Anybody rebuilt a Mavic Ksyrium wheel?

[Globalti]

I've had a good eight years of use out of my Ksyrium SLs, which I got almost new from somebody on here. Now the rear rim is worn out. The front is perfect and I don't want to throw away a great wheelset for the sake of a re-rim but Mavic do not encourage people to rebuild their wheels and they destroy all spares five years after a model is discontinued. This is like red rag to a bull to me so I managed to source a new Ksyrium Elite rim, which is identical to an SL rim except that that flattened bits between the spoke beds are silver, not black.

My usual method of re-rimming a wheel is to tape the new rim alongside the old and transfer the spokes over one by one. However this won't work with the Ksyrium because the proprietary nipples are rusted solid to the spokes and screwed into the rims with thread lock. I bought 20 new spokes and can see why they rust; the area of spoke inside the rim and nipple is not anodised, nor is the inside or threaded area of the nipple so you've got a perfect moisture trap with unprotected aluminium and steel. Trying to unscrew the nipples (reverse thread as well) they just break up like rotten teeth so last night I hacksawed the first spoke, which parted with a loud bang, so great is the tension.

Now the wheel has gone out of true radially and I can't get the new spoke nipple to engage with the thread as there isn't enough length available. So I've reluctantly decided that I'm going to have to dismantle the old wheel completely and rebuild from scratch. I've already discovered that the wheels are manufactured so precisely that the threaded holes in the rims are actually orientated in the direction of the spoke, thus ensuring as straight a spoke as possible. This is going to make rebuilding a little bit more awkward especially as more spokes go in and I have less and less wiggle room.

Here's a pic of a Mavic spoke. Great engineering but annoyingly different from everything else:

I was thinking of putting a light smear of white grease inside the nipples where they press on the mushroom at the end of the spoke, just to help with smooth rotation and avoid spoke wind up. I also need to finish the build off with Loctite 243 on the nipples, which worries me as it will take time for me to get the wheel trued up. So this is going to be a bit of a challenge but I'm determined not be be defeated.

Has anybody got any helpful hints or tips? Oh, and has anybody found a way of renovating the rather fragile red clear lacquer on the hubs? It's definitely not anodising but a lacquer, sprayed on. Nail varnish doesn't work.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I've done more of those than I care to remember. Each time I still wonder how the perpetrator gets away with selling that design.
You nailed the reasons for corrosion.
Use copper compound rather than grease. Grease emulsifies too easily, keeping moisture in the joint where it does bad stuff.
Make yourself a spoke holder to prevent twist, as you crank up the tension.
Have two nipple spanners at hand. The flat, UFO-shaped type for speedy threading and then the long, spanner type for getting up to tension. Neither is good for both jobs and having both will speed it up and reduce frustration.

Study your crossings and interlacing before stripping the old wheel. Take photos. If you do this the first time you may not remember that there's no interlacing on those wheels.

Good luck but next time, don't bother. Get standard wheels.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Maybe not helpful but 'sell the new rim' (to some other deluded soul). You are putting more resources into a poor design, the disadvantages of which you've described or alluded to, primarily motivated by the personal wish to 'fix' something (a feeling with which I empathise btw) which the maker's have made it difficult to do. I think the flaws in this wheel's design have been explained elsewhere.
Why would you use threadlock on the nipples if then you needed to true the wheel (breaking the threadlock)?
Edit: cross post with YS.

 

[User6179]

I wouldn't be going to all that trouble with an old hub, the Mavic howl of death cant be too many miles away.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Maybe not helpful but 'sell the new rim' (to some other deluded soul). You are putting more resources into a poor design, the disadvantages of which you've described or alluded to, primarily motivated by the personal wish to 'fix' something (a feeling with which I empathise btw) which the maker's have made it difficult to do. I think the flaws in this wheel's design have been explained elsewhere.
Why would you use threadlock on the nipples if then you needed to true the wheel (breaking the threadlock)?
Edit: cross post with YS.

Good point you make WRT the threadlock. Do not use it under any circumstances. Those spokes don't work loose at all.

 

[Globalti]

I wouldn't be going to all that trouble with an old hub, the Mavic howl of death cant be too many miles away.

