Mavic R-Sys Premium - What's in the bag

"Well it's been so long, it's been so long...and I've been putting out the fire - with gasoline"

Not quite, but my intentions of blogging regularly on all things bike and tri have rather taken a knock as a result of repeat injuries. So there's nothing like some expensive retail therapy to make one feel better in convalescence. The reason for the therapy: over the next few months I'm putting together my dream bike - a steed that will hopefully be as faithful a servant as my BH Aprica (circa 2001) has been to date - and the start point is a set of new wheels.

I spent a lot of time researching (as ever) and the short list made for some pretty sexy reading: Fulcrum Racing Zero, Hed Ardennes, Mavic R-Sys. On another completely different list was my first choice a pair of Zipp 303s, but the price differential of nearly 100% ruled them out - another lifetime perhaps? My shopping criteria were simple: a lightweight, aluminium rimmed wheelset which would stand the rigours of inconsistent Jo'burg road surfaces - solid enough to train on but great race wheels.

HED Stinger 60s bear my Cervélo P2SL into combat and I'm a huge fan. The Ardennes come in very light and get rave reviews around rolling resistance, feel and innovative design. However, the substantially broader rims would make swapping out my true training wheels (Fulcrum Racing7s) somewhat more of a mission than I wanted. And then there were two. The Racing Zeros never really stood a chance as a change in the Mavic range led to some hugely discounted prices on the Mavic R-Sys Premiums.

My initial search started with the R-Sys SL wheelset which come in at a svelte 1390g for the pair. The other wheel in the R-Sys range is the Red and between the two lay the Premium. There have been recall issues with the R-Sys range and having 3 wheelsets in very similar sales space may have pushed Mavic to discontinue the Premium range. Whatever the reason, the prices came tumbling down nearly 35% off actual selling prices in a matter of weeks.

And so they are here.

I'm naturally going to draw comparisons with the wheels I've ridden (Fulcrum Racing 7s and HED Stinger 60s) because those are my reference points. Neither is a fair comparison - the Fulcrums are entry level budget wheels and the HED are carbon aero wheels - however, they both help me relativise the R-Sys Premiums.

First reaction to the R-Sys is around the weight. The Premiums don't require rim tape due to the refined production and holding the front wheel of Mavic in one hand and the Racing7 in the other, the difference is huge. How huge? Well 266g of huge - the Mavics hitting the scales at 590g and the Racing7s at 856g (with rim tape). Sometimes it's not easy to conceive 266g of anything, so I rummaged around in the kitchen and found a half eaten jar of peanut butter - bingo - that is the revolving weight I've just lost from the front wheel.

The oversize carbon spokes are visually arresting and significantly stiffer to the touch than my current wheels. The milling of the brake rim is exceptionally fine and running a finger around the inside of the rim confirms that no rim tape will be required - it's baby smooth in there thanks to a secondary wall between you and the spokes. The front rim is very shallow and has a boxed cross-section compared with the higher more tapered Fulcrums. The rim is also crenelated like an old castle wall: the rim section between the spokes being lower than the very slight turrets where the spokes meet the rim.

Almost everything I expected to find in the bag was there: skewers, special clip on sensor magnet and warranty. Just the spoke adjustment key was missing, but a quick trip to the LBS should resolve.

And the rear wheel. Well the technology is a bit different back there. The oversize carbon spokes are replaced by flat-bladed spokes on the drive side. The rim section is deeper on the rear wheel which is also crenelated like the front. At 806g for the rear this is a super light wheel - my HED 60 rear without tubular tyre is almost 100g heavier - and I thought that was light.

I can't leave my first impressions without a word on them skewers. In my nights on the web I've looked at Tune DC14s, X-Lite Ti and an array of super leggera skewers for around Eur100 mark. Now that's a lot of money for a skewer but with weights under 40g I was interested. The skewers provided with the Mavic R-Sys Premiums are no feathers, but at only 84g the pair (with springs) there will be much deliberation before parting with lots of dosh for 40-odd grams (or a small pack of crisps if you're trying to visualise).

With all this, I feel very much like a motorsport journalist at the unveiling of a new model for the upcoming season. It all looks good, shiny and well-engineered, but how will it perform? To find out I'll need a working body (I'm currently hunched over like an old man with a bad back) and a few more days.