Wheels advice

[chakatrain]

This is in the spirit of the "Help me understand <x>" threads circulated a few
weeks back.

I bought my My '05 Serotta CIII built up with Ksyrium SSL wheelset. While a
huge improvement over the stock wheels built up on my prior '97 Bianchi
Veloce stock bike (can't remember exact wheels on them, but they were
stock, utilitarian. I also didn't know any better), I feel a growing curiousity to
learn about a part of the bike that so far has eluded me.

I bike mostly weekend rides, 20-75 miles, depending on the part of the
season, some climbing, and most of it at only a decent speed. I certainly get
dropped quickly by serious riders, but usually reach the Bay Area peaks before
most of my friends. I don't sprint or really even power hard on flats. I like
the terrain to get some topography before I get really interested in working
hard.

I'm not really interested in the $1k + carbon wheelsets, as I'm a working stiff
and ride more in my dreams than in reality.

My question is this: am I missing riding quality by staying with the Mavic
Ksyrium SSLs? I see posts by knowledgable wheel builders here and am
curious what I might be missing. What am I missing?

I should say that I'm happy enough with the wheels. I'm just trying to expand
my horizons here.

[Birddog]

There will be no end of advice on this thread. Let me be the first, pick up the phone and call at least two of the regular contributors here (wheelbuilders), and replay what you have just written. They will ask you more questions and provide you with some answers that likely will go beyond what you might get on this site. Not to demean this site, just that opinions here although valuable, will be prejudiced by personal experience and might pale to what you might glean from a professional wheel builder.
Just my .02,
Birddog

[ergott]

Do you have any buddies that have wheels that you can borrow for a test ride?

[Larry]

Campy components.
Go for a Campy wheelset based on your weight and riding conditions.
Campy Eurus in black or similar would look fine!!! Very solid , also.
They are fairly light for a clincher......but, they do not sacrifice
strength.
My 2 cents worth.

[vaxn8r]

You may find a slightly different feel to a new wheelset but atmo you won't find one better than what you have for all around riding.

There is a bias on this forum to custom, even if custom isn't necessarily better. Maybe so, maybe no. You own a great wheelset. Enjoy it.

[TAW]

What vaxn8r said is true. The Ksyriums you have are a good all around set, especially for the price. I've used them for training and for some racing, and they've held up and performed well. They're average in weight and decent in stiffness, and in my opinion, they ride as well as anything pre-built. To get something much lighter or more aero, you're going to have to spend quite a bit more.

[93legendti]

I have a few Mavic K's, a set by Jeremy @Alchemy, a few Speeddreams and a package of parts I need to send to Ergott...The handbuilts ride nicely, but different. The K's are stiff and sure--especially in turns. I find them comfortable, but many do not. The hand builts I have are lighter and more responsive, quick, fun to ride and comfortable. My guess is if you talk to Jeremy or Ergott they can probably make you some really nice wheels for as low as $500.

[SadieKate]

chakatrain, there are so many variables into what feels good to someone so go with Birddog's reply. You should talk to a professional wheelbuilder.

A friend of mine was sold on the blanket idea of the "best all around" wheel, "light so you'll be faster" kind of statements and bought those wheels. She's probably 110 wringing wet and is now horribly spooked on any kind of descent and cross winds. Combine the two together and, oy vey, how fast can you be when you're braking constantly? The wheels are far too vertically stiff for her weight and she's being bounced all over on descents and cross winds catch the bladed spokes. Light riders are affected by lighter winds than heavier riders. Ask me, I've experienced all this and I'm larger than she is.

That's just an example of what can go wrong without knowing the right questions to ask when choosing wheels. If you have the money for a second set of wheels, call several builders and find one that will talk and talk and talk about what you want and why s/he is recommending the build.

John Ackley at Paradigm (formerly Gravy Wheels) in Fairfax will do just that. We have three sets of his wheels and he'll bombard you with info if you ask.

[Big Dan]

Use the K's up. I've been trying to destroy a pair for 2 years with no success.

:bike:

[flydhest]

I agree with the sentiment that Ks are good all-around wheels, but I think the differences you can get with handbuilts can be noticeable and for some people better, indeed for some a lot better.

