My Mavic Ksysium not as aero as zipp 404?anyone have other views?

Question

My Mavic Ksysium not as aero as zipp 404?anyone have other views?

Answer 1

I ride Ksyriums and 404s so I can offer my opinion on both. I like the Mavics for crits because they feel stiffer and more responsive to hard, frequent cornering. Putting the Zipps on after the Ksyriums is a night and day difference. The Zipps spin up so fast and feel faster at speed. It feels easier to maintain a steady high speed too.

As far as weight, I've never compared them on a scale. I try not to obsess too much, preferring just feedback on the bike. Holding them in my hands I don't feel much difference though.

Answer 2

You may want to specify WHICH Ksyrium you mean. They come in a number of flavours.

Answer 3

I am not as sold on aero rims as everyone else. It seems to me that they would have MORE resistance in a crosswind (ever get knocked over by a strong gust?) and MORE resistance at the top/rear quadrant of the rim. Oh well.

Anyway, my focus on wheels when speccing a high end bike is wheel WEIGHT, not wheel SHAPE. A 1 OUNCE savings in each wheel is like a 1 POUND improvement in performance. Buy the lighter wheel and forget the shape. I do like the Zipp hubs (made by Edco) though.

Answer 4

That is why the Ksyriums do not cost $1600. If you want a wheel as aero as the zipp then buy a zipp.