Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels

[ny biker]

I just got a set of Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels:

http://www.mavic.com/wheels-road-tri...s#.VDAbolem6mQ

These were the replacement wheels that the LBS recommended when I told them how much I hated the Bontrager Race TLR wheels that I recently bought. They were under no obligation to let me return the Bontragers so I really am stuck with these Mavic wheels now whether I like them or not.

They are extremely loud when the wheel is spinning (coasting). Like an absurdly loud clicking noise.

Does anyone know if this is normal?

I'm also wondering if they're not really compatible with a SRAM 10-speed cassette because the chain rattles like crazy in almost every gear. I'm taking it back to the shop today to have them look at that. (I really do not have time for this today -- I'm supposed to be visiting a friend in the hospital which is in a totally different direction. But I need to get this fixed because this wheel saga has dragged on for weeks and I just need it to be over. My butt has been killing me on every ride with the Bontragers due to the insane road vibration that they transit through the frame and the mechanic forgot to use the spacer when they put the cassette on that wheel so the shifting has been screwed up for weeks now. If I'm substituting an insanely loud bike for a sore a$$ and bad shifting then to say I am not happy is an understatement. $500 that I should have used to buy Christmas presents has gone into wheels that make me hate riding my bike. </rant>)

Anyway, what's with this crazy loud clicking???? Why would they make a wheel do this on purpose???

[Owlie]

Loudish, rapid click/almost a buzz when coasting? I think that's a Mavic thing, since BF's Ksyriums from 2005/6 do the same thing. It's one of the things that Mavic hubs are known for. I wouldn't call it loud, though. The internet says that a bit of light oil on the appropriate parts should take care of it, although I really have no idea how you'd go about doing that. (Supposedly it gets worse as the oil degrades/dries out.)

As for the cassette/hub compatibility, the options are Shimano/SRAM or Campy, so in theory they should be.

[ny biker]

Just wanted to follow up on this now that I've been able to use the wheels for a while. It is a very loud clicking when the wheels are turning but the pedals are not turning, so when coasting or when walking with the bike. However it is most annoying (at least for now*) when walking with the bike. It's not bothering me when coasting while I ride. It might be bothering the people around me, I don't know, but it's not entering my consciousness.

* I say "at least for now" because one of my fellow bike club members said the same thing that Owlie said, that the clicking gets louder as the oil degrades/dries out. If that becomes an issue, I'll try to find out if I can reapply the oil myself, or if it requires taking things apart, in which case it will be one more thing I pay the LBS mechanic to do for me.

As for the SRAM compatibility, I still have a few problems with shifting, but the last adjustment made things much better. The cable is almost new, but the chain probably has quite a few miles on it by now, so that might be contributing to the shifting issues. We'll see.

Overall I forget about the wheels completely when I'm riding, which is pretty much the goal. They are way way better than the Bontrager Race TLR wheels that I tried out first.

Thanks.

[Blueberry]

Some manufacturers just make really, really loud free hubs. Paul and DT Swiss both have them - DH and I both have DT Swiss hubs on our Lynskeys - we joke that they sound like a bumper crop of cicadas (but they really do!). Sometimes it's good incentive to keep pedaling - people know when I coast!

[thekarens]

I have no idea if this is true, but one of the race team members told me that the more expensive the hub, the more noise it makes.

[Owlie]

I have no idea if this is true, but one of the race team members told me that the more expensive the hub the more noise it makes.

That's been the trend I've noticed too. The hub on my CX bike is noisier than the bottom-end one on my roadie, and the newer Mavics are quite a bit louder than those. BF's Mavics really aren't a comparison, since they're old and technology marches on.

[Crankin]

My DH has had 2 sets of wheels that buzzed like crazy. I know exactly what you are talking about. It drove both of us crazy and he stopped using them.

[ny biker]

Just wanted to follow up on this now that I've been able to use the wheels for a while. It is a very loud clicking when the wheels are turning but the pedals are not turning, so when coasting or when walking with the bike. However it is most annoying (at least for now*) when walking with the bike. It's not bothering me when coasting while I ride. It might be bothering the people around me, I don't know, but it's not entering my consciousness.

* I say "at least for now" because one of my fellow bike club members said the same thing that Owlie said, that the clicking gets louder as the oil degrades/dries out. If that becomes an issue, I'll try to find out if I can reapply the oil myself, or if it requires taking things apart, in which case it will be one more thing I pay the LBS mechanic to do for me.

