2008 Mavic Ksyrium SL - First Look

Mavic Ksyrium SL

Mavic Ksyriums have long been some of our favourite wheels. One of the first “prebuilt” wheel packages, the Ksyrium SL has always managed the difficult combination of being robust enough for everyday use whilst being light and fast enough for racing. However, carbon rimmed wheelsets have been growing in popularity amongst racers and sportive riders, so Mavic have had to up their game.

The Ksyrium range has gone through some serious development and trickledown this year, with the addition of the new R-Sys to the top of the Ksyrium line and the Aksium to the bottom of the range.

Last year's Ksyrium ES was a special edition and had a hefty pricetag attached. This year's SL is essentially the ES with the addition of an asymmetrical rim that is intended to provide extra stiffness, and the removal of a fair chunk of that previously hefty pricetag. Since the Ksyriums have always felt plenty stiff to me the modification may well be moot.

As always with Mavic wheels the bearing quality feels superb and the finish is top quality. The ride feels like a subtle evolution of the older Ksyrium SL SSC, with a more planted feel at speed and a slight edge to responsiveness when you put the hammer down. This is almost certainly the result of more lateral stiffness, but it's not at the expense of compliance as the Kysrium SL is still a comfortable wheel for all-day rides.

Technical features