# Mavic Aksium Race Wheel Durability



## Archer (Aug 3, 2007)

Here's my problem -
Mavic Aksium Race wheel set (700mm Shimano groupo) side walls on rim have blown out after 13,000 miles in one year. I noticed the rim walls (where the brake pads contact) were bowing outward drastically toward brake pads in several locations. So bad that I had to adjust brakes to allow the wheel to spin. I thought that was strange since I have never hit anything that would cause this. 2 days later, the rear wheel (not the tire) actually blew apart while bike was sitting in garage, luckily I wasn't riding it. Eventually I learned it was just rim wear due to thin wall sections and a lot of miles. Wanting to spend more money on a more premium set of wheels, I was told that more expensive wheels would not last as long due to their even thinner rim wall thicknesses. This wheel set is only 250 dollars not too bad to pay every year I guess. Does this seem like normal wear and tear to all of you? I hope I made the right choice by ordering the same wheel set again. Maybe some of you have had similar experiences and could recommend a better wheel set perhaps that would yield a longer life. I wouldn't mind spending a few extra bucks if I could get longer life/better performance. I am more concerned with longer life than weight. Of course both would be nice. Any advise is greatly appreciated.


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## sandy555 (May 23, 2009)

I have a set of Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels that have done around 25,000 miles with no problems. Maybe its your brake pads. Some pads give rims a hard time. I use Koolstop pads, great stopping power & easy on rims.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Archer said:


> Does this seem like normal wear and tear to all of you?


The life span of non-ceramic aluminum rim braking surfaces almost entirely depends on riding conditions and maintenance. Lots of braking, much wet weather riding and no cleaning of rims and brake pads can destroy a rim in short order. With dry weather riding only, not much braking and regular cleaning of rims and brake pads, a rim will last for many miles.

/


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## Archer (Aug 3, 2007)

A little more info for you guys -

Correct.....I ride in all weather, rain, heat, what ever. I am commuting on a 2008 Kona Jake The Snake that came stock with these Mavic wheels and Avid Shorty 4's (cantilever type brakes) with Avid Shorty brake pads. Not knowing anything different I have always used those pads for the entire 14 months. I have gone through at least 4-5 pair of those pads during that time. They seem like a soft durometer IMO. They also collect their share of glass and particulates during my ride and I can hear severe grinding as the glass and foreign matter contact the rim surface. Not willing to stop and pick out glass from pads, the noise usually stops after a few miles of continued riding.
I do clean my wheels every weekend (after 250 miles) in wet conditions. I use a little steel wool on the brake contact surface and rim to help get the gunk off (oil, mud, rubber from pads, glass etc.) especially during winter. I am sure the steel wool is not helping preserve the contact surface, but sure helps keep brake pad chatter to a minimum. The steel wool also removes the grooves worn into the pads and makes them flat once again, increasing my stopping performance. I am fairly new to cycling as you can tell, but learning fast. It sounds like the problem is not the wheel and may be my selection of pad or my cleaning techniques. Should I try those Koolstop pads you mentioned? Do they make Cantilever style pads? Thanks again guys. Cheers!


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## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

Most non-Kool Stop brake pads like to eat rims. I have seen brand new bikes with pieces of metal stuck into the brake pads just returning from a test ride.

The Kool Stops do not do this. On my new road bike, I rode 23 miles before switching out the brake pads to Kool Stops. The OEM pads had chunks of aluminum in them. So when I switched out the brake calipers I replaced the pads to Kool Stop black compound. Now after 100 miles since the switch, there is zero metal fragments embedded in the brake pads.

And yes they make Cantilever style. With the threaded stud and without.


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## Svooterz (Jul 29, 2006)

Your cleaning technique sure isn't helping!
Aluminium is so much softer than steel that rubbing the rim with a steel wool really grinds some of the rim into dust. I bet that every time you clean them this way, you're shortening the rim's life expectancy by hundreds if not thousands of miles.

It will take a lot of braking before any pad compound grinds aluminium as bad as steel wool can. Plus, the damage that steel wool does to the rim probably "helps" the brake pads to eat through the rims even faster, by making the rim's surface rougher and more brittle on a micrometric scale.

Try using a rag wet with isopropyllic alcohol (rubbing alcohol) to rub the rim clean. It smells bad and you need to put alcohol on your rag frequently because it's such a volatile liquid, but it does clean up the gunk. Your rag will become black pretty fast.

Even plain soapy water on a rag will do if you don't want to empty up the alcohol bottle... The disadvantage is that the soap usually leaves some residue so you have to clean again with plain water after, but it really does a good job. Oh and soapy water is so much more pleasant on the nose than alcohol... That and the non-volatile nature of water make the work much easier.

Remember : anything made from steel should be kept away from your aluminium rims. The softer metal never wins.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Other problem*



Svooterz said:


> Your cleaning technique sure isn't helping!
> Aluminium is so much softer than steel that rubbing the rim with a steel wool really grinds some of the rim into dust. I bet that every time you clean them this way, you're shortening the rim's life expectancy by hundreds if not thousands of miles.


