ArgoMan

Hey all. What's your opinions on the Ksyrium Elites for trainers? I've read quite a few reviews online and the opinions seem to fall mostly on both ends of the spectrum, from "stay away" to "great wheels". Does anyone have any personal experience with them? Thanks!

choddo

For trainers? Not sure wheels matter?

ArgoMan

They matter. I just am looking for some opinions n these particular wheels. Thanks.

datlas 

They are ok but nothing special.

Sy Reene

Especially don't matter if it's a wheel-off trainer.

datlas 

I suspect OP means training = not racing wheels, not for an indoor trainer.

Bah Humbug

Took me a minute to get there as well.

SoSmellyAir

I think it depends on one's perspective. My first wheelset upgrade was from Mavic Aksium to Ksyrium Elite, so there was a noticeable (almost 1/4 kg) weight reduction. What else are you comparing them to?

My Ksyrium Elite wheels have stayed true and trouble free for 4.5 years of riding until I upgrade to CF wheels last year, although I must note that the roads in my area are above average. But they are not as aero, wide, or light as contemporary CF wheels. The freehub is audible but not aggravatingly loud. They do not require rim tape. Mine came with Mavic tire levers which double as nipple wrenches (on their other end); I don't know if regular nipple wrenches would work?

tFUnK

I think they're nice wheels for their time. If you can get them used for cheap, why not. I think they'd be tricky to true or rebuild. Keep in mind they've been around for a while so there are different iterations out in the used market. The newer ones are nicer, obviously.

SoSmellyAir

I have the WTS but if I were buying now I would only consider the subsequent UST generation, just for age, regardless whether one plans to run tubeless or not.

choddo

Oh I see! Sorry.

big john

I had a set. Kept pulling the nipples out of the rim. Mavic replaced the rear rim twice for free but said no the third time. I paid for a new rim and sold them. I am hard on wheels.

Bob Ross

I owned two pair that were both new in 2006, and could not kill them. Not for lack of trying.
I hated that the spokes were proprietary, that the tools to work on the spokes and the hubs were proprietary, and that if you didn't clean & lube the rear hub regularly they would succumb to the dreaded "Mavic shreik"
I loved that they did not require rim tape, and that tires were relatively easy to get on/off them.

Ultimately I sold off both pairs, one just a couple of months ago. If you can find a true, used pair for <$100 it wouldn't be the worst purchase you'll make.

ArgoMan

Thank you for all the replies. Pardon me, please, for injecting confusion into my inquiry with my reference to "trainers". I see now how that can cause confusion. What I meant is that I am looking for wheels for everyday road "training". I ride about 6 miles every other day at a hard pace.

Now, I think I have to change up my inquiry. The reason is that I live in a desert area and at this time of the year there's quite a bit of landscaping going on, which results in an abundance of bougainvillea thorns being strewn across our local roads. This causes a significant puncture hazard. In the last week my son's bike suffered two punctured tubes and I had one. So, I think that I should be looking at tubeless wheels, which I know almost nothing about. So, my questions now are as follow:
1. Are tubeless a remedy to "thorny" roads?
2. Are tubeless tires something I can install with relative ease, or will I have to go to my LBS for installation?
3. I can get a pair of Campy Shamal "two way" tires, which take tubeless. But they're really expensive. I have Zondas now, and they're great. I can only imagine the Shamals are very good.
4. Finally - and thanks for your patience - I run 105's. Do Shamals typically come with rear hubs that are compatible for 105's, or do I have to get a special set-up for that?

You guys are great and I thank you for all the kind info you grant to this confused newbie!

choddo

Tubeless have helped me avoid punctures. 2 or 3 in 3 years. Used to get many more. Those thorns are probably worse than anything around here though.

You’ll probably need a track pump with a reservoir to inflate them, and they’re quite tight to get on the rim but certainly achieveable at home. I recommend a tyreglider for installing them. I find it MUCH better than normal levers for TL tyres and I can put most normal tubes clinchers on by hand.

bruce19

I have had several Ksyrium Elite clinchers for many years and they have served me well. Once hit a pot hole with front and rear at approx 40 mph on a downhill. They did not go out of true. These days (last 5 yrs) I have been running Ksyrium Elite USTs and they have been awesome.

RB1-luvr

I have two sets of Ksyrium Elites, the older ones (circa 2009) with 5000 maintenance free miles, and the newer ones with about 1000 miles. The newer ones (circa 2016) dented on a 40 mph downhill pothole, but I was able to remove the dent and true them.

SoSmellyAir

As someone who is reasonably adept at installing clincher tires and tubes, and just recently went tubeless (on a gravel bike) for the first time, I would say that tubeless tires are a little harder to mount (because they are generally tighter) and a bit more involved to setup but certainly doable by oneself, especially if one has a compressor. The last generation of Ksyrium Elite wheels (i.e., the UST version) are tubeless and do not require rim tape, so that is one less variable to deal with for a tubeless setup.

tFUnK

In general yes but if you're riding thru a thorn patch (like the whole plant or a bunch of plants clustered together), the multitude of thorns can be too much for the system to seal all at once.