# Aksium Race --> Kysrium SL or SLS Impact?



## JTrider (Jun 27, 2011)

Good morning folks,

I got my first nice bike last July. It came with a set of Mavic Aksium Race wheels that I love because they are bomb-proof and stay true all the time, but I am thinking about a lighter set. If I went from these wheels to say something like the Mavic Ksyrium SL or SLS (around ~400-500g less), would I actually feel the difference when climbing? Dumb question for most, but I've never upgraded wheels before, so if anyone has made a similar jump, let me know. Thanks!


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## the mayor (Jul 8, 2004)

You might notice a decrease in your bank account.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

I have ridden both the SLs and the Elites and haven't noticed a huge difference. If budget isn't a concern, go with the SLs. Otherwise the Elites might be a more budget-conscious alternative while still giving you a nice upgrade over the Aksiums.


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## paulfeng (Jun 10, 2011)

JTrider said:


> Good morning folks,
> 
> I got my first nice bike last July. It came with a set of Mavic Aksium Race wheels that I love because they are bomb-proof and stay true all the time, but I am thinking about a lighter set. If I went from these wheels to say something like the Mavic Ksyrium SL or SLS (around ~400-500g less), would I actually feel the difference when climbing? Dumb question for most, but I've never upgraded wheels before, so if anyone has made a similar jump, let me know. Thanks!


I think I would notice the difference when climbing the stairs from the basement where I store my bike, but not when climbing a hill while riding the bike. Seriously, it's a small fraction of the total rider+bike weight. I suggest sticking with the Aksiums. But on the other hand, I upgraded from my stock Ksyrium Equipes to Elites when a great deal presented itself, so who am I to dissuade you from upgrading? But I didn't upgrade because of the weight.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Faster*



JTrider said:


> I got my first nice bike last July. It came with a set of Mavic Aksium Race wheels that I love because they are bomb-proof and stay true all the time, but I am thinking about a lighter set. If I went from these wheels to say something like the Mavic Ksyrium SL or SLS (around ~400-500g less), would I actually feel the difference when climbing? Dumb question for most, but I've never upgraded wheels before, so if anyone has made a similar jump, let me know. Thanks!


Shaving off 450 gms from your wheels would save you 35 seconds every hour of climbing a 6% grade at 250 watts for a 150 lb rider (68 kg). That's huge if you're racing in the elite ranks and pretty meaningless for the rest of us.

And unless you are getting those wheels used or at a serious discount there are a lot better choices that will cost less and not be made with proprietary parts that are expensive/hard to come by. MAVIC hubs (particularly their freehub design) are not that great and those wheels do relatively poorly in the wind tunnel.


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## Sheepo (Nov 8, 2011)

The high end Ksyriums look cool...


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## Oldteen (Sep 7, 2005)

+1 on Kerry's comments. I own multiple wheelsets, inc Equipe (1 step "up" from Aksium) & SSC SL's. Got my Mavics as OEM on bikes, but like to swap/compare. Difference Equipe vs SL in hard group rides (20-25mph) is not noticeable. Both are rather poor aero-wise (noticeably worse vs my HED Jet 6's). Agree 100% that Mavic freehub design is not the best (e.g. plastic bushing needs lubed every 1-1.5k mi or wears out & squeals). And Mavic customer service is not the best either. Much better wheels available for price of SL or SLS.


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