Zip up the 30's wheels are hyped up!!

[Mostyn]

A lot of twaddle IMO and not cheap for a wheel over 1600g in weight.

http://road.cc/content/news/77166-zi...clincher-wheel

[bfergie]

It reads pretty true to me, certainly they will jump all over the Ksyrium in terms of drag but then again just about any wheel does, in fact even back in 2006 the Ksyrium came bottom of the heap! They are slightly over priced but come in similar to the AC Aero 420 which are 100g less and £200 less than the Argent 30mm at 1375g per set so in terms of top brand wheels they are not far out.

The wider rim is all the rage these days and they do offer better rolling per tyre size, finally companies have caught on that a 25mm tyre rolls better than a 23mm but weigh more so by using a wider rim you get the rolling area of a 25mm out of the lighter 23mm.

I can't judge to say if the review is right or wrong without riding them, nor should anyone but they are not beyond reason for what appear to be 30mm rim with an aero advantage.

[Mostyn]

JMO of course, but, don't you think they're a wee bit heavy and expensive? Someone commented that they are a copy of the Sram 30's wheels? - I've not ridden on my new Ksyrium Elite S Wheels yet. I'm wondering if I've made the correct choice? Although I've failed to find a really bad review of them; and most people who have them, do recommend them.

[bfergie]

Sram and Zipp are the same company, as are Avid, truvitiv and Rockshox but Sram wanted Zipp for the wheels technology just as they did with Sachs chains. They are expensive but that's Zipp for you, Mavic are also over priced and I still believe they got things wrong with the Ksyrium design. If it was so right why has no one copied it. I certainly would rather ride a set of £200 Shimano Ultegra wheels than some Ksyrium SL (I've had both) and even though the Ultegra are a heavier wheel, they were much faster and tougher!

The Elite you have are better than the more expensive Ksyriums, the steel spokes last a lot better than the Zircal alloy but over the last few years I have switched to a more traditional build, J bend spkes being the 1st thing I look for for ease of repair. That's why I like the Novatec, American Classic and the much under estimated Pro-lite Bracciano. Under 1500g, 27mm rim, bladed Sandvik spokes and were available for under £200!! What I really like about them is the non drive rear spokes are crossed and have braces which makes them very stiff and strong and don't bother with that CW review the magazine did, no one else has ever said the same! For the money NOTHING comes close! Even at double the price you're hard pressed to better them! My Easton EA50 weigh 300g more than the Bracciano and I break spokes on them for fun, so much so they are now purely for base training miles and I've still pinged 2 this winter...but not the Pro-lites.

In the Elite price range you can get American Classic Victory wheels at 30mm rims and 1600g are similar to the Zipp in spec BUT they have a narrow (less stiff) rim....In terms of the ultimate in alloy I'd say the AC Argent are the beasts BUT over £800 to get a wheelset only 100g more than the £200 Pro-lites...too much! As said before aero AND lightweight AND stiff AND cheap is the dream, usually one of the 4 is missing especially in clinchers, that's when you have to look at Tubs to get the "dream" BUT there are drawbacks...but not enough to make the likes of these look like nirvana in carbon! http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=68422

[Mostyn]

Fergie,

The Elite S and the EA 50's are OK for me - I'm under 11,stone in weight; and the power in my legs isn't enough to continually break spokes. The 4ZA wheels are brilliant; and they do roll very nicely. Those Brocciano Carbon Wheels with CRC. At almost £600 are a nice looking wheel.

[Bassett]

I have not heard any bad reports on Mavic elites in fact a lad round here who puts out more power than most of us can dream of has been using a set he got on a 2nd hand bike for well over a year no problems and he rides hard.
Also agree with the above and think that our own reviews over many months and years are a better guide than one off mag reviews.
We get to here of any customer service issues as well .

[themadchemist]

I'd love some of the Braccianos to turn the Ribble into a real climbers bike.. but i've run out of room,so either need to sell some kit (anyone interested in Mavic Aksiums!!) or buy a bigger house. IMO the Zipps are priced on their name/reputation more than anything else..probably much like the top end Mavics.. As fergie has shown us over the years,some of the less well known (and cheaper) wheels are so much better than the usual suspects.
I'd trust peoples reviews on this site a lot more than any magazines.. especially the people who sell/ride the wheels they review.