How bad are Mavic Tyres

godtabh

just bought a set of Mavic Ksyrium Equipe. How bad are the tyres that come with them?

markusz

i have had 3 sets of them come on Mavic wheels... some are crap and developed side wall bulges while 1 or 2 have lasted. can't beat Gp4000s or Gatorskins but i have had 1 GP4000 side wall fail as well.

yop

Bad as anything I have ridden. Only got around 90km out of them and they both punctured and the other ripped

godtabh

They come with Yksion Comp which seem to get 3/5 stars on most review. Not sure if I'll have time tonight before I ride it but i'll swap them with Grand Prix 4 Season

silver campaign

They are fair enough quality if you ask me. I got one winter out of a pair of them that came on a set of ksyrium elite S. No punctures, decent grip, rolled fairly well. Any tyre can get bulges in the wall or tears. I wouldnt go out and buy them but I got a good turn out of them as a spare set of tyres.

Edit: Mine were yksions 700 x 25

Wishbone Ash

Never had the Yksions but I had a pair of Aksions (?spelling) which shredded after a few weeks.

godtabh

if I get tonight/tomorrow out of them they'll go on the turbo after that

fat bloke

Funny one. They get a lot of bad press but I've found them brilliant. Had them on my ksyrium slr's for a full season, and myself and the mrs have had them on a succession of aksiums over the years with no problem. Had a set each over the winter just gone. No problems whatsoever.

cunavalos

fat bloke wrote: »

Funny one. They get a lot of bad press but I've found them brilliant. Had them on my ksyrium slr's for a full season, and myself and the mrs have had them on a succession of aksiums over the years with no problem. Had a set each over the winter just gone. No problems whatsoever.

Same here, ended up buying different unused sets on adverts / ebay for very little.

Grip in the wet is a little lacking but nothing too bad that warrants chucking them away.

Vincenzo Nibbly

Being used to GP4000s I found the grip of Yksions in the wet lacking. Swapped them out for GP4 Seasons which are much better grip-wise and offer some puncture protection.

crosstownk

I got approx 5,000km out of a pair of Mavic Aksions (23). I can't fault them. They roll well and I only had one or two punctures in that time.

I see no reason to bin them or demote them to the turbo wheel.

The only negative is that they're impossible to remove/fit by hand and tyre levers are required..

godtabh

crosstownk wrote: »

I got approx 5,000km out of a pair of Mavic Aksions (23). I can't fault them. They roll well and I only had one or two punctures in that time.

I see no reason to bin them or demote them to the turbo wheel.

The only negative is that they're impossible to remove/fit by hand and tyre levers are required..

What tyres can you fit by hand? I'd be lost with out my tyre levers

crosstownk

godtabh wrote: »

What tyres can you fit by hand? I'd be lost with out my tyre levers

I have no problem rolling Michelin Pro 4 tyres on and off with my hands.

Wishbone Ash

godtabh wrote: »

What tyres can you fit by hand? I'd be lost with out my tyre levers

I can fit the majority by hand in the right conditions**. Durano Plus and Panaracer Ribmos being the exception.

** In the depths of winter on a bitterly cold dark night with frozen fingers, any tyre is difficult to fit by hand.

Unknown Soldier

I've been running the "MAVIC YKSION PRO GRIPLINK, MAVIC POWERLINK" 25mm (copypasta) on a bike and found them "great" for the likes of Corkagh park type surfaces. They roll really, really well on a good road surface. Hot knife through butter type stuff.

They don't absorb the road buzz on harsher roads as well as the likes of Conti GP4000 IIs but I have decided to keep them on the bike anyways.


Had no issues with grip etc when descending a few weeks ago during the Orwell Randonee during pretty wet and dismal weather.

I don't think they would be up to much as a semi-city based commuter/spin tyre.

I think they were designed for better roads than we have! (Unless you live in Enniskerry, which is like cycling on glass, dear God what a wonderful road that was) but considering where I have been on them, they are in great condition.

All the above is subject to change as the mileage increases on them, but so far so good!

