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, nevertheless it seems it feels nice, most definitely as a result of I’ve received a minimum of two further centimeters of stomach fats to hunch over since I final rode the bike often. 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 consuming your manner there.

Whereas the Litespeed is from 2001 (effectively, the body, anyway) I acquired it in 2019 from Basic Cycle in what I think about to be a particularly favorable commerce. I received the bike of my erstwhile turn-of-the-century Fredly Cat 3 goals, and so they 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 several bicycle owner who owns a number of Rivendells (Rivendae?) and writes pompous suppose items about friction shifting, I after all suppose pre-packaged wheels are “icky,” particularly ones with a lot of proprietary elements. On the identical time, if a superbly good pair comes into my purview, I’m very happy to make use of them. Additionally, there was a time once I didn’t suppose such wheels have been icky; I believed they have 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 a lot of the credit score and/or blame for the entire thought of the out-of-the-box “wheel system” or no matter you need to name it. Actually, I believe Campagnolo have been doing it earlier than them with wheelsets just like the Shamal, and Spinergys and Hed Tri-Spokes additionally go manner again. Nevertheless it’s the Mavic Helium everybody thinks about once they consider the prototypical pre-built wheel, in all probability as a result of Mavic made a giant 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, despite the fact that it was simply an extraordinary wheel with a pink 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 folks 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 a minimum of 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 have been aluminum, identical to your bike! I’m too lazy to look it up, however my recollection is that the Ksyrium value one thing like $800 or $900 on the time, which was very costly for a set of wheels again then; positive, they’d pioneered all kinds of proprietary gimmicks applied sciences with this factor, however the actual accomplishment was convincing folks they wanted to spend near $1,000 for a set of all-around efficiency wheels. (Bear in mind: this was at a time when even when your native bike store now not constructed wheels you possibly can nonetheless get a set of well-built Ultegra/Open Professional wheels from like Colorado Bicycle owner or no matter that have been superior to the Ksyrium in practically each manner for like $250.)

Anyway, the fat-spoked Ksyriums regarded completely unbelievable on my fat-tubed Cannondale. This was additionally the peak of the coloured highway bike tire craze, and till they began to peel the thrilling decals regarded nice with pink or blue or gray or no matter hue I occurred to be using that week. Then in the future I used to be using by 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 motive, sending it manner 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 you might want to true it, the wheel was by no means fairly proper once more. So I gave up on them and purchased a fantastic 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 have been all however un-sellable to “critical” roadies. And that was that.

Having kind of 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 suppose the pink spoke is supposed to memorialize the Helium, and because of the aluminum spoke know-how they’re in a position to broadcast one in every of their many acronyms on it:

Consulting a well-liked search engine, “ISM Know-how” refers to Inter-Spoke Milling, which is a pretentious manner of claiming they scrape some materials off the rim in between the proprietary nipples:

Don’t fear, I’m positive it’s accomplished fairly judiciously, solely they not noted 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 folks discuss with because the “Mavic demise 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 get up. Despite the fact that I’ve by no means skilled it with these wheels, being neurotic in addition to a tinkerer (they have an inclination to go collectively), awhile again I attempted to exchange 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 have been too delicate and as they wore the micro-debris would put on out the bushing or one thing ridiculous like that. All of this was nearly definitely a waste of time, since I don’t use the wheels practically sufficient to want to fret about it occurring any time quickly. However, earlier than my journey this morning I took the freehub aside with a purpose 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 corporations 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 should always have particular fancy race wheels on our highway bikes all occasions, which is totally ridiculous. Nonetheless, there may be one good factor you may say about wheels like this, which is that they’re designed so {that a} workforce 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 often sufficient, a minimum of 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 with a purpose 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 among 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 preserve them rolling till they turn out to be correctly classic. As a result of in relation to bikes, every part comes again into fashion, whether or not you need it to or not.