# Mavic Ksyrium SL Premium v Mavic R-Sys



## 12104205mok (Sep 10, 2008)

Hi just wanted to get some feedback regarding these 2 wheels. If people have ridden both which one do they prefer.

Thanks


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## Peanya (Jun 12, 2008)

do a search, and you'll find a lot of info on the R-SYS, and not much of it good. Haven't seen anything bad about the SL's. 
I don't have experience with either, but from what I've read, the R-SYS is suited to light riders on very smooth roads. 
Have you considered the Fulcrum zeros or ones? They have a lot of bling too and are very highly rated.


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## haydos (Sep 17, 2007)

R-SYS are very stiff!! Mavic say they are more compliant than Ksyrium but to my bum they aren't!!

To me - i'd run Fulcrums over mavic's (if running Shimano/SRAM) - better hubs, stronger rims.

as peanya says there is much about the r-sys on the net - catastrophic failures particularly.

Carbon spokes cost a bomb!! They look bling tho.


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## teffisk (Mar 24, 2006)

i only know 2 people with r-sys and they both love them. One of my friends sold his 404's because he liked the mavics so much. and the fulcrums bite if you are a weight weenie


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

teffisk said:


> i only know 2 people with r-sys and they both love them.


To each their own...

The facts: R-Sys aren't that light, have poor aerodynamics, and I've seen and heard of several cases where a spoke broke and then the wheel very quickly disintegrated. It appears that the constrained carbon spokes will snap pretty easily. I'm too lazy to look it up but there was a photo sequence posted earlier this year, and it looked like the guy touched the rider ahead of him, a spoke broke, and then every spoke in the wheel broke before he hit the ground.


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

damn straight.... even if i was given a set, i'd replace them at my own cost... too dangerous and costly to fix + no identifiable benefit.


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

If you must have mavics I'd say go for the ES or SL premiums. But with handbuilt wheels, you can get WAY lighter and they'll be bomb proof. Check prowheelbuilder.com, oddsandendos, ligero, etc. 
Or you can go with a neuvation R28SL with ceramic. Lighter, cheaper and an awesome guy to do business with. 
Or you can get prebuilts from excelsports with dt rims etc. 
Don't overlook handuilt wheels. 
Enjoy.


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

I know several riders who really enjoy their R-SYS wheels. Many miles with no problems.


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

Lookbiker said:


> I know several riders who really enjoy their R-SYS wheels. Many miles with no problems.


I believe you... I'd just hate to be the guy who has one disintegrate.


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## CleavesF (Dec 31, 2007)

You guys also gotta remember, when a product fails, that person is more likely to rant about it that someone that's absolutely satisfied. 

Also note that this ratio is usually amplified if... well the product is really expensive like the RSYS.


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

That's correct. If you check out most BMW motorcycle websites, especially the Adv. forum, you would never buy a BMW because they all have final drive failures. 

I have friends who refuse to ride carbon bikes because the "failure rate" and durability issues after having witnessed a few carbon frames fail.


I ride a carbon frame and picked up a new Mavic R-SYS wheelset for 699.00. 

I'm living on the edge....


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

but why do so when you can get something that doesn't have the history, that is more aero and probably stiffer, with better hubs? for less?


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

Talk to enough people and everything gets a history, especially on the internet where one eyewitness account can transform into a "widespread" problem. Someone told me never to get a Cervelo because he witnessed a fork break during a ride. I know they have a recall going but that doesn't mean the bikes are not great. 

I was looking for a nice climbing wheel set and the R-SYS fits that need. 

For 699.00, I'm willing to take a chance. 

That's why there are so many different wheelsets on the market. One for every niche.

Now that I've defended the R-SYS, my wheels are going to implode at 40mph....


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## wankski (Jul 24, 2005)

haha, famous last words and all - sorry for the jinx. fair enuff, had a chance to weigh them? i'd be interested to know the real-world figure...


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

Not yet. I'm using them for my Lynskey build-up.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*But why?*



wankski said:


> but why do so when you can get something that doesn't have the history, that is more aero and probably stiffer, with better hubs? for less?


It's all about hype and bling, baby  Who needs function and value?


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

Bling? Enough racers (some are engineers who spec out everything) are using the wheel set with good results. If I can get a set for 1/2 price, why not? Mavic hubs have been great for me in the past (unlike some highly acclaimed wheelsets that were shipped back for hub problems twice). 

Personally, I think the R-SYS is butt ugly. If I wanted bling, I would be getting some deep dish carbon rims and then rave about how my performance has increased by 15%. 

Too old for bling.


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## MarkZeus (Jun 12, 2008)

I own both of them. I like the Ksyrium SL for all arounder and I use the Rsys for hilly terrains, not as aero though. I roll with Williams 19s right now and I love em. Good combination of lightness and rolls nice, but not as stiff though. My Mavics might be up for sale soon.


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## idk (Jul 13, 2002)

Lets see;
Worst aerodynamic wheel set available.
Expensive.
Extremely expensive spokes.
Spokes that are prone to failure, and when they do it isn't pretty.
Mediocre weight.
Butt ugly.
But as Mavic says on their website they are "stealthy", and we all know how important that parameter is in a wheel set.
A clear case where you have technology for technology's sake i.e. carbon spokes, forget practical things like function, cost, and practicality. It seems as if this wheel set was developed by the marketing department, its kind of hard to believe that any engineer would push these. 


.


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

They are *interesting* from an engineering perspective... but that is about it. The compression spoke thing is alright. If they had made the spokes out of teardrop shaped tubular SS they would be ok... better aero, with no issues of self-destruction. 

Even though they are light by Mavic standards, it is easy to get customs in the same weight category with good components... and for less money.


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

As I said, I paid 1/2 price for these wheels. Full price, I would look elsewhere for a better value. 

If they really suck, no great loss. 

I'm more worried about the jerk speeding past while multitasking in the car than being harmed by some equipment failure.


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## wmayes (Aug 8, 2007)

Hmmmm...The R-SYS is "stealthy". Correct me if I'm wrong, but I WANT to be seen by anyone on the road when I ride. If I want stealthy, I'll take my F-22 Raptor out for a spin!


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## Balderick (Jul 11, 2006)

A friend of mine - who holds or has held National and International Masters medals, and a "hard man" and weighs at least 85kg, hates his R-SYS with a passion - flexy and noisy. The local importer is not being all that helpful with his complaints - which is kind of stupid because he is or was a long term Mavic Cosmic and SL/ES user, and would always upgrade when an upgraded version was launched. Needless to say, planty around here bought Cosmics simply because if they stand up to this guy they will stand up to anything most others will dish out. Needless to say no one is riding R-SYS locally.


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

Well, the R-SYS are going back unused and unmounted. I wanted to set-up the wheels for my Garmin 305 rear sensor and was warned by Mavic not to put anything on the spoke. They have a replacement spoke for the rear wheel that I could order and get installed but warned that any glue (even an adhesive for carbon) could delaminate the spoke and cause real problems.

If I need to treat them with such extreme care, I might as well go with carbon tubulars.


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