Jakey Rolling

I have just under 2000k on the set of 700x25 Aksions that came with my Aksium wheels. Very smooth rolling, haven't noted any issues with grip and only just punctured last week which is surprising given the state of the roads around here. I've picked out a few pieces of embedded glass and repaired some nicks with superglue, I'd say they have another 500-1000k in them.

Couldn't complain about them, but will be replacing with GP4000s that I have on standby.

Oh yes, managed to squeeze the tyre back on by hand after replacing the tube. Depends on the rims and strength of your thumbs I suppose!

Darkglasses

godtabh wrote: »

What tyres can you fit by hand? I'd be lost with out my tyre levers

Vittoria Zaffiros (Pro and regular) are a doddle anyway. Basically every tyre except Gatorskins that I've owned.

dahat

Vincenzo Nibbly wrote: »

Being used to GP4000s I found the grip of Yksions in the wet lacking. Swapped them out for GP4 Seasons which are much better grip-wise and offer some puncture protection.

I'm converting to Gp4 seasons full time pretty soon. Sick of punctures.

How do you find them at speed and on dry surfaces?

pats22b

didnt get on with them on a set of r-sys. double puncture - only one ever- just after sally gap put me right off them- sure they are grand for nice roads but not up to wicklow standards

StevieGriff

Had the yksion pro griplink, found them awful. Used them for around 400km before swapping them for GP4000s, got loads of punctures with them and they were lethal descending quick on anything other than bone dry roads.

seanin4711

Crap,crap ,crappity crap tyres.
Reason they come free with wheels.
Entry Vittoria s for a tenner are way better.
As soon as you get them with wheels bin them.
My Club riders agree, notorious for slicing up.

whacker00

seanin4711 wrote: »

Crap,crap ,crappity crap tyres.
Reason they come free with wheels.
Entry Vittoria s for a tenner are way better.
As soon as you get them with wheels bin them.
My Club riders agree, notorious for slicing up.

Totally agree, bought a nice set of ksyrium elites and they punctured on the second spin. Have put about 700km on them since but they have marks and little nicks all over them. On Monday I noticed a complete line around the sidewall of front and rear tyre on both sides as if they are starting to separate, quite worrying. They will be going in the bin ASAP

Pinch Flat

I use an askion as a spare and carry it commuting and on some cross country spins. They're handy in that they're foldable, so alright for a spare in my opinion.

CramCycle

No issues with rolling resistance or punctures (not great but not the we worst) but their grip is atrocious, to the point where even slight turns had me worried.

In wet weather you may as well be riding brake-less (slight exaggeration), they are tolerable in dry weather and if you get a pair free, keep them for the summer but if there is any sign of rain, you are essentially accepting that grip is optional while cycling.

Vincenzo Nibbly

dahat wrote: »

I'm converting to Gp4 seasons full time pretty soon. Sick of punctures.

How do you find them at speed and on dry surfaces?

Very happy with the GP4s. Very minor rolling penalty versus the standard GP4000s II 25mm. I paired them with latex tubes to try to make up the difference. Great grip in dry or wet. Good puncture resistance, no sidewall issues. I'd never feel the need to use another tyre for training. Have raced on them sometimes too, and they are good enough for that.

dahat

Vincenzo Nibbly wrote: »

Very happy with the GP4s. Very minor rolling penalty versus the standard GP4000s II 25mm. I paired them with latex tubes to try to make up the difference. Great grip in dry or wet. Good puncture resistance, no sidewall issues. I'd never feel the need to use another tyre for training. Have raced on them sometimes too, and they are good enough for that.

Excellent, i will purchase them as soon as then. I don't race so they sound perfect for my use.

Bloggsie

godtabh wrote: »

What tyres can you fit by hand? I'd be lost with out my tyre levers

I asked that question of my boss(he has gone to the dark side, a triathlete) practise, practise practise.