As for the SRAM compatibility, I still have a few problems with shifting, but the last adjustment made things much better. The cable is almost new, but the chain probably has quite a few miles on it by now, so that might be contributing to the shifting issues. We'll see.

Overall I forget about the wheels completely when I'm riding, which is pretty much the goal. They are way way better than the Bontrager Race TLR wheels that I tried out first.

Thanks.

<bump> It's been almost two years with these Mavic wheels. I still forget about them when I'm riding. Once or twice when I brought the bike to the shop for something, the mechanic would mention that they probably would need maintenance soon. Eventually the Mavic tires that came with them wore out and I put on some Continental GPs, which made the ride a bit less smooth but still okay.

So a few weeks ago I brought the bike to the shop for a derailleur adjustment and the mechanic said that the freehub needed maintenance soon, or else it would no longer work right. Evidently the pedals will just keep turning when you're trying to coast or when walking with the bike. I did one more ride and then dropped the bike off for service. Several days later a different mechanic called me and said the freehub looked fine when he took it apart. This worried me, I thought maybe I had failed to understand and communicate what the first mechanic had told me. The next day I went to the shop and had a chance to talk to them both together. The first one described in detail what he thought was wrong, something about pawls and I don't remember what else. The second one repeated that everything had looked okay, but that he had done the routine maintenance (cleaning and re-lubing whatever needs to be cleaned and re-lubed). They agreed that this maintenance should take care of whatever the first mechanic had said was wrong. It only cost $20 for labor.

So last night I rode the bike for the first time since bringing it home from the shop. And it is almost silent when I coast! The loud clicking is almost completely gone, down to a very muffled sound.

I don't know what to make of this. Did the freehub need to be lubed when I first bought the wheels? No one I've ridden with in two years has said, hey that clicking is too loud, your wheels need maintenance. And I ride with the kind of people who would notice and say something about a thing like that. No one at the bike shop said anything about it when I took the bike in for a cleaning and tune-up last winter. It seemed that the loud clicking was normal. Yet now it's gone.

Maybe this quiet phase will only last a short time and it will go back to audible clicking soon? I don't know. The bike feels okay when I ride it. So I'm not complaining. Just a bit perplexed.

(I will be taking the bike back to the shop for other work soon, so I'll try to remember to ask them about it, just for my own edification.)

[Aromig]

I'd love to hear what they tell you about the clicking. I'd always heard the nicer the tire, the louder the clicking. I had my bike stolen early last month, and bought a slight upgrade on Craigslist (same type and year of bike -- one model nicer) and the clicking wheels are driving me nuts, whereas my old bike didn't do it (the wheels were a slight upgrade). Seriously, there are times I want to coast :-)

[ny biker]

Aromig, maybe the new-to-you rear wheel needs maintenance? I'm told that it should be done periodically. Any idea how many miles are on the bike and how recently the previous owner did routine maintenance?

If you're mechanically inclined, you might be able to find a video online that shows how to do it.

[Aromig]

I'm mechanically inclined enough to change my own chain, tires, etc. but that's about it. When I bought it, the owner said it had 1150 miles on it (which is amazing for a 2013 bike -- when I went to pick it up, he had 6 really nice bikes hanging in his garage so maybe he rotates them, didn't like this one, whatever). I know it had the original white bar tape on it (because I had the same kind, and couldn't easily find a replacement when I wanted), and it looked like new, so I believe that. The bike shop checked it all out and said from what they could tell it looked new, so they believe the mileage too. The bike shop checked most everything, and honestly, on the test ride the clicking didn't bother me but boy did it on the first long ride I did (RAIN - 160 miles). Then again, I'd only had a chance to ride it twice before then for short rides, didn't have the fit dialed in and EVERYTHING was bothering me by mile 100 :-)

I'm going to try to get through September, and then take the bike in for a thorough inspection/tuneup, etc. and probably go ahead and invest in a fitting then too. Something is minusculey off, and I just can't get it myself (actually, the bike shop has my measurements on my old bike, which is the same model/geometry so I'm hoping they'll charge me less and just set it up that way. I tried, but like I said, its just "off" a little somewhere - I think my stem is a tad shorter than my old one -- I didn't have factory stem on my old bike -- and I can't figure it out.)

I was afraid I'd just have to get used to the clicking until I read your post now I'm thinking there might be hope in maintenance!