Quoted post said:Originally posted by izzodesh
i have the elites
and one of my team mates have the Sl's and honestly unless you have the extra cash or are racing cat 1 or A then i would say its worth it. Other wise the elites are a great buy for the$ ....
very strong too!
I owned a set of Ksyrium Elites for a while. I only put about 70 miles on them before a pickup ended their life prematurely. They rode nicely, felt very laterally rigid and controllable but what I really wanted was the SLs. For that reason, the Elites just never really impressed me. Mostly psychological I suppose.
Since the driver of the pickup had insurance, I decided it was an opportunity to dig a little deeper into my own pocket to make up the difference between the price of the Elites and the price of the SLs. I bought a second bike to ride while the first was being resurrected in the shop and put Ksyrium SLs on both bikes. I've not been the least bit sorry, though my checkbook and I are no longer on speaking terms.
Through a long, convoluted series of events I ended up with a set of the 2004 Ksyrium SLs as well as the two sets of the 2003 model. It's purley cosmetic but the 2004s went right back into the boxes and are sitting in my spare bedroom. Someday I may build up my extra frame or, (God forbid), something might happen to one of my 2003 sets and the 2004s are there. But for now, the 2003s are the ticket for me. They're not the lightest thing on the market but they're light enough that you can look down at that front wheel when you're tired and it feels like you have a dog biting down on each calf and you can still realize how little effort it takes to make those wheels go round. I love them!
🙂