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Mavic Aksium Front Wheel |
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Written by Matt Hersey
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Tuesday, 12 June 2007 |
Tester: Matt Hersey, Team Bikeman.com Expert Rider, Bikeman Product Tester
Conditions: Southern California’s rocky roads.
Review: I bought this product because I was looking for an inexpensive road wheel to put on my cross bike and use for training purposes. I went onto this here website and figured that I could find a Quality House Built wheel for cheap - some Deore or 105 hub mated to an Alex rim or something. Low and behold, the least expensive wheel available was a Mavic. Of course, Mavic is THE most reputable brand in the world of bicycle wheels. And they’ve brought a lot of innovation and new technology to the market in the last decade.
Additionally, I’m getting to be a fan of factory built wheels, as opposed to hand built wheels. Sure, there’s a lot of personalization and customization in choosing the hubs, spokes, and rims that best fit your riding style. And building wheels “by hand” is certainly an art. But these new factory built wheels seem to never need truing or adjusting. So there is more time for riding.
 | | Mavic Aksium Front Wheel |
When the wheel arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it came complete with a rim strip and quick release. However, I couldn’t believe the heft required to lift the thing out of the box. Wow! Holy 920 grams!
This product further verifies the axiom that no bicycle product can possess all three of the following qualities: strength, low cost, and light weight. It’s an interesting and well thought out product though. It’s as if the designers at Mavic wanted to bring their popular road wheel, Ksyrium, (645 grams) to the masses.
The wheel copies most of the Ksyrium’s sleek and aerodynamic aesthetics. The rim is moderately tall with a machined braking surface. 20 bladed and radially laced J bend spokes on the front. The hub flange is unusually tall - I’m not sure if that is fashion or function. The wheel is available in black and silver. Black costs $5 or $10 dollars more though (so you know I didn’t get that).
The axle nuts give this wheel away though. They are the big, six-sided nuts a person might buy at a hardware store. And the axle is steel instead of aluminum. I guess that is where the weight is added and the cost saved.
This wheel rides, rolls, turns, and brakes very well for the price. It appears very strong, and I don’t imagine that I will ever need to true it. However, the weight is very noticeable. It would be great for winter training or to use as a spare, but I would never use it in races.
Matt Hersey
Rated:
 | $101.95
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| Mavic Aksium Front Wheel: Silver. ACCESS INTO MAVIC’S WORLD OF ROAD WHEELS. At Mavic, when we say entry level, we don’t mean bottom of the range!... |
 | $109.95
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| Mavic Aksium Front Wheel: Black. ACCESS INTO MAVIC’S WORLD OF ROAD WHEELS. At Mavic, when we say entry level, we don’t mean bottom of the range!... |
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