mavic misses the mark again IMO

[AngryScientist]

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/09/bikes-and-tech/reviews/review-mavic-ksyrium-slr-exalith-wheels_193827

$1800 for faux carbon wheels @ >1400grams, no thanks IMO

http://velonews.competitor.com/files/2011/09/NIK8629-325x488.jpg

[rice rocket]

What makes this "faux carbon"?

[AngryScientist]

What makes this "faux carbon"?

quote from the article:

Mavic has an answer for those who have come to terms with their cycling vanity, accepting their lust for things black and carbon-looking as an untenable but utterly unavoidable force of nature. They even add a nice little performance boost to the equation. It’s called Exalith, and it can be found on Mavic’s Ksyrium SLR

[rice rocket]

Oh, that's just the writer being a nitwit.

Ligero came out with ceramic coated black brake tracks a few years ago, and it was just a black wheel. Should ask the writer if he calls black disc MTB wheels faux carbon too... :fight:

But yeah, I agree. I don't see how this can fetch an $1800 price tag.

[AngryScientist]

But yeah, I agree. I don't see how this can fetch an $1800 price tag.

yea, that was my point, they seem wildly overpriced for what you're ultimately getting.

[tuscanyswe]

Damn i want those! but not for 1800, more like 700 :D

[FGC]

I have a friend demoing the R-sys wheels with the exalith surface. It's already wearing off after a month or so. And it sounds like an airplane landing when he's braking.

[tiretrax]

Damn i want those! but not for 1800, more like 700 :D
i bet a pound of filet's from alberto contador's cattle ranch that you can find them here at that price by the time the spring classics are over.

[Bob Ross]

Damn i want those! but not for 1800, more like 700 :D


I want them for $12. Whaddya think my chances are?

[Ramjm_2000]

Damn i want those! but not for 1800, more like 700 :D

Agreed. I would buy them at that price to replace my CD Ceramics when they finally give up the ghost.

[tuscanyswe]

I want them for $12. Whaddya think my chances are?

Worse than mine..

Tiretrax you are probably right! I have some really bad experiences with mavics "coating" procedures recently so id gladly hold on and c what they look like after some use!

[benb]

When you subtract out $100-120 for tires, and then subtract out the cost of the wheel bag & tools that they are including they look like a better deal then a lot of the expensive carbon wheels that people are buying.. and they will actually break well.

Personally I think its completely ridiculous for a recreational rider to be using carbon wheelsets..

Some of these high end aluminum wheelsets almost seem like they are targeted at racers (Pros?) who know carbon doesn't make sense for a lot of racing, it's like they have to keep making them for racers even though rec riders increasingly seem to think Carbon wheels should be an every day thing for everyone.

And given there are plenty of Carbon clincher wheelsets in the 1400g weight range, why on earth would you buy those at a higher cost then these? A Carbon clincher that weighs the same as these is inherently an inferior wheel to these IMO.

The Exalith coating and machined grooves provide the best braking I’ve experienced from any wheelset, bar none. Raw power is phenomenal, and modulation is still surprisingly good. Rain has very little impact on performance. Even the first grab, when the water hasn’t been shed from the rims yet, is powerful — it’s easy to see why Garmin-Cervélo riders were snatching up Exalith wheels for rainy stages of the Tour this year.

[CPP]

Personally I think its completely ridiculous for a recreational rider to be using carbon wheelsets..

Why not? You don't have to be a racer to enjoy/deserve a nice ride.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

IMO, if Mavic could just find a way to anodize Open Pros in that gunmetal color, and it didn't wear off at the brake track, they'd move 'em by the boatload. I just like the color, not the wheel, or the price.

[Ramjm_2000]

And given there are plenty of Carbon clincher wheelsets in the 1400g weight range, why on earth would you buy those at a higher cost then these?

I’d disagree based on the new wheels I see coming out of Reynolds. The latest generation of attacks/assaults ride superbly, brake extremely well, and can be had for a lot less than the Mavics. I have no time on their new R2 but those are even less expensive (sub $1K) and are supposedly pretty robust. I’d be all over a set of the Exalith K’s if they’d switch to alloy rear spokes and drop the price to $800ish. Hmm…maybe were on to something a “budget version” minus the R-Sys carbon spokes…sign me up!

[rice rocket]

Personally I think its completely ridiculous for a recreational rider to be using carbon wheelsets..

Why not? You don't have to be a racer to enjoy/deserve a nice ride.

Agreed. I'm riding to enjoy life anyways, not training to be a world tour rider. I don't ride on rainy days. ;)

[ergott]

Damn i want those! but not for 1800, more like 700 :D

Give it a couple of months. You see them everywhere for that price (classifieds, ebay etc.)

[tuscanyswe]

Give it a couple of months. You see them everywhere for that price (classifieds, ebay etc.)

Yep time is on my side on this one :)

Id buy some new mavic ceramics and build them up on some nice hubs but ive seen to many of these rims latley with utter crap quality coating.

[Ramjm_2000]

Yep time is on my side on this one :)

Id buy some new mavic ceramics and built them up on some nice hubs but ive seen to many of these rims latley with utter crap quality coating.

