Grrr - Mavic Ksyrium Elite rims

[briantrumpet]

This is the second rear Mavic Ksyrium Elite to do this to me, though the 2010 version only had one crack, whereas the 2013 version had three. Suffice to say I shan't be buying any more.

Ironically, just before this wheel went, I'd bought a new rim for the front wheel, as the bearing and spokes of this 2010 wheel are still perfect (after about 20k miles). Unfortunately, the Mavic spoke spanners I have are too big, and when I went into the LBS, who have something to fit just about every spoke nipple going, they couldn't find a spoke spanner to fit the nipples either (as per photo).

Any ideas as to what would fit them?

mavic1

• briantrumpet
• 12 Oct 2018

mavic2

• briantrumpet
• 12 Oct 2018

mavic3

• briantrumpet
• 12 Oct 2018

 

[dan_bo]

A bin?

 

[derrick]

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/x-tools-pro...48uk&pgrid=57437518777&ptaid=pla-524081894817

 

[User6179]

This is the second rear Mavic Ksyrium Elite to do this to me, though the 2010 version only had one crack, whereas the 2013 version had three. Suffice to say I shan't be buying any more.

Ironically, just before this wheel went, I'd bought a new rim for the front wheel, as the bearing and spokes of this 2010 wheel are still perfect (after about 20k miles). Unfortunately, the Mavic spoke spanners I have are too big, and when I went into the LBS, who have something to fit just about every spoke nipple going, they couldn't find a spoke spanner to fit the nipples either (as per photo).

Any ideas as to what would fit them?

mavic1

• briantrumpet
• 12 Oct 2018

mavic2

• briantrumpet
• 12 Oct 2018

mavic3

• briantrumpet
• 12 Oct 2018

How many miles did you get before it cracked?

edit- 20k, thought you were talking about the other wheel but appears after second reading 20k on this rim ?
I can only dream of getting that on a rim, 5 to 8000 miles maximum on any rim before it cracks.

 

[alicat]

Are you going to reuse the spokes? If not cut them near the head and extract them from the hub then bin the rim with the spoke lengths intact.

 

[derrick]

They do have a max rider weight, Not saying your heavy, have used the same wheels for years and never had a problem.

 

[briantrumpet]

They do have a max rider weight, Not saying your heavy, have used the same wheels for years and never had a problem.

75kg - yeah, I know, a bit of a lard arse.

 

[briantrumpet]

How many miles did you get before it cracked?

edit- 20k, thought you were talking about the other wheel but appears after second reading 20k on this rim ?
I can only dream of getting that on a rim, 5 to 8000 miles maximum on any rim before it cracks.

Yes, the 20k was the front wheel. Guess 10k max on this, maybe quite a bit less. The rims shouldn't be cracking before the braking surface is worn out. To my mind it's a design fault - it's not as if I've been putting down race sprint efforts. A wheel-building friend of mine commented on the fact that he'd not put radial spokes on the drive side, especially when there are only 12 of them. All three cracks on this rim, and the one on the previous failure, are on the drive side. Coincidence? Hmm...

 

[briantrumpet]

Are you going to reuse the spokes? If not cut them near the head and extract them from the hub then bin the rim with the spoke lengths intact.

Was hoping to. Makes it an expensive rebuild otherwise.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/x-tools-pro...48uk&pgrid=57437518777&ptaid=pla-524081894817

Although that tool will work, it is a terrible tool. You can only rotate the nipple 30 degrees before you have to re position the spanner. The key picture below, is
much better. It speeds the job up.

Some people argue that the longer leverage on the tool you posted helps to remove stuck nipples. Yes, in theory, but once the nipple is too tight to remove with the UFO tool (the one below), then it is frozen in situ in anyway, and the appropriate tool is a side cutter.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Yes, the 20k was the front wheel. Guess 10k max on this, maybe quite a bit less. The rims shouldn't be cracking before the braking surface is worn out. To my mind it's a design fault - it's not as if I've been putting down race sprint efforts. A wheel-building friend of mine commented on the fact that he'd not put radial spokes on the drive side, especially when there are only 12 of them. All three cracks on this rim, and the one on the previous failure, are on the drive side. Coincidence? Hmm...

It is an extremely poor design from beginning to end. Here's why:

1) Both spoke and nipple are made of aluminium. They seize incredibly quickly.
2) Requires special tools to work on.
3) Requires radial lacing on the right side because the fat spokes, when interlaced will hit the RD cage.
4) In order to transmit torque to the left, driving spokes, the hub has to be abnormally large in diameter. Thin tubes don't transmit torque very well.
5) The rim is threaded to accept the nipples. This thread was created by piercing the rim, from the inside out, with a not tungsten spike. Imagine a soldering iron piercing plastic. Then, the resultant melt-burr, was threaded. This bur is uneven with plenty of stress risers. The cyclical stresses of the spokes loading and unloading with each revolution, causes these sharp edges to propagate cracks to the rim's spoke bed, which is, btw, too thin for its own good.

No engineers were involved in this design. To call it a design is a fallacy, it is more like an idea perpetrated upon a gullible consumer.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

They do have a max rider weight, Not saying your heavy, have used the same wheels for years and never had a problem.

A maximum rider weight is more of a marketing concept than an engineering one. Wheel durability is a function of load and cycles. A light load will make the wheel fail after many millions of cycles. A heavy load will make it fail quicker. The formula has no time component. If your wheels haven't failed, they haven't done many cycles. It is a poor design.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I'll agree that these rims are of poor design. About ten years back I bought a pair of the very similar Aksium wheels and the same thing happened to the rear rim in little over a year.

Where have you been YS? Not a peep from you for ages.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

75kg - yeah, I know, a bit of a lard arse.

I could only ever wish to get anywhere near that by chopping off both legs & maybe a bit more, Sorry OT

 

[User6179]

I'll agree that these rims are of poor design. About ten years back I bought a pair of the very similar Aksium wheels and the same thing happened to the rear rim in little over a year.


You trade snapping spokes for cracking rims, if like me you start snapping j-bend spokes after a few thousand miles then swapping to the Mavics makes sense, run them until the rear rim cracks then replace.