Yes I'm well aware of this but have always kept on top of the maintenence, removing, cleaning and re-oiling that freehub where it runs of a plain boss machined on the hub. There is a small amount of play now but I don't think it's significantly worse than when the wheel was new and the white plastic washer, which bears on the boss and against the rubber seal, is in good condition. A friend had a wheel that howled when freewheeling but it was a grossly neglected wheel in a shocking condition and I bet the freehub was dry. I have tried using car engine oil when reassembling and that took out the play but it was too viscous and dragged the cassette round causing the chain to sag so I went back to 3-in-1, which is the perfect weight.

Like so much French stuff, Mavic wheels are cleverly engineered but in the end.... why?

 

[User6179]

Yes I'm well aware of this but have always kept on top of the maintenence, removing, cleaning and re-oiling that freehub where it runs of a plain boss machined on the hub. There is a small amount of play now but I don't think it's significantly worse than when the wheel was new and the white plastic washer, which bears on the boss and against the rubber seal, is in good condition. A friend had a wheel that howled when freewheeling but it was a grossly neglected wheel in a shocking condition and I bet the freehub was dry. I have tried using car engine oil when reassembling and that took out the play but it was too viscous and dragged the cassette round causing the chain to sag so I went back to 3-in-1, which is the perfect weight.

Like so much French stuff, Mavic wheels are cleverly engineered but in the end.... why?

If you think there is plenty of life left in the hub then go for it.

I have 5 or 6 Mavic wheels in the shed, some with cracked rims and some just out of true with corroded spokes, one day I might build a couple of usable wheels out of them.

 

[fossyant]

I've have three Mavic Wheelsets but consider them throw away. Fortunately none are the upper end wheelsets.

Any bike which has high wear have handbuilt wheels so I can change rims or what ever wears out.

 

[Globalti]

This is why I can't wait to get my first winter bike with disc brakes.

PS: I've found a local guitar repairer who is prepared to mix up a small amount of clear red cellulose lacquer that I can use to tidy up the hub, where the lacquer is flaking off. I'm unstoppable now! All I need is the spoke keys!

 

[ColinJ]

This is why I can't wait to get my first winter bike with disc brakes.

I foolishly half wore through my Campagnolo Neutron front rim by riding my best bike last winter. I'm not making the same mistake this year. This will be my winter bike from now on ...

PS I reckon that rear gear cable outer could do with a few inches cutting off it?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I foolishly half wore through my Campagnolo Neutron front rim by riding my best bike last winter. I'm not making the same mistake this year. This will be my winter bike from now on ...

View attachment 436069

PS I reckon that rear gear cable outer could do with a few inches cutting off it?

That's rather nice. What model is that?

 

[ColinJ]

That's rather nice. What model is that?

It is a ~4 (?) year old CAADX (cyclocross) bike. It had just been used for commuting in London for a year or so and I bought it from the commuter for £500 on eBay, half the new price. I lowered the gearing to suit my steep local hills and put a more effective front brake on. I added the rack last year and have just put the mudguards on. I'd say that I have spent about £700 in total, which I think is a pretty good deal.

 

[Salty seadog]

I foolishly half wore through my Campagnolo Neutron front rim by riding my best bike last winter. I'm not making the same mistake this year. This will be my winter bike from now on ...

View attachment 436069

PS I reckon that rear gear cable outer could do with a few inches cutting off it?

Nice, looks right up the job.

 

[Globalti]

The shape reminds me of the Spesh Tricross I owned, which was a very comfortable bike for long trips. It had a triple though, which I thought was good for touring.

 

[ColinJ]

The shape reminds me of the Spesh Tricross I owned, which was a very comfortable bike for long trips. It had a triple though, which I thought was good for touring.

The original bottom gear was 36/30, which I found a bit high on the steep stuff. I changed it to 34/36 which is a lot more bearable. I won't be doing serious touring so it should be low enough.

Oh ...

I foolishly half wore through my Campagnolo Neutron front rim by riding my best bike last winter.

I have just been down to my cellar to get something and I spotted an old Campagnolo Proton front wheel which I had forgotten about. It is in good condition and is pretty much equivalent to the Neutron in terms of quality. The rim is hardly worn, the bearings seem fine and the wheel is true. I'll switch to that next season and get someone to measure the remaining rim thickness on the Neutron to make sure that it is still safe to ride. If so, I can use it on my singlespeed bike in place of the chunky old Mavic Aksium wheel currently on there.

Meanwhile, back on the subject of wheel-rebuilding ... Good luck with it!

I'm not good at fixing wheels. I've done emergency wheel straightening after breaking spokes but I always got someone else to do a proper repair once I'd limped home.