The OP is not likely removing any significant amount of metal with the steel wool. The problem is the grit that sticks in the brake pads such that you can hear the grinding sounds every time you hit the brakes. To make rims last in all weather riding, you have to be as quick as possible about removing the grit. That said, lots of wet rides may well limit rim life to not much over 10,000 miles, depending on local conditions.


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## Archer (Aug 3, 2007)

*Thanks for the input guys*

Appreciate all the input guys. 

I was wondering how I was going to afford this hobby. Thought I was going to have to reduce my miles to prevent from buying new wheels every year. Just change my cleaning tecniques and all should be fine it seems. 

I am installing the new wheel set tomorrow along with entire groupo. 
This should be fun!


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## Archer (Aug 3, 2007)

It seems I pick up glass in my pads every other day during my rides it seems. Especially during winter after a rain. It seems the glass gets redeposited on the road from the rain and of course I find my fair share. Like I said, I just keep mashing thru it until the scrapping stops,
usually after a few miles anyway. Then on the weekends I pick out all the remains in the pads, amazing how much glass there is in each pad! 

What do other cyclists do to prevent glass pick-up or to remove it quickly from pads? 
I am on the bike 3 hours a day M-F, and the last thing I want to do when I get home is to tear a part the pads and do a deep cleaning. There must be an easier way. Maybe some of you have some tips. Right now, it looks like installing the Koolstop pads should prevent a lot of glass and debris. Will keep you all posted.


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## function (Jun 20, 2008)

If you ride all year i'm not sure whether all that much can be done, i have the same problem as you and winters are particularly bad, snow/salt and road "paste" (that stuff is really abrasive) just wears away at my rims and most of the wear is happening whilst i'm actually riding the bike, so cleaning the pads at home doesn't help much since they'll be dirty again 30minutes into the ride (i still make an effort to clean them anyway). And its not only your Aksiums, my openpro front rim lasted about 13,000km. I've just accepted it and build new winter wheels every year.


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## Archer (Aug 3, 2007)

Sorry to hear you have the same problem. At least I am not alone.
I was going to upgrade to Open Pro's, good thing I didn't. Your 13,000k is half what I got out of my Aksiums. If that's the case, I will just have to budget for a new wheel set every year.
Thanks for the input.


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## ssauter (Aug 1, 2007)

Archer said:


> Sorry to hear you have the same problem. At least I am not alone.
> I was going to upgrade to Open Pro's, good thing I didn't. Your 13,000k is half what I got out of my Aksiums. If that's the case, I will just have to budget for a new wheel set every year.
> Thanks for the input.


While they are more expensive, ceramic OP's will last a lot longer. The ceramic side wall is harder than a lot of the grit you pick up on the road so it does not wear like aluminum does. I believe there is about a $20-$30 price increase for each rim.

Steve


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Heavy rims*



Archer said:


> What do other cyclists do to prevent glass pick-up or to remove it quickly from pads?


There's no way to prevent grit getting imbeded in in your brake pads, though some pads may be more resistant to it than others. You'll have to experiment to find what works for you. As far as removing the grit, something like a large sewing needle works pretty well to pick out the junk.

Your best bet is probably to buy heavier rims, like the kind they put on hybrid bikes. Still 700c, but they're fairly cheap and are just plain thicker in the sidewall (and everywhere else).


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## RC28 (May 9, 2002)

To the OP...

Aksiums and the CXP22/23 rims that are being sold lately have a wear indicator on the sidewalls (it's the recessed black groove that runs the whole circumference of the rim on both sides). Once the sidewalls grind down enough to be almost level to the bottom of the groove it means that the sidewalls are pretty worn and the rim should be replaced. Did you notice (beside the bumps in the sidewalls that you menioned) something like this? Can you take a look at the wheels (if they haven't been rebuilt) to look for this and report back?

Here's a pic of the groove I mention...

https://www.nexternal.com/icycles/images/cxp22rim.jpg


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## Archer (Aug 3, 2007)

Good information RC28 -

I do have or had that wear indicator.....there is barely a trace of it on the rear wheel, the one that blew apart. Looking at the front rim now, it's barely visible, the black seems to be worn completely off too and there is partial groove left if I look carefully. I also verified I had a black wear indicator groove by looking at some old pics I took of my bike when it was new.

Learn something new everyday!

My new Aksiums also have this black groove, will for sure keep my eye on it now that I know what it's for! I feel like a toad........sheesh, Duh! 

Thanks for the tip bro!


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## PaulRivers (Sep 11, 2006)

Well, I'm just going to point this out because it hasn't been mentioned -

If you're spending a lot of money replacing rims because the brakes are wearing through them, disc brakes would solve your problem (though might require a whole new bike). Disc brakes have several advantages:
1. The disc is much farther away from the ground they don't get nearly as much crap on them.
2. Replacing a disc is much cheaper than replacing an entire wheel.
3. The disc material and thickness is designed only for braking, unlike the tire rim that's a compromise between what the wheel needs as a wheel (and a lightweight wheel) vs being a good braking surface. (I'm just hypothesizing on this one)

I would agree with the other guy, though - steel wool on your brake pads seems alright, but on your rims seems like a rather bad idea.


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