MAVIC WHEELS


2012 Mavic Ksyrium SLR Wheelset

drivetrain:  Shimano

quantity

To best the existing Ksyrium wheels would be no small feat. At the high end of the range, there is a performance per dollar ratio that puts them at the head of the pack. They're light, stiff, and supremely durable, and it's this magical blend of attributes that makes them such fantastic road racing wheels. Mavic scrutinized the Ksyrium design plan and added one key element that makes the rims more durable, even lighter, and that improves braking performance in all conditions. This is all the result of Mavic's Exalith rim treatment, and you'll only find it on certain models like this Ksyrium SLR Wheelset.

Exalith is similar to anodization in that the rims are submerged in a solution and treated chemically. This is what gives the SLR rims that sinister charcoal black color. However, the penetration depth into the base metal is far greater than ano, to the extent that the Exalith treatment actually increases the surface hardness and toughness of the rim. It's so often spoken of with regards to the resistance to wear at the braking surface (which is true) that the other benefits go without recognition. Of course, the added hardness of the Exalith treatment allows Mavic to leave an aggressively machined braking surface. This drastically increases the braking performance, especially in wet weather. A tangential effect is that the rim is less prone to wear, therefore Mavic can make the rim sidewalls thinner, saving weight. With regards to toughness, the Exalith treatment allows the SLR rim to survive twice as long on Mavic's torture testing machine as a standard anodized Ksyrium rim before breakage occurs at the spoke nipple seats.

Mavic is famous for their SUP rim treatments, and you have it here. It means you'll get consistent, reliable day-in/day-out performance thanks to their welded/machined rim joint. Also, the Ksyrium SLR Wheelset gets Mavic's Inter Spoke Milling of the rim between the spokes to minimize rim weight. After all, gains, or rather, reductions at the rim will give you the best performance benefits. “…Mavic's Exalith rim treatment creates a new benchmark for brake performance. In addition, it makes the rims twice as tough -- all 'round a better wheel than ever…” Both front and rear rims are 22mm deep, essentially the same depth as an Open Pro rim. This makes them lighter than comparable mid depth rims, and it has the incidental advantage of helping them be more stable in crosswinds and at high speeds on descents (after all, if you're using these in the mountains, you have to go down, too!)

Note the oversized front hub. It marries a carbon fiber center section to aluminum flanges, explicitly designed to shave a few extra grams. The rear hub is all aluminum. Both are filled with Mavic's QRM+ bearings -- they're double-sealed for longevity, and each hub allows for micro-fine adjustment for precise bearing preload. It's easy to achieve a perfect tune with no play or loss of efficiency.

You'll notice that the front and rear wheels are spoked differently. Where the front relies on 18 of Mavic's bladed Zicral alloy spokes, the rear wheel uses 10 of those on the drive side along with 10 Tracomp carbon fiber spokes on the left side. This rear wheel is shared with the R-Sys SLR Wheelset. The carbon spokes are nearly 40% lighter than standard stainless spokes, and they add stiffness to the Ksyrium SLR rear wheel that translates into better acceleration when you stomp on the pedals. And since they're designed to work in traction and compression, they're functional at lower tension, thereby allowing the rim and spoke flange to be built a little lighter, again saving you a few grams.

The Mavic Ksyrium SLR Wheelset is light enough for race day, yet tough enough for year-round training. They include a Zicral spoke-specific wheel magnet, a truing wrench and bearing adjustment tool. They're available with either a Campagnolo or Shimano/SRAM compatible freehub body.

This wheelset is part of Mavic's MP3 extended warranty program. The acronym stands for Mavic Product Protection Plan, and it provides you with two years of almost unlimited no-fault protection from Mavic. More details can be found on the MP3 website. Please note that MP3 coverage must be purchased within 5 days of the date that you receive your wheels. You'll get an email from us the day after your online wheel purchase, containing the retailer and product codes that you'll need to register your wheels on the Mavic MP3 site. You'll also need the serial numbers that you'll find on your wheels. The cost for this coverage is approximately 8% of the retail cost of the wheels.