Wheel Upgrade - recommendations?

[zoom-zoom]

My road bike currently has Mavic Aksiums. They are generally fine for my needs, but I wouldn't mind an upgrade. My CX bike has really crappy Kore Gradients, so the logical thing to do would be to move the Aksiums over to my CX bike (I see a LOT of the Aksiums on CX bikes) and then upgrade the road wheels. I'm guessing something like the Mavic Ksyrium is where I'd want to look. This is something I'd put on my Christmas list or maybe birthday (in Feb.).

Thoughts?

[Rubylvr]

I highly recommend custom wheels if you have someone out in your
area who does that. If not, it may be worth talking to "my" fantastic
custom gal, to see if she can work long distance. I love my wheels.
Good luck.

[zoom-zoom]

I highly recommend custom wheels if you have someone out in your
area who does that. If not, it may be worth talking to "my" fantastic
custom gal, to see if she can work long distance. I love my wheels.
Good luck.

I've actually contemplated building my own...DH did that for the set on his road bike. I'd love to do velocity wheels in a funky color.

[indysteel]

PM Wahine for a reference to her SO, Tom. He is a highly regarded wheel builder. I would definitely go the handbuildt route. Better bang for your buck. Plus, you can get exactly what you need for your weight, riding style and conditions.

[OakLeaf]

Between my Mavic freehub failure and reading about other TE'rs having theirs fail, I'd go with something other than a Mavic hub whichever way you go.

[rivergal]

You might look into Neuvation. Mine aren't custom, but I really felt I got a lot of bang for my buck.

http://www.neuvationcycling.com/

[pll]

I upgraded mine to Zipp 101 (which I found on sale at a local bike shop), and I paired them with Conti GP 4000s... and I am in love with them. What a difference -- the Zipp have a wider rim and stainless steel spokes. They really made me faster and, in part, it is because the ride feels smoother. I am one of those people that, while I love the idea of custom, I would not know what to ask for.

[zoom-zoom]

Those Zipps look really nice, but are probably about double what I'd want to spend. I'm guessing I'd be looking at the $600-700 range. I really want to avoid anything with much of an aero profile, too--we get some serious wind in these parts and even my relatively low-profile Aksiums can really catch those cross-winds.

[pll]

I was afraid about the wind, too (I live in the Chicago area), but they feel better than the stock wheels and the Aksiums I had on my older bike. With Aksiums, I felt the wind on the spokes, it was sharp and sudden. The feeling with the Zipps is very different and easier to handle than the Aksiums. And (this might be a bad thing for you to know) the Zipps are used in cyclocross, too.... I got them for under $1k. A splurge, for sure, but when I get out of bed at 5AM for a morning ride during a weekday, I don't regret it a single bit. They are fun to ride and they look great (blingy, but not too much). *Love*.

[zoom-zoom]

Hmmm...they do sound really nice. Yeah, the wind certainly grabs the Aksiums. I don't like riding on days when the wind is gusty, like today. I'm not sure any wheel would make that better. I give mad props to my friends who ride and ride LONG on days like that. Friends of mine did a century, today. Yikes!