# Mavic Ksyrium SL



## trail2street (Nov 22, 2011)

Hello gents, please pardon the noob question here... I have only been road-biking for about a year.

I have started to look into new bikes, but also buying some upgrades for my current bike that I would transfer over to the new bike.

I just picked up a set of 'lightly used' Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels. I have a couple of questions about just slapping them on to my current bike.

I currently have 700x23 Continental UltraSport tires. I am not sure how much of an impact the tires have on strait line speed and resistance. They seem to be pretty good tires, at least for in relatively strait lines. I ride on city streets and park trails, they are not the greatest surfaces, and I don't want to destroy my new wheels. Any reason why I would need to upgrade these tires, or adjust my air pressure for the new wheels?

Secondly, I have plane Jane Shimano Tiagra dual pivot breaks with factory pads. Any reason to upgrade the pads for the new rims? They are metal, not carbon, rims, so I did not see a good reason they would need to be upgraded, but you guys are the experts.

Thanks in advance !


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

trail2street said:


> Hello gents, please pardon the noob question here... I have only been road-biking for about a year.
> 
> I have started to look into new bikes, but also buying some upgrades for my current bike that I would transfer over to the new bike.
> 
> ...


maybe if you told us how much you weigh and what pressure you're running now we could comment on this...:idea:


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## nightfend (Mar 15, 2009)

No, you don't need to change your tires or brake pads. But, if you weight over about 180lbs, you might want to avoid the really bad roads as the SL's have Zyrcal aluminum spokes that can fatigue and break over time. This most often occurs with heavier riders.


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## TomH (Oct 6, 2008)

You should change your pads anyway, to Dura-Ace or koolstop pads. They're really cheap, and drastically better. Night and day even.


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## trail2street (Nov 22, 2011)

Thanks for the tips guys.
I'm 6'3" and about 190lbs, so I guess I should be careful with these rims on the crappy roads.
I'll look into the pads you recommended also.

I am currently running 110psi on 120 max tires... As the weather starts to cool off I'll drop that down closer to 100psi.

Is there much comfort to be gained by lowering tire pressure some?


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## MMinSC (Nov 19, 2011)

trail2street said:


> Thanks for the tips guys.
> I'm 6'3" and about 190lbs, so I guess I should be careful with these rims on the crappy roads.
> I'll look into the pads you recommended also.
> 
> ...


Horsesh*t! Ksyrium SLs are fine for everything. I've had three sets of Ks and never had an issue, much less thinking about riding gingerly on poorly paved roads.

I raced CX on my last set and never did anything other than hose them off.

That being said, you can get better, lighter, stiffer, more aero wheels for less money.:thumbsup:


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## trail2street (Nov 22, 2011)

MMinSC said:


> Horsesh*t! Ksyrium SLs are fine for everything. I've had three sets of Ks and never had an issue, much less thinking about riding gingerly on poorly paved roads.
> 
> I raced CX on my last set and never did anything other than hose them off.
> 
> That being said, you can get better, lighter, stiffer, more aero wheels for less money.:thumbsup:


Good to hear!
I had read mostly great things about these wheels. I am aware that many wheetsets don't do well with riders over 200lbs... I'm hoping that with up'ing my rides I will not move over the 200lbs mark ;-)


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Ksyriums generate a lot of flack on this site since they're not as light as some wheels, or as aero as others. I've had two sets I bought back when there was only one Ksyruim wheel. Now there's three of even four variations? I weigh around 200 and have never had any problem with the wheels, with the exception of one broken spoke, and that was from flexing the wheel hard from a stop. I've ridden them all over the place. I've come to the conclusion that custom hand built wheels are nicer and a better deal, but your Ksyruims should serve you well. No need to change your tire pressure or brake (not break) pads. You might want to change the brake pads somewhere down the line as regular maintenence. They do wear and harden over time. The disco stickers peel off easily.


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## Pitts Pilot (Dec 5, 2011)

Things get better as you throw money at them - including brake pads and tires. Diminishing returns apply heavily. While I don't know you, your bike, or your roads very well - I feel pretty comfortable saying "Ride freely and fear not for your new Ksyrium SL's!" You'd have to try pretty hard to trash them.


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## OhLuckyMan (Sep 11, 2011)

*Consider 25c tires*

Hi Trail.

If you are riding any dodgy surface you may wish to consider moving from your 23C to 700x25C tires. There is a significant school of thought that says that the 25C is the most efficient tire to use as it provides the least rolling resistance. There are lots of discussion fora on this subject so expect to see some disagreement here.

In my experience (6'2"/220lbs), I was riding 23c on my old steel road bike and loved the fast smooth ride. When I recently upgraded to a Cannondale Synapse, the bike came with 25C tires fitted as standard. I run 115psi rear and 100 or so on the front and ....love the smooth and faster ride. When I come to replace the tires, I think I will stick with some high quality 25C tires.

There are a LOT of converts to the 25C size. Give it a try.

Best
OLM


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## Oldteen (Sep 7, 2005)

+1 on changing brake pads. The Tiagra calipers are fine. 
The SL's are fine wheels for all-around use, although clearly not the most aero for TT or tri's. Generally felt to be durable & long-lived. One weak point on these is the plastic bushing on the freehub. If not regularly cleaned/oiled (say every 1,000-1,500mi or so) the plastic tend to wear out causing a periodic squealing noise. Web search Mavic Freehub Service (or similar) for info to help decide if you want to tackle this yourself of have LBS do it.

Those UltraSports are not fastest rolling tires, but there's usu a trade-off of less durability when you move to more expensive "race" tires. Unless you are into racing I'd say ride those tires until they wear out then swap 'em. Personally my fav all-around clincher tire is Vittoria Rubino Pro, although you'll get many other opinions too. And agree on trying 25C size for smoother ride.


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