Mavic Ksyrium Pro Carbon Sl C Wheelset - Clincher Review

It has ever slightly perplexed me why a French company would invent a word with a silent 'k' to name a production information technology could literally accept called anything. But whatever the reason, the Ksyrium proper name (pronounced sear-ree-umm by the way) has proved as enduring as the wheels that bear it.

Launched in 1999, the Ksyrium speedily became the criterion for low profile, lightweight alloy hoops, and in its own way cemented the industry shift from handbuilt to factory built wheels, where everything from the bearings to the spoke nipples are designed past one company and assembled by machine. Information technology's a philosophy that's withal at the heart of the Ksyrium range, and shines through in the latest Pro Carbon SLs.

Kspeed and kcomfort

Strangely for a wheel series with lightweight qualities at its heart, this is the first time a carbon fibre rim has appeared in the Ksyrium line-up, although its introduction is about more than just satisfying the consumer thirst for carbon. 'Braking is 48% better than our carbon competitors,' says Mavic's production managing director, Maxime Brunand. 'The tubular version of the Carbon Pro SL is merely 1,190g, which makes it our lightest ever Ksyrium, but crucially we accept made the rim wider for lower rolling resistance and better ride quality.'

The electric current consensus is that wider tyres roll faster than narrower tyres because the tyre'due south contact patch is shorter, and that a tyre with a larger book is more comfortable equally it tin can be run at lower force per unit area. Thus, when Brunand says the Pro Carbons have gone 'wider' he ways that the rim bed – the altitude between the hook beads on the clincher – is 17mm (with the bicycle presenting a 24mm-wide external profile), and the tyres that come specced as standard on both the clincher and tubular versions have gone from 23c to 25c.

According to Mavic, the maths goes similar this: a 17.seven% increase in tyre air volume decreases rolling resistance by 13%. Furthermore, Mavic'southward testing shows that a 25c tyre on a 17mm rim bed inflated to 80psi has the aforementioned rolling resistance as a 23c tyre on a 15mm rim bed run at 100psi. However, the 80psi tyre will deform more than readily over route bumps considering of the lower pressure, thereby making the ride smoother, as well equally offering more grip in the corners. Win-win in theory.

In practice

Technically still at the top of the Ksyrium tree is the £ane,600 R-Sys SLR, which I've establish to be superb in every expanse bar one: comfort. At 1,295g (without tyres) they're incredibly light; the carbon spokes make them extremely stiff and the Exalith braking surface (anodised and textured to increase durability and friction) is perhaps every bit good as it gets – if a tad noisy for some. However, because of their stiffness they don't assistance out in the road bump stakes, meaning that every bit practiced as they are for climbing, I wouldn't spec them on an all-day ride. The Carbon Pros, though, actually seem to plug that gap in the Ksyrium range – light and forgiving. At i,390g for the clinchers they're not quite as light as the R-Sys SLRs, merely I was hard pressed to notice the divergence.

From the off they coil with considerable ease, and thanks to the wider rim bed and larger volume Mavic Yksion tyres (don't get me started on those phonetics), they proceed rolling incredibly smoothly and with seemingly lilliputian effort, and that definitely told on one long descent where I topped out at 100.8kmh.

On another wheelset I might have been tentative to go then fast, only the Carbon Pros inspire confidence. They behave well-nigh like a traditional steel-spoked handbuilt wheel (the spokes here are bladed alloy), and every bit such they rail the route surface with surety and misemploy road fizz well. Getting bounced around on a bike tin can make things feel faster, merely the Carbon Pros remained resolutely smooth as I cracked my all-time top speed. Mercifully the braking was every bit smooth and well modulated with no nasty judders, just a progressive increase in stopping power as anchors were dropped.

While I spent nigh of my fourth dimension on the clinchers, I did have the 1,190g tubular versions for a curt spin too, and they were arguably even meliorate, feeling perceptibly lighter and, thank you to the nature of tubular tyres, more bodacious through corners.

I'd nonetheless err towards the R-Sys SLRs for the die-hard climbers, as even though the tubular Carbon Pros are lighter they are not as stiff (and the clinchers are not as stiff and slightly heavier). I'd still plump for the Exalith alloy braking surface likewise, every bit carbon is never as good in the pelting. Simply for a low-profile, lightweight set of carbon wheels for all-circular riding, the Carbon Pro SLs – clincher or tubular – are just the ticket. In fact, they might just have set a new benchmark all over again.

Mavic Ksyrium Pro Carbon SL	Tubular	Clincher
Weight	1,190g	1,390g
Rim Depth	25mm	25mm
Rim Width	24mm	24mm
Spoke Count	eighteen F, 24 R	18 F, 24 R
Price	£1,425	£1,350
Contact	mavic.com

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Source: https://www.cyclist.co.uk/mavic/ksyrium/455/mavic-ksyrium-pro-carbon-sl-review

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