not break the bank.

How much would a set of hand-built wheels cost?

pelevin

Just to mention it, asked in my LBS about upgrades to wheels and about hand-built versus ready-made, & the guy in there, a mechanic for many a year, pure sound, basically said just buy the manufactured Mavics or whatever type, whilst also advising me to hold onto my money & stick with what I had! So he certainly had no vested interest in getting me to buy but he didn't see any reason to go hand-built. My brother incidentally has hand-built wheels still on his high-end Giant from him in that shop from some years back.

Seweryn

MD1983 wrote: »

How much would a set of hand-built wheels cost?

It depends how much you wish to spend and what components you want. You can get a set for €200 or for €800.
A nice set of lightweight, reliable and repairable aluminium clincher handbuilt wheels would normally cost between €350 and €600. A set with top of the range hubs would be closer to €700 or more.

Here is a pricelist of various specification sets from a reputable builder.

Woody_FX

Salmonman wrote: »

Thinking of buying those ksyrium but I'm new to cycling and wondering will they fit my carrera tdf or are they all standard fitting

Yeah any Mavic road wheel willl fit your bike. They only think you need to watch out for is not to buy a wheel with a Campagnolo type hub, though they are rare.

godtabh

What are Planet X 52mm aero carbon clinchers like? Seems to be a decent price.

godtabh

Any thoughts on the Planet X wheels?

yop

godtabh wrote: »

Any thoughts on the Planet X wheels?

I have a set but due to been injured I haven't had chance to use them. The lads in the club seem to think they are v good wheel.

godtabh

they look a decent set at a decent price

Koobcam

Ksyrium Elites are about the €500 mark I think (might have to have a look on one of the German component websites for that sort of price) and apparently a great wheel-same rims as Ksyrium SL.

yop

Koobcam wrote: »

Ksyrium Elites are about the €500 mark I think (might have to have a look on one of the German component websites for that sort of price) and apparently a great wheel-same rims as Ksyrium SL.

I have a set of them on at the moment. Find them great, though to be honest I wouldn't be no wheel engineer