Carbon Aero Wheels

nickcach said:

I am looking to upgrade my wheels and have found many Carbon Aero options. Apperently the ZIPP 404 are the way to go, but they are very expensive so I was wondering if anyone has ridden the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL. They are more affordale and have good reviews.

Anyone?

Don't know much about the Cosmics, but how about American Classic 58 rims? Apparently they're rebadged Zipps and generally cost a lot less.

How about the Flashpoints, they are made by Zipp and at a lower price point.
flash-pointracing.comflash-pointracing.comOpen ↗

nickcach said:

I am looking to upgrade my wheels and have found many Carbon Aero options. Apperently the ZIPP 404 are the way to go, but they are very expensive so I was wondering if anyone has ridden the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL. They are more affordale and have good reviews.

Anyone?

I have the Cosmic Carbone SLs. They have been bombproof so far. Some people don't like the freehub, which needs 10min maintenance every 6 months.
They look great.

take a look at Williams Cycling. They sell Zipp rims with their ceramic bearings in their own hubs for around $1100 US.
Another good optiono is Soul bikes..

Here are some good options for carbon wheels just over $1000:

- Reynolds Attack
- Ritchey DV44
- Flashpoint 60

Personally, I'd rather get an alloy wheel in that price range with a better hub/bearing assembly than their carbon equivalents.

artemidorus said:

I have the Cosmic Carbone SLs. They have been bombproof so far. Some people don't like the freehub, which needs 10min maintenance every 6 months.

What kind of maintenance? Remove and re-oil?

sogood said:

What kind of maintenance? Remove and re-oil?

You get the freehub off the hub with 2 allen keys (by breaking the axle in half), clean the inner freehub bearing, re-oil the inner bearing and the pawls, and refit the freehub and axle. I'm pretty sure that some/all of the Ksyrium wheels are the same.

artemidorus said:

You get the freehub off the hub with 2 allen keys (by breaking the axle in half), clean the inner freehub bearing, re-oil the inner bearing and the pawls, and refit the freehub and axle. I'm pretty sure that some/all of the Ksyrium wheels are the same.

I think you are right about them sharing a common freehub design. Locally, what kind of oil have you been using for it? My 1.5 year old Ksyrium is probably due for a re-lube service.

sogood said:

I think you are right about them sharing a common freehub design. Locally, what kind of oil have you been using for it? My 1.5 year old Ksyrium is probably due for a re-lube service.

Baby oil.

artemidorus said:

Baby oil.

😄 Thanks.

nickcach said:

. Apperently the ZIPP 404 are the way to go, but they are very expensive so I was wondering if anyone has ridden the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL. ?

Nothing wrong with SLs. I don't have any, but I'd love some. Some people whinge that they're 'heavy', and that they're not really carbon, but they're just as aero as many more expensive wheelset (even more so that some), and they're strong. It's rare to hear of Carbones breaking; in fact, I've never heard of one breaking that wasn't in a crash, which is (obviously) not to say it hasn't happened, yet we hear that story going 'round that CSC have busted 90 Zipp rims! Yikes! We don't hear that coming out of Saunier Duval 🙂

As you say, the reviews for Carbones are very good, but there are few dissatified Zipp owners.
http://www.roadbikereview.com/mfr/zipp-speed-weaponry/wheelsets/PRD_28387_2490crx.aspx

http://www.roadbikereview.com/mfr/zipp-speed-weaponry/wheelsets/PRD_28390_5845crx.aspx#reviews

daveryanwyoming said:

Don't know much about the Cosmics, but how about American Classic 58 rims? Apparently they're rebadged Zipps and generally cost a lot less.

Most likley the older style rims (non dimpled) but I would not trust the hubs. From experence they tend to die fairly quickly. My suggestion is to try the Token wheels, lots of the guys in the club have them and they are holding up well and run great

sogood said:

I think you are right about them sharing a common freehub design. Locally, what kind of oil have you been using for it? My 1.5 year old Ksyrium is probably due for a re-lube service.

I use Mobol One auto oil. Cheap, doesn't get thick when cold. These hubs require regular reoiling or they don't freewheel.

Peter@vecchios said:

I use Mobol One auto oil. Cheap, doesn't get thick when cold. These hubs require regular reoiling or they don't freewheel.

I actually have some of those on my shelf. I understand that viscosity is critical for this application. Assume that both baby oil and Mobile One are right on. How much do you drip on?

Peter@vecchios said:

I use Mobol One auto oil. Cheap, doesn't get thick when cold. These hubs require regular reoiling or they don't freewheel.

are you guys talking about just the free-hub bits, or the bearings, or both?

What other free-hubs need regular lubing?

531Aussie said:

are you guys talking about just the free-hub bits, or the bearings, or both?

What other free-hubs need regular lubing?

Plastic bushing at the freehub's base. When it gets dry it gets noisy and stops freewheeling. Original freehub had a bearing there, new one, in an 'attempt' to save weight went to the bushing. Over time it also gets out of round. That plus only 2 pawls makes me wonder why they use such a cheezy hub on wheels that are $1000++. Other freehubs are generally 2 cart bearing/3 pawl freehubs. Occasionally the bearings go south, requiring replacement. Yes, the OVH doesn't take very long on Mavic freehubs but I think, from a company that used to be known for superior hubs, this is poor form.

Their 'fix' are harder pawls(new red ones) as they think it's 'pawl dust' that's causing the problem. A Mavic outside guy suggested a .5mm spacer under the freehub body along with the supplied 1mm one. This works really well as it raises the freehub a wee bit off the draggy rubber seal, along with frequent cleaning and re-oiling.

sogood said:

I actually have some of those on my shelf. I understand that viscosity is critical for this application. Assume that both baby oil and Mobile One are right on. How much do you drip on?

5w-15 i think. I dribble on quite a lot. Onto the seal, onto the freehub bushing itself and pawls. Don't store the wheels on your white carpet cuz it dribbles out a bit. Don't use grease. That seems to make the draggy-ness worse and if it gets onto the pwasl, they can stick down. Little whimpy springs.

Peter@vecchios said:

Plastic bushing at the freehub's base. When it gets dry it gets noisy and stops freewheeling. Original freehub had a bearing there, new one, in an 'attempt' to save weight went to the bushing. Over time it also gets out of round. That plus only 2 pawls makes me wonder why they use such a cheezy hub on wheels that are $1000++. Other freehubs are generally 2 cart bearing/3 pawl freehubs. Occasionally the bearings go south, requiring replacement. Yes, the OVH doesn't take very long on Mavic freehubs but I think, from a company that used to be known for superior hubs, this is poor form.
.

thanks

Sounds like another one of those silly modifications which makes the production less durable, only to save 40g 🙂

sogood said:

I actually have some of those on my shelf. I understand that viscosity is critical for this application. Assume that both baby oil and Mobile One are right on. How much do you drip on?

The Mavic instructions say 10-20 drops - with automotive oil, you may want less.