Kars 

I have the Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheelset and the front wheel rim is quite beat up. So to all the expert wheelbuilders My question is if you think it is worth swapping the old rim for an equivalent new one? If yes then can I even find a new one for this wheel? From my searches it seems this may be from about 2005 or so but I could be wrong. See more below:



These seem like really nice light wheels. These wheels are from a parts bike I purchased to swap over to my Italian frame. Pictures are here. If you do think it can be done and makes sense any tips ? Thanks in advance

Crankycrank

Personally, I would just take a file to any rough spots on the brake track and some fine sandpaper to smooth out the edges of the rim. The photos don't show anything worse than that so probably will last thousands of miles.

Sonofamechanic 

I have a pair of those SSC SL wheels—they are notorious for spokes pulling out of the rim, but if you have a good pair and there is no such damage I’d consider riding them as they are (with the touch ups to the brake track mentioned above) and not mess with a rebuild.

cxwrench

^This^ Threading a rim for an oversize, proprietary nipple? Stress riser maybe? I have never liked the Ksyrium wheels at all. Not aero. Not light. Proprietary everything. The worst freehub ever made. And then Mavic changed the size/design of the spokes/nipples every couple of years. The only redeeming quality is that they're easy to service.

Kars 

Curious if Anyone out there ever did this and swamped in a new rim into a wheel like this? would need to get the special proprietary spoke wrench to do it? No complicated lacing pattern here.

roccobike

Kars, As has been stated, in your shoes, I'd try polishing the worst damage spot to that wheel and try riding as is.
As far as reliability goes, I'm a HUGE Ksyrium fan having put many thousands of miles on them. I bought the first set of Ksyriums back in 2009, and while I've upgraded to better model Ksyriums, my primary bike was equipped with Ksyrium SLs right up until I finally gave in to carbon in 2020. But all four of my back up bikes have Ksyriums. They roll great and are extremely reliable. In all the years and miles I've put on them I can only recall two occasions where I elected to perform a minor correction to the true of a wheel and I do mean minor. I'm saying all this to say your wheels are worth trying to save.
As for the problem pulling a spoke through the rim, I've never run into this or for that matter, heard of it as a problem with Ksyrium Elite or SLs. I have heard of this problem numerous times with the Ksyrium ES model which makes sense because the ES has a thinner rim to lighten the wheel.

roccobike

Yes the wrench is available from Park Tool. The number on the one I have is SW-13.

Sonofamechanic 

Roccobike—this is good news—I like the SLs too (and before them the old Mavic Cosmics)—I based my “notorious” comment mostly on what I see for sale on eBay which is s lot of cracked/stressed rims by the spoke nipples (especially the rears which possibly means its a lot to do with too much rider weight?) and I only mentioned it so the OP knows to watch out for that when buying a used replacement rim (since new are no longer available.)

cxwrench

I'm guessing you don't work in a bike shop? I've seen spokes pull through more times than I can remember. I've experienced the 'my rear wheel makes a horrible noise' and/or 'the chain keeps going slack and pulling the crank around' freehub issue dozens if not hundreds of times. There are millions of Mavic wheels out there so there's bound to be people that have absolutely great experiences w/ them but in my greatly experienced opinion they are some of the worst engineered wheels ever made.

Kars 

Thank you to all for all these helpful comments. Deep down I really do want to save these wheels and so I will use them as is for now but will look out for NOS rim on ebay. I am kind of a perfectionist with wheels and like them to look almost perfect. BTW, from the previous owner these already have hundreds of miles on them and so still going strong. These will be for my Carrera build.

Dan Burkhart 

The best source for outdated Mavic parts is this guy.https://www.mavicparts.com/
I have rebuilt mavic wheels with other rims and standard spokes.
Not sure if that particular hub fits standard straight pull spokes but I think it does.

Kars 

thanks for that tip. Looks like he has a rim but it is for a tubular tire which I don't want but maybe if I check back at the site he will have it at some point. At least I did not see one unless I missed it. I would try and use the same spokes that are on it now I guess.

Sonofamechanic 

Cxwrench—did you see exceptions to that for the Mavic CXPs and the (early) Heliums? I never had issues with either—bombproof for commuting—but it seems that when Mavic started dropping its spoke count (Cosmics) the problems really began. I have friends who see no end of cracking/stressed rims in the Cosmics and now in the Ksyriums—but I do largely think its mostly a rider weight issue.

cxwrench

CXP rims and Helium wheels were pretty good. The Helium was basically a normal OP box section rim w/ Mavic manufactured hubs. The freehub was even good on those, it had 2 bearings like virtually every other freehub on the planet. Things went downhill w/ the Ksyrium. Obviously heavier riders will be harder on wheels and see more problems than light riders but I've seen so many problems with them...