Mavic Ksyrium Equipe Wheels

I bought a pair of these today to be used as my primary training wheels next summer. Recently, I've managed to break 3 spokes, on 3 separate wheels in my last 4 rides. 2 fronts, and 1 rear. I've broken more spokes this year than ever. I've also noticed the trend for more and more riders routinely using "race" quality wheels for training. Unfortunately, I'm hard enough on wheels, that just wouldn't be a wise investment.

Most of my training wheels are traditional 32hole Mavic Open SUP's with Shimano hubs. My front wheels are radial laced, and the rears are 3x. They all use a traditional spoke with tangential hub flange. I've had problems with alloy nipples in the past breaking, but all my wheels now have brass nipples. Now my spokes always break at the flange.

I know that once you break a spoke, the wheel tends to be compromised, and will be more prone to breaking more spokes, unless you re-lace it. Unfortunately, that's just not a cost effective solution for me, since I can get a replacement spoke for $1, install, and true it myself. It would cost me at least $60 to get the wheel re-laced.

My racing wheels have straight pull flange hubs, and have been rock solid. These Mavic Ksyriums have straight pull hubs, and the price is right. I look at them as a "race" quality wheel, albeit a little heavier (1840g vs. the 1535g SL's). We'll see how they hold up next summer.