New Review: Mavic Cosmic Carbon SLE with Exalith

We received this review from a customer and partner in crime, the one and only Mr. John Bistolfo.  He rides like crazy, mixes it up in a race here and there, tears up trails, and has been known to show up at a CX race or two in full Tuxedo.  Trust what this dude says, he knows what he's talking about:

I’ve been wanting to get myself some aero wheels for a couple years and for many reasons I held off.  Cost, wet-braking, and style were among some of the reasons.  For years I’ve ridden Mavic wheels off-road and after hearing good things about the SLE wheels—especially the Exalith technology—I jumped on a set. 

I’ve got about 1200 miles on the wheels and I’m still psyched every time I ride.  The wheels have transformed my rig and my rides.

Speed is synonymous with the wheels.  I had heard aero wheels are “harder to get up to speed” but I haven’t really noticed a big difference.  I definitely notice an advantage at certain speeds.  18 mph is the first bump, then 22, then 24 mph.  24 mph is where I’ve really noticed the wheels working for me.  Holding speed is much easier and they’re rock solid when you’re rolling around 30 mph.

The transfer of power is also a noticeable advantage.  The wheels are stiff and give nice propulsion when hammering on the pedals.  When rolling at speeds in the mid 20s they give a good kick when you push them.

I’ve been riding a lot of hills with the wheels.  Even though “they” say aero wheels are too heavy for climbing I’ve enjoyed riding in SW Wisconsin with them.  My typical ride would include about 2000’ of climbing for a 50 mile route.  Whatever disadvantage I have from the weight when climbing is made up on the descents.  These are solid bullets on a descent, they roll fast and hold steady. 

The wheelset comes with Mavic tyres – the Yksion GripLink (front) and PowerLink (rear).  The tyres are great and provide good traction.  I rode wet roads this past weekend and they performed well.  This was also a good opportunity to test the breaking.  I didn’t notice any decrease in breaking distance and I attribute this to the Exalith technology.  The breaking surface has grooved surface like a file and used in combination with the Mavic brake pads they work well.

Initially I didn’t use the Mavic pads and burned through my pads in about 300 miles.  Part of the reason I did this was to avoid the loud screeching that the new rims make with the Mavic pads.  Once the new rim surface wears a bit the Mavic pads don’t make noise.  There is still a noise when breaking but it’s a proud whistle akin to a King hub whine.

So aside from the speed, transfer of power, stiffness and grip I’d have to say my favorite aspect of the wheels are the way they look.  Initially I thought about removing the stickers but after stepping back and reveling in the typography of my machine I’ve decided to keep them.  I’ve gotten several unsolicited comments from non-cyclists about how my bike looks bad ass.  I have to agree.

The only downside to the package are the valve extenders.  They’re pretty temperamental and I’m now using 80mm valve tubes.

Overall, these wheels are awesome.  They make going faster more fun.

He wasn't lying about the extenders, it appears he's decided to ride completely without valves!  We can get you a set of these things for a song, and they come with tires.  Give us a call.....

The Weekend Office

This weekend was sweet.  Saturday was a nice day at the shop, steady and smooth.  Everyone working, but under control.  Not so busy that we can't really take care of people the way we want to, yet busy enough to keep us from standing around.

Then came Sunday.  With expected temperatures in the high-90's and a lot of miles to log on the trails, I stocked up with a ton of fluids.  My bike was set to only carry two bottles, but I had two more Iron Cycles bottles as well as 1 liter of water and 32oz of Gatorade in my car.

I set out with Derrick who was riding his new Niner Jet9 RDO.  This was only his second or third ride on it, and having a new baby at home his training has been limited, but once the trails get twisty that dude is fast.  He's been raving about the Jet9 RDO and how fast it is in rough stuff, but watching him carve was impressive.

Within a couple of miles I knew I couldn't take his lines.  My Air9 RDO is sick-fast, but it won't eat up the bumps the same way his Jet9 RDO will, so I have to duck and weave a lot more where Derrick can just point and shoot.

We ran into Ted Burger and David Pilotto about 20 minutes in and did some miles with them.  Cemetary Loop and heading North-East with those guys was a blast.

After we had knocked out an hour, we shot back to the car for more fluid.  We ran into one of Derrick's friends who gave us a nice tour of some new trails I haven't seen before, then we hit Swallow Cliffs.  8 miles of gravel with a few nice climbs.  We hammered those, rode a few more miles, then it was time for Derrick to depart.

Back to the cars and we have over 3 hours done.  I make my way over to Speedway for a refill on water and Gatorade as well as some Gummy-Savers.  I'm feeling not so bad, and head back to the trails.  Another 12-14 miles and it's time to get off the trails.  I start to really feel it on the climbs and catch a glimpse of some goosebumps.  Not good.  Too much heat, and even though I have gotten about 120-140 oz o fluids in, I'm not sure I have gotten enough.

