Mavic Open Pro ~ worth saving ?

[DiddlyDodds]

Last year i bought a Scott Road bike S50 and the wheels on it are ALEX Rims Race 28.
I am always hearing that an upgrade of wheels makes a huge difference SO i have a pair of "Mavic Open Pro" wheels with stickers on "ub control" "SUP" maxital Miche 622 x 15.

Has anyone heard or used these and are they a better wheel than The Alex Rim that would come as standard on a £600 bike

both front and back have a slight buckle so need to know if they are a better wheel before spending money on them to get straightened


I have noticed there are almose twice the number of spokes in the Mavic wheels but feel as light if not lighter than my std ones

 

[topcat1]

open pro's set the standard, get them fixed and enjoy

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

open pro's set the standard, get them fixed and enjoy

+1.

If you are getting them rebuilt it is worth considering using light double butted spokes (but brass, not alloy, nipples) if they aren't already.

Actually in terms of components imho tyres, tubes, rims and spokes are all great destinations for investment.

 

[brockers]

I hope it doesn't have a 'Miche' sticker on it. Mavic might be most annoyed if their rims were being copied

 

[PpPete]

Open Pros are a very light rim - designed for 32 or 36 spokes.

The smaller number of spokes on stock wheels (especially those on a £600 bike) is merely a fashion statement.

Properly built Open Pros - using double-butted stainless spokes and brass nipples - are immensely strong, and IME very quick too. They do however have a reputation for wearing out on the brake track quite quickly - mine are beginning to be a bit concave after 3000 miles of riding in all weathers, but I'm keeping a close eye on them with the rim gauge, and reckon they're probably good for another 100 at least.

 

[YahudaMoon]

Im on my 9th Open Pro rim. I love em.

 

[brockers]

I have 10,000 miles on my rear Open Pro. What are these 'brakes' that you speak of ? I also have a stiffer pair of wheels with faster lighter tyres, but I rarely use them now, as they're not as comfortable for my long meanders around Kent .

Seriously, Open Pros are great rims. People used to race on the things up until the late 90's (and many still do in rough conditions), when Mavic introduced their proto Ksyriums (basically an Open Pro with fewer but fatter spokes on a Mavic hub) which started the fashion for 'factory' wheelsets. The quality of OPs has supposedly gone off a bit in recent years - they weren't coming out of the factory perfectly round, which makes it a bit of a pain to build an evenly tensioned wheel, but don't let that put you off.

If the rim doesn't lay flat, as though there's a slight wobble, then any good wheelbuilder should be able to work around that. But if there's a sharp kink in the rim, as though the wheel's hit a deep pothole at speed, I'd say that's a bit more of a problem and the rim's possibly junk.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

I hope it doesn't have a 'Miche' sticker on it. Mavic might be most annoyed if their rims were being copied

The Miche sticker is on the centre hub , they came off a Francesco Moser bike , the frame was damaged (ali and split near the head tube) so i go the wheels off ot , also the brakes were Miche.