I gotta say, this bike’s actually working for me this week:
I’ve had it arrange for my older son, and so the stem is 2 centimeters shorter than what I normally use. I considered altering it again, but it surely seems it feels nice, most probably as a result of I’ve received not less than two additional centimeters of stomach fats to hunch over since I final rode the bike frequently. Professional bike becoming tip of the day: consuming beer is extra enjoyable and fewer tedious than swapping stems, so if the attain in your bike is simply too quick, I like to recommend merely ingesting your method there.
Whereas the Litespeed is from 2001 (nicely, the body, anyway) I acquired it in 2019 from Traditional Cycle in what I take into account to be a particularly favorable commerce. I received the bike of my erstwhile turn-of-the-century Fredly Cat 3 goals, they usually received this:
I name {that a} win-win.
The Mavic Ksyrium wheels on the Litespeed are the wheels that got here with the bike. Like every bike owner who owns a number of Rivendells (Rivendae?) and writes pompous assume items about friction shifting, I after all assume pre-packaged wheels are “icky,” particularly ones with numerous proprietary elements. On the identical time, if a wonderfully good pair comes into my purview, I’m very happy to make use of them. Additionally, there was a time once I didn’t assume such wheels had been icky; I believed they had been cool, and using the Ksyriums jogs my memory of how these crafty Frenchmen at Mavic so captured the imaginations and wallets of Freds all all over the world.
Mavic will get many of the credit score and/or blame for the entire concept of the out-of-the-box “wheel system” or no matter you need to name it. In truth, I believe Campagnolo had been doing it earlier than them with wheelsets just like the Shamal, and Spinergys and Hed Tri-Spokes additionally go method again. But it surely’s the Mavic Helium everybody thinks about once they consider the prototypical pre-built wheel, most likely as a result of Mavic made an enormous deal on the Helium’s tenth anniversary and satisfied everybody they invented the idea:
As a younger Fred I bear in mind being captivated by the Helium, although it was simply an abnormal wheel with a purple rim and too few spokes. I used to be equally taken with the Cosmic, which compensated for having too few spokes by having a too-heavy rim:
[Pic from here.]
In addition to the Classics wheelset, which had barely sufficient spokes, however which Mavic’s advertising and marketing individuals tried to persuade you was overbuilt by placing the phrase “Classics” on it:
[Pic from here.]
Then in 1999 they got here out with this:
I’d been racing on a set of Cosmic something-or-others, which had a finicky rear hub and needed to be despatched again to Mavic not less than as soon as. So naturally when Mavic launched an much more proprietary wheel I completely needed to have it. Certain, it’s hoary and clunky-looking now, however when the Ksyrium first got here out it appeared impossibly unique, and but it promised to be a crit wheel and an aero wheel and climbing wheel and a coaching wheel–all on the identical time! Plus, it didn’t use rim tape (hello-weight financial savings!!!), and the spokes had been aluminum, similar to your bike! I’m too lazy to look it up, however my recollection is that the Ksyrium price one thing like $800 or $900 on the time, which was very costly for a set of wheels again then; certain, they’d pioneered all kinds of proprietary gimmicks applied sciences with this factor, however the true accomplishment was convincing individuals they wanted to spend near $1,000 for a set of all-around efficiency wheels. (Keep in mind: this was at a time when even when your native bike store now not constructed wheels you might nonetheless get a set of well-built Ultegra/Open Professional wheels from like Colorado Bicycle owner or no matter that had been superior to the Ksyrium in practically each method for like $250.)
Anyway, the fat-spoked Ksyriums regarded completely incredible on my fat-tubed Cannondale. This was additionally the peak of the coloured street bike tire craze, and till they began to peel the thrilling decals regarded nice with purple or blue or gray or no matter hue I occurred to be using that week. Then someday I used to be using via Manhattan and was the sufferer of a tragic act of violence when a younger miscreant ran out into the road and kicked the wheel of my fancy race bike for no purpose, sending it method out of true. Even after taking it to the store the place professionals tended to it with the proprietary Mavic spoke wrench and hockey puck it’s essential true it, the wheel was by no means fairly proper once more. So I gave up on them and purchased a stupendous pair of blue Open Professional-rimmed wheels with Dura ace hubs, on which I appear to recall I received an excellent deal as by this level such wheels had been all however un-sellable to “critical” roadies. And that was that.
Having roughly gotten off the Mavic wheel system horse within the early 2000s, these newer Ksyriums appear positively futuristic to me, and but at this level they’re over 15 years outdated. I assume the purple spoke is supposed to memorialize the Helium, and because of the aluminum spoke know-how they’re capable of broadcast certainly one of their many acronyms on it:
Consulting a preferred search engine, “ISM Expertise” refers to Inter-Spoke Milling, which is a pretentious method of claiming they scrape some materials off the rim in between the proprietary nipples:
Don’t fear, I’m certain it’s executed fairly judiciously, solely they omitted the “J” since in any other case it’d be JISM.
Across the time this iteration of the Ksyrium got here out, Mavic substituted a bearing within the freehub with a bushing. This bushing would ultimately dry up and/or put on out, particularly if not lubricated, resulting in a screeching sound when coasting that individuals confer with because the “Mavic loss of life squeal” or one thing like that. I used to be nonetheless “racing” at the moment, and so I’ve heard it in individual; just like the sound of cats fucking, it makes the hairs on the again of your neck rise up. Though I’ve by no means skilled it with these wheels, being neurotic in addition to a tinkerer (they have a tendency to go collectively), awhile again I attempted to switch the bushing with an aftermarket bearing, a process I managed to botch. I then ordered upgraded pawls from a man who makes a speciality of Mavic elements, since supposedly the rationale they begin howling is the unique pawls had been too tender and as they wore the micro-debris would put on out the bushing or one thing ridiculous like that. All of this was virtually definitely a waste of time, since I don’t use the wheels practically sufficient to wish to fret about it occurring any time quickly. However, earlier than my trip this morning I took the freehub aside as a way to administer a preemptive lube job:
The retrogrouches amongst us like to decry all this proprietary performance-oriented know-how, although the issue with it actually isn’t the know-how itself a lot because the delusional individuals who buy it, and infrequently we get upset at firms for making merchandise we actually shouldn’t be shopping for within the first place. Mainly, beginning within the late ’90s we appeared to just accept the notion that we must always have particular fancy race wheels on our street bikes all instances, which is totally ridiculous. Nonetheless, there’s one good factor you’ll be able to say about wheels like this, which is that they’re designed so {that a} group mechanic can overhaul like 20 of them in a single night time in the course of a stage race. So whereas the bushing that saves like 20 grams could begin loudly protesting if not lubed incessantly sufficient, not less than lubing it’s a easy matter of taking two Allen keys and popping the freehub off:
You don’t even have to take away the cassette first as a way to get full entry to the internals:
As soon as in there, it’s simply two pawls, that bushing, and a few skateboard bearings:
There was nonetheless loads of the artificial motor oil I’d lubed it with final time I used to be in there, however I wiped a number of the peripheral grime away and added some Dumonde freehub oil for good measure:
The Ksyriums are simply sufficiently old to appear funky and outdated, however hopefully with due care I can hold them rolling till they grow to be correctly classic. As a result of in terms of bikes, every thing comes again into fashion, whether or not you need it to or not.
