Mavic Aksium wheelset and tire recommendations

I also forgot... What tire brands do you recommend? The local bike shop carries Continental, Kenda, Maxxis, and Michelin.

Thanks!
Charles

I have had them on two different bikes and they were nice wheels.  To notice a difference however, you would have to be on pretty low grade wheels to begin with.  Why are you looking to change? 

Of the brands you mention, for flat protection go with Michelin Krylions or Continental Gatorskins.  For a faster but less durable tire, try the Continental GP4000 or Michelin Pro race 3.

X 2 on Krylion carbons... love mine. They're nearly bombproof. On the fast side too, for a "training" tire.

Edited by tri42 2010-10-17 10:05 AM

I'd hardly call the Continental GP4000 or Michelin Pro race 3 tires "less durable." I've ridden both for thousands of miles with very few flats, gotten 5,000+ miles out of two sets of the predecessor PR2s as well.

I ridden thousands of miles on Conti GP4000s tires for the last two years with no flats and still have many miles left on them. I found them to be very durable. Great riding tire by the way.

As for wheels, there is nothing special about Mavic Askium wheelset, they will work OK. I personally have a set of MAVIC Open Pro rims built with Ultegra Hubs and 32 spokes 3X laced that I use for my training and racing wheels for several years. My LBS built them for the same price that performancebike had them on sale. ($200). They have worked well for years.

I am planning on just adding a disc cover to to the rear wheel (<$100) and an aero front wheel next year. Most likely the Sram 60 or a used Zipp 404 if I can find one.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1085687_-1...

double post

Edited by rexcoltrain 2010-10-17 9:39 PM

I would absolutely call them less durable.  My last set of PR3's lasted 300 miles.  My Krylions lasted 2000+.  It very much depends on where you live and where you ride.  If you got 5000 miles out of a PR3, you would still be riding the same set of gatorskins.  This is because they are more durable.

Edited by rexcoltrain 2010-10-17 9:38 PM

If you're only getting 300 miles out of any set of tires you're doing something terribly wrong. Not sure where you're riding to get such crappy mleage, but it doesn't sound like your Krylions are anywhere as near as durable my P2Rs. I sure wouldn't be happy with only 2,000 miles from any tire.

Not to mention the steep premium you're paying in higher rolling resistace on the gatorskins.

I ride in Hawaii, where in addition to terrible roads, I can't go 100 feet on a weekend morning without rolling over a broken Heineken bottle.  I left my PR3's on after a race while I waited for new tires in the mail and they both had something like 50 cuts in them in just a few weeks.  After the Krylions arrived, I went just over 2000 miles without a flat.  If there is no difference in durability, why have different tires?  Why do both manufacturers websites state that one is more durable than the other?  Who cares about rolling resistance on a training tire?

Aksiums are good wheels.......no question that Continental 4000's are the cream of the crop tire.  That would be a great durable wheel/tire combo.  Look into the Bontrager Race Lite as well.....those are pretty good.

I got the same set up from my LBS when I managed to pull two spokes clean through the rear hub on the Aksium.  I would recommend the Open Pros and would not recommend the Aksium.