Mine are going strong after 4 years using Koolstop Greens and now Reynolds cryo blue pads. Did they change the coating process? The actual issue is finding any left.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s132/ramjm_2000/Lynskey/P1010072.jpg

[AngryScientist]

Personally I think its completely ridiculous for a recreational rider to be using carbon wheelsets..

.

i never get statements like this. do i have to race at a pro level to deserve nice wheels?

what about my car? i dont race that, should i be limited to 100 HP econo-boxes?

i dont compete in any culinary "throw downs", should i not own a high quality frying pan?

[tuscanyswe]

Mine are going strong after 4 years using Koolstop Greens and now Reynolds cryo blue pads. Did they change the coating process? The actual issue is finding any left.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s132/ramjm_2000/Lynskey/P1010072.jpg

I also had a pair some year ago that held up great no matter what rideconditions were like..

I believe Mavic like everyone else shops for price.

This rim has about 2 months on it with very little riding. It started flaking before any brakepad even touch the rim. There wasent any coating left after a month or so..

Mavic did replace both rims under warrenty tho and deserves good customer service cred for that!

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6116/6217401459_5275a8f713_b.jpg

[Ramjm_2000]

That stinks. Sounds like they had a bad batch. A good buddy of mine also runs CD Ceramics (his are 2 years newer...blue sticker) and has had good luck with his as well. Glad they took care of you.

[benb]

i never get statements like this. do i have to race at a pro level to deserve nice wheels?

what about my car? i dont race that, should i be limited to 100 HP econo-boxes?

i dont compete in any culinary "throw downs", should i not own a high quality frying pan?

It all depends on your definition of nice. If you're not going to race you're never going to be able to see any quantifiable benefit from the carbon rim, and if it doesn't have braking equal to the best aluminum rims you have a real negative in real world performance that you will feel on every ride. That braking performance is very important to me personally.

I find it very funny that carbon rims are the end all and be all on a forum that spends so much time justifying why metal frames are so much better then carbon frames. To me that's all backwards.

Not that I want to spend $1800 on these.. I don't think Carbon wheelsets in the $2000-3000 range that have similar weight are what make these look bad, what makes them look bad are sub $1000 alloy wheelsets that have similar weight and are just a tick off in braking performance if these are truly the best braking rims in existence.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

Mavic isn't making CD Ceramic rims any more. And Mavic no longer has any in stock to deliver to distributors, according to a buddy who has a contact at Mavic. So, what's out there is it, and there isn't much, if any left. Bummer.

[tuscanyswe]

Oh i dident know that they stopped producing em. Had i known i wouldent have sold my warrenty replacements that fast :cool:

[bfd]

Agreed. I would buy them at that price to replace my CD Ceramics when they finally give up the ghost.

For $700, would these wheels be *better* than a nice handbuilt set using DA or Campy hubs and db spokes? Of course, the DA/Campy hubbed wheels would most likely have 32 spokes, so that's non-starter, deal breaker for many.... :crap: :o :butt:

Anyways, Mavic's strength is marketing and will probably sell a boatload of these wheels! Good Luck!

[Ramjm_2000]

Oh i dident know that they stopped producing em. Had i known i wouldent have sold my warrenty replacements that fast :cool:

Correct. Thats what I meant about finding any left. I treid to source some back ups a few months back to no avail.

[tuscanyswe]

If you are still interested in getting them i believe this shop still have them.

http://www.bike-components.de/products/info/p1549_Open-Pro-Ceramic-28--Felge-.html

[Ramjm_2000]

For $700, would these wheels be *better* than a nice handbuilt set using DA or Campy hubs and db spokes? Of course, the DA/Campy hubbed wheels would most likely have 32 spokes, so that's non-starter, deal breaker for many.... :crap: :o :butt:

Anyways, Mavic's strength is marketing and will probably sell a boatload of these wheels! Good Luck!

"Better" is certainly a subjective term. IMO design, aesthetics, and ride are equally important. As I mentioned on a different thread I feel Mavic is alienating a large group of customers by not offering an exalith rim for custom builds. I'd love to run some of the soon to be release Kings with a set of Exalith rims in a 24/28 configuration. Sadly that will probably never happen...

[High_Ram]

Oh, that's just the writer being a nitwit.

Ligero came out with ceramic coated black brake tracks a few years ago, and it was just a black wheel. Should ask the writer if he calls black disc MTB wheels faux carbon too... :fight:

But yeah, I agree. I don't see how this can fetch an $1800 price tag.

Is the ceramic coating still being done Ligero or anyone else?

[jpw]

Disc brakes are the new ceramic coating :-)

Got caught out in a huge rain storm yesterday, and the front disc brake was a dream to use in those conditions, like it wasn't raining at all. There's just no going back to rim braking. That would be dangerous.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

If anyone is looking for a pair of these, 32H, used, picked up off of the forum, PM me.

[jimmyreqs]

I have a friend demoing the R-sys wheels with the exalith surface. It's already wearing off after a month or so. And it sounds like an airplane landing when he's braking.

Is the idea that they make you faster because you want to brake less? :rolleyes: I heard that they always sound like your pads aren't set up properly.