# Mavic Ksyrium ES Anniversary Edition Wheelset.



## finman50 (Mar 5, 2008)

I have two stress cracks on the rear Mavic Ksyrium ES Anniversary Edition Wheel after 4 years and 10,000 miles. the LBS wants $450 to send them back to Mavic for a rebuild. Is there a cheaper way to replace the rim??? What's the life span for this wheel set???


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## Ronman (Feb 12, 2007)

I had a set of ES Mavics several years ago that developed stress cracks at a spoke/rim junction. I weigh 200# and had approximately 10k on the wheel-set as well, so maybe this is the norm? I think the newer version of the ES is a little more built up around the spoke and rim interface. 
My LBS owner, and all around good dude, was able to buy a new replacement rim from his Mavic distributor and re-lace the hub and spokes to the rim. Good as new. I think the rim was a little under $100. He didn't charge me for the re-lacing, so I bought him a 12-pack of his favorite adult beverage.


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## ewitz (Sep 11, 2002)

2011 Mavic Ksyrium SL3/ES/Premium Wheel Rebuild - Competitive Cyclist


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## TomH (Oct 6, 2008)

450 bucks will get you a nice set of wheels without extremely expensive proprietary parts. You could ebay the broken k's and never look back.


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## pcs2 (Sep 4, 2006)

450$? NFW.

For that price, or a few bucks more you could have a nice handbuilt custom set using easily replaceable parts.

Then sell whats left of the mavics to recoup some costs.

I would only consider it if it was under 100$.

IMO of course.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Yup*



TomH said:


> 450 bucks will get you a nice set of wheels without extremely expensive proprietary parts. You could ebay the broken k's and never look back.


Hear hear!


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## F45 (Nov 25, 2010)

ewitz said:


> 2011 Mavic Ksyrium SL3/ES/Premium Wheel Rebuild - Competitive Cyclist


Hmmm, not sure I'd trust a company to build my wheels that thinks Ksyrium aerodynamics can't be beaten and can't spell "Zicral".


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## ewitz (Sep 11, 2002)

F45 said:


> Hmmm, not sure I'd trust a company to build my wheels that thinks Ksyrium aerodynamics can't be beaten and can't spell "Zicral".


Yeah, Competitive Cyclist is a fly by night operation.

For $285 you get a hub rebuild, new spokes and new rim plus labour. He asked for a cheaper alternative and I provided another option. He did not say that they had to be able to spell too,


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

So here is another one of my theories. Take it or leave it. This is based purely off my observations of how the bicycle industry has evolved....

So Mavic makes the Ksyrium which is a 1000ish dollars set of wheels that is somewhat light, somewhat durable, and very cool looking. Mavic knows that the average Joe who bought said wheels paid retail or close to retail and that's a big investment. Because they know that you paid 1000$ for this set of wheels they also know that they are worth about that much to you. 

So, they make damn well sure that you cannot go to a third party vendor and get them repaired. Thus they do not allow any shop/vendor to carry their rims... Fancy that ladies and gentlemen! Mavic will not allow ANYONE to buy a Ksyrium rim. Why is this you ask? Because they know that if you HAVE to send it back to them for a replacement then they can charge a premium on the repair and make a lot of money off of the labor and parts that otherwise would have gone to your LBS.

Using proprietary parts makes sense for a large company because consumers have to come to them to get the little things that break. 

I am not voicing my opinion on weather or not to get the hoop replaced because that depends on how much use/satisfaction you got out of the wheels. What I am saying though is that that rim should cost 60-80$ like any other rim that's just as good or better and any good wheelbuilder at your LBS should be able to replace it for 140$ maximum! with parts included. Its not the fault of your LBS. Mavic does this on purpose because when a consumer goes to buy a set of wheels this is the cost of maintenance that they never consider.


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## finman50 (Mar 5, 2008)

Zen Man
You hit it on the head. I learned that lesson when I lost a hub cap on my chevy and each one cost $75 to replace. It wasn't anymore complicated than a salad bowl with faulty metal clips. I didn't care cause it was a company car. I sure wish I could get a "company bike" 

Oh well I'm on to Zipp 404s now. I've talked my self into "They are Faster" It's BS I know but I'm happy and that's why I bought them.


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## nyvram (Apr 11, 2002)

no kidding. get a set of neuvations and never look back. 

my 2002 neuvations developed a crack in the hub and they fixed it for me no-questions-asked-or-reciept-presented. i think i had to pay $6 shipping or something.

i now have 2 sets of neuvations with thousands of miles (many of those racing miles) and absolutely no problems.


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## misanthrope (Jul 24, 2003)

I discourage my friends from buying Mavic wheels. 

My buddy's ES developed the all-to-familiar rim crack after about 5000 miles. I couldn't find a hoop for him so I sent it to Mavic to get fixed, and they sent it back with a bill for $375! All it needed was a new hoop! On their own they decided to replace a bunch of other wheel components. 

I called Mavic, in so many words they told me they decide what needs replaced - not me and not my LBS. If you don't like it, don't buy our wheels.

Meanwhile, my Record hubs and Aerohead rims have 20,000 miles with no problems. If I did have a problem, I could find the parts and repair it myself. 

So, I took their advice - no more Mavic wheels for me.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Zen Cyclery said:


> So here is another one of my theories. Take it or leave it. This is based purely off my observations of how the bicycle industry has evolved....
> 
> So Mavic makes the Ksyrium which is a 1000ish dollars set of wheels that is somewhat light, somewhat durable, and very cool looking. Mavic knows that the average Joe who bought said wheels paid retail or close to retail and that's a big investment. Because they know that you paid 1000$ for this set of wheels they also know that they are worth about that much to you.
> 
> ...


ftfy...
i'll agree on the 'proprietary' nature of mavic wheels. that's how we sell our custom wheels...mavic has basically tried to re-invent the wheel when there was no need to do so. alloy and carbon tube spokes? really? 

but...i've ordered lots of ksyrium rims from mavic to rebuild cracked/broken/otherwise damaged wheels. never been a problem getting either a rim or spokes from them and we're not even on that great of terms since we never sell their complete wheels. unless something has changed very recently, it's as easy as ordering an open pro, and in my opinion easier to build.


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## nightfend (Mar 15, 2009)

I'd take the Competitive Cyclist deal if you like the Ksyriums. Contrary to what some have said, CC is a good bike store.


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