I beat Mavic's planned obsolescence!

[Globalti]

Feeling a bit pleased as I've just rebuilt my old Mavic Ksyrium SL rear wheel, bought from someone on here in about 2009, using a Ksyrium Elite rim and new spokes. Thanks to Mavic's policy of discontinuing spares after five years I couldn't get an SL rim but reckoned the Elite rim was the same extrusion with the scallops between the spoke beds silver rather than black. Careful study of the Mavic PDFs showed this to be the case so I ordered one from a shop in France and 20 spokes from Acycles.

Feeling better after the shoulder op and with rain all day yesterday I took the plunge and, heart in mouth, started cutting the old spokes as the nipples were rusted solid. The first few went with a frighteningly loud bang as the huge tensions came out of the wheel. Reassembly was easy once I'd got the hub orientated right because the threaded spoke holes are drilled into the rim facing very accurately in the right direction and with 10 radial spokes on the drive side but 5 pairs of pullers and pushers on the non-drive side you've a 50% chance of getting it wrong if you forget to mark the hub opposite the valve hole.

Anyway once I'd got the hub right, lacing was easy and with the nipples only finger tight the wheel already had good tension and the dish had sorted itself out thanks to the accuracy of the Mavic spoke system. I got the spoke tensions even having measured the old wheel then corrected the rim, getting it to within about 0.5mm, which is good enough.

So here's the finished job. Only die-hard Mavic fanatics would spot the mis-match though I might buy a tin of black enamel and paint those silver scallops black to match the old front wheel - what say you?

(A shout here for @Yellow Saddle, who has encouraged me to try this.)

 

[dan_bo]

Not bad!

 

[steveindenmark]

Why is this posted 3 times?

 

[DCBassman]

Great! But I'd say your hands are tired after all that, and you triple-triggered the pist button!

 

[Levo-Lon]

Looks great, i love the wide blades

 

[ColinJ]

Why is this posted 3 times?

What are you talking about - you only posted it once!

PS The wheel looks good.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Feeling a bit pleased as I've just rebuilt my old Mavic Ksyrium SL rear wheel, bought from someone on here in about 2009, using a Ksyrium Elite rim and new spokes. Thanks to Mavic's policy of discontinuing spares after five years I couldn't get an SL rim but reckoned the Elite rim was the same extrusion with the scallops between the spoke beds silver rather than black. Careful study of the Mavic PDFs showed this to be the case so I ordered one from a shop in France and 20 spokes from Acycles.

Feeling better after the shoulder op and with rain all day yesterday I took the plunge and, heart in mouth, started cutting the old spokes as the nipples were rusted solid. The first few went with a frighteningly loud bang as the huge tensions came out of the wheel. Reassembly was easy once I'd got the hub orientated right because the threaded spoke holes are drilled into the rim facing very accurately in the right direction and with 10 radial spokes on the drive side but 5 pairs of pullers and pushers on the non-drive side you've a 50% chance of getting it wrong if you forget to mark the hub opposite the valve hole.

Anyway once I'd got the hub right, lacing was easy and with the nipples only finger tight the wheel already had good tension and the dish had sorted itself out thanks to the accuracy of the Mavic spoke system. I got the spoke tensions even having measured the old wheel then corrected the rim, getting it to within about 0.5mm, which is good enough.

So here's the finished job. Only die-hard Mavic fanatics would spot the mis-match though I might buy a tin of black enamel and paint those silver scallops black to match the old front wheel - what say you?

View attachment 464303

(A shout here for @Yellow Saddle, who has encouraged me to try this.)

Well done for a good job.

I've done this kind of rebuild for a client that loves Mavic wheels and he had a few wheels needing to be rebuilt with new rims.

The quality of the rims and spokes is very good, I don't think I can pick a rim and 20 spokes off the shelf and build a wheel with similar strength and stiffness, having said that, the cost of a new Mavic wheel is easily 3 times the price.

Enjoy it

 

[Globalti]

I'm off now to buy a new helmet and then I'll venture out, my first ride on the road to recovery after 8 months off and two shoulder operations following the crash.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

So here's the finished job. Only die-hard Mavic fanatics would spot the mis-match though I might buy a tin of black enamel and paint those silver scallops black to match the old front wheel - what say you?

View attachment 464303

I say I love it when someone does something bold and it turns out just fine. Did you use the Mavic flying saucer spoke spanner or a straight one like ParkTools'?
Would I paint the scallops? Naah! I'd have a set of stickers printed that said Handbuilt by Globalti Himself and stick one in every single scallop.

 

[winjim]

Why is this posted 3 times?

The other two threads are obsolete.

 

[I like Skol]

Missed the opportunity to change the hub for one the 'right' colour

 

[Globalti]

I say I love it when someone does something bold and it turns out just fine. Did you use the Mavic flying saucer spoke spanner or a straight one like ParkTools'?
Would I paint the scallops? Naah! I'd have a set of stickers printed that said Handbuilt by Globalti Himself and stick one in every single scallop.

I bought a Park Tools spoke wrench for Mavic but stopped using it when I realised it was damaging the black finish on the nipples. The flying saucer is next to useless as it's made from soft plastic and rounds off quite easily. The Mavic wrench in the middle is made from a harder plastic and works fine even on the tighter drive side nipples as long as you take care to engage it fully onto the nipples.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I bought a Park Tools spoke wrench for Mavic but stopped using it when I realised it was damaging the black finish on the nipples. The flying saucer is next to useless as it's made from soft plastic and rounds off quite easily. The Mavic wrench in the middle is made from a harder plastic and works fine even on the tighter drive side nipples as long as you take care to engage it fully onto the nipples.

View attachment 464376

Pity you didn't get a flying saucer one in metal. Mavic makes one in zinc. All the plastic Mavic tools are a joke. The long tools take ages to do the job since they can only move a small bit at a time but, they do provide leverage when you need it. But I'm sure you discovered that.

 

[Globalti]

The Mavic wheel system is excellent if you subscribe to their philosophy but the alloy nipples rust very readily into the rims in our wet salty environment, no matter how well you maintain the bike. Once that has happened you've no chance of moving them and they will just break up like rotten teeth if you try. Luckily, during the 9 years of use I had from my Ksyrium SLs on three different bikes they stayed true and strong and never needed trueing even after slamming into some potholes that were big enough to flat the tyre.

The freehub design is another Mavic oddity but if you keep it clean and well lubricated with the right grade of oil it can give years of trouble-free service.