The OP does not reveal size. I think that matters a lot. It is my experience that a smaller person on Ks will notice the rigidity a lot relative to a lightweight, low profile, 28 spoke wheel with butted spokes. For a 120 pounder, the difference would be very big, I suspect. For someone my size at just a whisker under 200, a handbuilt wheel to suit me would have to be stronger and stiffer, especially given that I like to do group rides with lots of sprints. For me, in this application, the difference could be negligible and the Ks could be a good choice.

I personally don't feel like Ks are the best choice for a small person who is not riding hard all the time and wants to do a lot of climbing.

[dreadpiratetim]

Anyone who has not ridden multiple wheelsets in the last 1 or 2 years should be automatically excluded from this conversation... Not being harsh, there's just no basis for comparison. Next, recommendations from someone with signficantly different body weight/height and/or riding style should also be excluded.

What works for 180lbs. will be VERY different for 130lbs. Similarly, what works for 30 miles may not work for 100+ miles.

Great advice from Ergott: try wheels from some of your buddies. Next, play around with tire pressure. The maximum pressure is NOT the recommended pressure for most situations. You can generally air down without undue pinch flats (or you could get tubs, but that's another thread ;-)

PM me if you want info about my personal choices... but they're just that: personal. I doubt I know what will work for you, nor will (m)any on this board. Just my $0.02.

PS - IMHO SadieKate has some good insights on K's.

[vaxn8r]

Anyone who has not ridden multiple wheelsets in the last 1 or 2 years should be automatically excluded from this conversation... Not being harsh, there's just no basis for comparison. Next, recommendations from someone with signficantly different body weight/height and/or riding style should also be excluded...


I must have missed where the OP mentioned his/her weight height. I wouldn't want to make a recommendation on a thread I should be excluded from. Thanks for the tip. (insert sarcasm dealie here)

My original point was based on the statement that the op likes Ksyriums and considers them a huge improvement to a standard spoked wheelset. The K's are owned. If I had a wad of cash burning a hole in my pocket, well then who knows?

I'm certainly guilt of owning way too many wheelsets but one set that I keep coming back to after trying others are the K's. Not the lightest. Not aero. They just roll well, corner great and take abuse as well or better than any wheel in it's class. What isn't to like, aside from the crosswind issue which can be a problem for some (though riding more miles will alleviate that initial discomfort) ymmvatmo

[chakatrain]

All,

Many thanks for the good and thoughful responses.

I forgot to post info about my size (hate when I forget stuff!). Am 5'10" and 165-170 llbs (depending on the amount of pizza & beer the night before).

My original guess was pretty close to what vaxn8r said: my K's are a damn good set of wheels that do a lot well for me. I am happy with them. I could easily also take Big Dan's advice and see if I could destroy them (unlikely). I also like ergott's advice about trying other wheels. Seems like a great way to see what's out there.

I am not a big hammer or sprinter; I like to generally cruise along about 18-22mph on the flats; I like to climb, but I'm not anywhere close to sprinting up hills, and I love to descend and slice corners. I do like rolling hills, especially hammering up the small inclines to get back to the top.

Thanks for the advice. I knew there were too many variables not provided (and hard to provide) for you all to provide a meaningful recommendation; I was looking for exactly the high level advice I got here from the great forumites. Many thanks :)

[djg]

I dunno about high level advice (I don't have any), but it seems to me that most folks have said sensible things. You have Ks and you like them. They're good all-around road wheels. For the sort of riding you do, it's highly unlikely you'll buy yourself significantly more speed no matter what you spend. As for what other options feel like ... the suggestion that you try a few different sorts of things seems sensible to me. Different wheels may feel different to you (climbing, jumping on the pedals, driving through corners) and that difference may be something that really matters (depends on you). Tires matter, as has been mentioned--I'd only try things with good tires and I'd play a bit with tire pressure to see what works. Along those lines, if the Ks are clinchers, and you're willing to try tubular tires, and can borrow something with really good tires (cheap tubulars won't do it), then you might want to check that out.