His wife thaught he was losing his mind when he spent a few hours putting on & taking off tyres, (not on himself I might add!)

godtabh

One puncture in 90km and terrible handling means they will be relegated to the shed/turbo

dahat

Got a set of Aksium Elites few days ago and after reading tbis thread i whipped off the Ma ic tyres before i even put the bike back on the road.

fat bloke

Post up your home addresses all you super sensitive race-handling demi-Gods. I'll happily root through your bins for my supply of free tyres.

If the accompanying free tubes similarly don't do it for you, I'll have those as well

Wishbone Ash

Darkglasses wrote: »

Vittoria Zaffiros (Pro and regular) are a doddle anyway. Basically every tyre except Gatorskins that I've owned.

I bought a pair of Zaffiros for the first time a few days ago (mainly due to the colour and price). I'll be interested to see how they are.

I bought them to replace the Vredestein Fiammantes on my Kardan K7 after the Lap de Gaps. Was taking the bike out of the car when I noticed that in both the front and rear tyre, the middle red section seems to be a seperate piece of rubber from the side sections and it had separated around much of both tyres.

Thankfully it didn't happen on the descent into Laragh. :eek:

CramCycle

fat bloke wrote: »

Post up your home addresses all you super sensitive race-handling demi-Gods. I'll happily root through your bins for my supply of free tyres.

If the accompanying free tubes similarly don't do it for you, I'll have those as well

I was using mine for commuting for about a week or so, tipping along at 25kph, several times the bike nearly went from under me cornering and on a few occasions, my stopping distance went up hugely.

I sold mine anyway, in the dry they were OK, but in the wet, I genuinely felt unsafe and I happily descend manys a hill flat out. If no one bought them though I probably would have given them to you.

Unknown Soldier

CramCycle wrote: »

I was using mine for commuting for about a week or so, tipping along at 25kph, several times the bike nearly went from under me cornering and on a few occasions, my stopping distance went up hugely.

I sold mine anyway, in the dry they were OK, but in the wet, I genuinely felt unsafe and I happily descend manys a hill flat out. If no one bought them though I probably would have given them to you.

Out of interest (if you don't mind answering!) what sort of weight are you? I haven't had any issues with Mavic tyres. That said, I definitely think they are designed for better roads that we have here around Dublin!

I'm 70 odd KG and ride them @ 120 psi btw.

CramCycle

Unknown Soldier wrote: »

Out of interest (if you don't mind answering!) what sort of weight are you? I haven't had any issues with Mavic tyres. That said, I definitely think they are designed for better roads that we have here around Dublin!

I'm 70 odd KG and ride them @ 120 psi btw.

Between 80 and 85kg, generally ride them between 100 and 120psi, maybe I had them too high. Coming out of my estate in the mornings, it felt like the bike was about to slide out from under me.

Maybe it was just my pair, maybe it was all in my head when I realised my breaking power had gone to sh1t. I fully admit that mine is just an opinion, and like everything, could be biased. I got a few scares on them, I won't go back.

If your comfy with them, go with them, I have my Contis now and will stick with them, although there are other tyres I have tried I like and would recommend. Found the Specialised Armadillos to be good and would recommend them for commuting. The Schwalbe marathons, not as comfy, not even close but I would trust them.

irishrover99

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I bought a pair of Zaffiros for the first time a few days ago (mainly due to the colour and price). I'll be interested to see how they are.

I bought them to replace the Vredestein Fiammantes on my Kardan K7 after the Lap de Gaps. Was taking the bike out of the car when I noticed that in both the front and rear tyre, the middle red section seems to be a seperate piece of rubber from the side sections and it had separated around much of both tyres.

Thankfully it didn't happen on the descent into Laragh. :eek:

I have the Zaffiro Pro's on my bike at the moment and like you, due to the price and colour. I picked them up on Xmas day Planet X sale for 9.50 each and they are the skin coloured tyres.

I only put them on when the weather got a bit better because the only crash i've ever had was with these tyres( not the pro range) so i've not got much confidence in them in the wet. But in the dry they are a good tyre and roll really well. I never got a puncture in both sets i've used and would buy them again and use them for spare tyres when i need them