Just shy of 60 total miles, 50 of it on single-track, and I'm cashed.  Here's the cockpit that was staring at me for about 5 hours:

I'm loving this Air9 RDO.  Coming off of the EMD9, the bottom bracket stiffness doesn't seem like a huge jump, but front-end stiffness is noticeably better.  The frame is also significantly lighter, something like 550g lighter (1780g for the EMD9, 1230g for the Air9 RDO, both weights include all hardware).

A real nice, in-depth review is coming sooner rather than later on the Air9 RDO, stay tuned....

Long Term Review: Giro Aeon Helmet

Helmets are extremely personal on their fit, much like shoes.  Giro has been in the helmet game for quite some time and have really nailed it with the Aeon.

About a year ago I went away from Giro and picked up a Lazer Helium.  It fit well, I really liked the adjustment, but it was heavy.  Before the Helium I spent some time with the Giro Prolight helmet.  The Prolight was extremely light, but didn't fit well and the adjustment was lack-luster having just an elastic band.

Enter the Giro Aeon.  The lightweight that I (and my neck) want, the fit Giro is known for, and extremely well ventilated.

I chose white/silver because it matched my kit.  Truth be told, I think the black helmet is actually a little better looking.  The Aeon sits low, it's not like a number of other helmets that I think make people look like mushrooms.

Ventilation is generous, maybe the best I've ever used.  The Ionos was the gold standard by which I compared ventilation in helmets, and the Aeon is right there.

At a claimed 222g (mine came in at 226g), this helmet is seriously light.  The Prolight, at 190g, was lighter but sacrificed too much in my opinion to get there.  Roc Loc 5, the newest version of Giro's adjustable strap, is the best in the game.  With enormous vertical adjustment as well, it's easy to position the Roc Loc 5 to be perfectly comfortable.

Whether wearing a cycling cap under this helmet or not, I have found it fits me perfectly.  No pressure points, light weight, excellent ventilation, and top-of-the-heap adjustment make this helmet the one to own.  $250 isn't cheap, but you only have one head, you may as well protect it in style and comfort.

First Rides: Mavic R-SYS SLR Wheelset

I have to admit to these wheels sitting around for the first couple of weeks I had them to test.  It's not my fault, Lumberjack 100 is right around the corner so I've been on my mountain bike.  But, it's about time to log some faster miles to feel better about myself.

 A few rides and I'm starting to form an opinion on these wheels:

First, they are a time-trialists worst nightmare.  They spin up fast and gain speed like crazy, but the boxy rim and fat carbon spokes are about as aerodynamic as a CTA bus.

Second, the Exalith braking surface is incredible.  Out of the box with Exalith-specific pads they whistle like crazy.  Super loud.  I've swapped to stock Shimano alloy-specific pads and the whistling was greatly reduced.  The pads do wear faster on the machined braking surface, but the performance is unreal.

As you can see from these shots, I've taken the wheels out in some wet and on less-than-ideal roads.  Braking performance is perfect, even in the wet.  The brakes aren't grabby and have a really steady power curve.

Third, the tires are holding up well for me.  Chase on the other hand destroyed one on is second ride to a big cut, I'm hoping that's just bad luck.  The tires aren't my favorite, though.  The rear PowerLink tire is made to roll faster, the front GripLink made to, surprise here, grip.  I haven't pushed them too hard into corners, but so far the front seems ok.  The rear on the other hand offers very little grip in the wet.  So little grip in fact that it actually makes me a little nervous to ride in the wet.

Fourth, the rear hub, or more specifically it's engagement.  It works fine, it's been flawless, but the engagement is slower than the Chris King R45 rear hub I'm used to.  It's fast enough, but when you get used to King it's hard to settle for less.  I also like the "buzz" of the King, Mavic freehubs are pretty quiet.  Personal preference here, not a big deal.

Fifth, they are beautiful.  That's a fact.  Not really a fact, my opinion, but they really do look great.

Finally, let's cover stiffness.  Laterally, they are stiff.  Really stiff.  I did a couple of low-speed, big-gear sprints really wrenching on the bike and the wheels just don't flex side to side.  Vertically they ride nicely, but I won't say they are better than a pair of hand-built wheels.

So far, so good.  I like this pair of R-SYS wheels, but I'm not sure I like them $2000 worth.  When in a group ride, I won't ever win a sprint.  The only way I can get some "fame" is to get into a breakaway and try to ride away with a group.  This is not the wheelset for that.  If you like to sprint or treat your wheels like crap, this wheelset may work for you.

More to come....