mavic rims suck?

I had a mavic ma3 rim 36 spoke with good spokes on a campy hub on the rear.
now I am a heavy rider (right now about 238 with up to 15 or so pounds on my
back. I use a 25mm tire with full 120 or close pressure.
my last rim was getting out of true a lot and a new derailer slipped a bit and
chewed up the spokes so I replaced the spokes and rim with the ma3.
after about 700 or so miles of daily commuting the wheel needed little trueing
so I did it. the next day it was off again. I was tightening the spokes when I
saw one that looked like it had a hump around it. a closer look reveled that the
rim was cracked around the spoke and it was pulling out.
nothing like making a person mad seeing a new part failing. I was going to get a
cp22 or 33 rim as I have heard they are pretty bullet proof here. one of my
local shops that has a great owner that does not push things told me the mavic's
with the hole sleeves tend do to that. I have read about the creaking these rims
have and some problems. anyone else have this problem?
he let me use a loaner while he orders a good 36 hole replacement rim.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.

RE/
a closer look reveled that the
rim was cracked around the spoke and it was pulling out.

I'm about 220# and I've toasted three Mavic 517s. On each the spokes were
starting to pull out around the ferrules and there were cracks around same. Not
just some ferrules - all of them.

My take is that the 517 just isn't designed for use by somebody my weight. I've
since switched to a 617 (double ferrule) for my rear wheel.
--
PeteCresswell

Steve- I had a mavic ma3 rim 36 spoke with good spokes on a campy hub on the
rear. BRBR
I was tightening the spokes when I
saw one that looked like it had a hump around it. a closer look reveled that
the
rim was cracked around the spoke and it was pulling out. BRBR

Not uncommon with MA-3s and we have sent all ours back to Mavic, swapped with
OpenPros. Velocity, either Fusion of Deep Vs are nice rims for you. Cheaper
than CXP-33s as well. CXP-22s are 32 hole only.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Are you saying the MA3 is not a good rim overall, or not suited for heavier
wieghts. I was going to call my LBS this am, and order a MA3/Suzue rear
wheel. I weigh 165. Thanks

Steve Knight wrote in message . ..
I had a mavic ma3 rim 36 spoke with good spokes on a campy hub on the rear.
now I am a heavy rider (right now about 238 with up to 15 or so pounds on my
back. I use a 25mm tire with full 120 or close pressure.

I vary between 200 - 225 and I use Mavic rimmed wheels exclusively.
They are good. Your wheel's build is what was bad. Even tension
would not result in a spoke pulling out unless the tension were overly
high and you took a bad hit.

You should apply your obvious patience and attention to detail (as
evidenced by your planes) to learning how to build a good set of
wheels. I build my own and ride 36 hole CXP 33's on campy 10 hubs and
32 hole OP's also on campy 10.

Yes, there is a known issue with a the "Mavic Creak" attributed
frequently to a loose insert used to align the ends of the hoop for
welding. That can be fixed.

My 33's rock. Go ahead - but get the book (Jobst Brandt's The Bicycle
Wheel) or pay for your local expert to build them up. 14/15 DB
spokes, three cross.

App

This has been discussed in literally thousands of posts in this
newsgroup. Most modern bicycle rims are junk being passed off as
"hi-tech" improvements replete with buzzwords and acronyms, etc.
Mavic is the worst offender of all, IMHO. Look for the Torelli
Master in polished aluminum.

"Chris" writes:

Are you saying the MA3 is not a good rim overall, or not suited for
heavier wieghts. I was going to call my LBS this am, and order a
MA3/Suzue rear wheel. I weigh 165. Thanks

The MA3- indeed the entire Mavic line IMHO- is crap. The last good
Mavic rim was the MA2 in polished aluminum. There are vocal
defenders of Mavic who will rise to this as they always do, but
frankly if you're over about 140 lbs stay away from this company's
products. If you can, stay away from anodized rims as they are prone
to early failure by cracking around the spoke holes.

(Appkiller) writes:

Steve Knight wrote in message
. ..

I had a mavic ma3 rim 36 spoke with good spokes on a campy hub on
the rear. now I am a heavy rider (right now about 238 with up to
15 or so pounds on my back. I use a 25mm tire with full 120 or
close pressure.

I vary between 200 - 225 and I use Mavic rimmed wheels exclusively.
They are good. Your wheel's build is what was bad. Even tension
would not result in a spoke pulling out unless the tension were
overly high and you took a bad hit.

Malarkey. The rim didn't crack because of excessive spoke tension or
"taking a bad hit" (which can't crack a rim in this manner). The rim
cracked because it is a badly designed POS. So-called "single
eyelets" and anodizing are a particularly bad combination. If you are
a featherweight then you'll probably not have much trouble.

There's been hundreds of threads on this and thousands of posts. You
can read then via Google.

"Tim McNamara" wrote in message
...
"Chris" writes:

Are you saying the MA3 is not a good rim overall, or not suited for
heavier wieghts. I was going to call my LBS this am, and order a
MA3/Suzue rear wheel. I weigh 165. Thanks

The MA3- indeed the entire Mavic line IMHO- is crap. The last good
Mavic rim was the MA2 in polished aluminum. There are vocal
defenders of Mavic who will rise to this as they always do, but
frankly if you're over about 140 lbs stay away from this company's
products. If you can, stay away from anodized rims as they are prone
to early failure by cracking around the spoke holes.

sarcasm on OH MY GOD THE SKY IS FALLING! That there are probably
millions of Mavic's anodized rims in the world working well is besides the
point, huh? I myself have 3 pair of anodized Mavic rims, are you saying
you're going to pay to have them rebuilt with Velocity rims?
Sarcasm off

Seriously now, eventually everything will fail. If you over-tension your
rims, ride them into potholes, weigh a bunch, etc. you're going to have a
shorter rim lifespan than someone that weighs 135 and floats over things.

I'm running between 170 and 185 depending on what part of the racing season
I'm in. I have a pair of MA40 wheels, a pair of GL330 wheels, and a pair of
Reflex wheels. All are in fine condition.

I'm of the opinion that more depends on how you build the wheel than the rim
itself.

Yes, there are rims that aren't as good for their intended applications, but
for the 165# guy wanting to ride MA3s, I'd say go for it. Personally, I
like MA40s better, but hey, MA3s work too. Alternatives are Torelli Master
rims, and several others that someone else is about to chime in with.

That help?

Mike

"Tim McNamara" wrote in message
...
This has been discussed in literally thousands of posts in this
newsgroup. Most modern bicycle rims are junk being passed off as
"hi-tech" improvements replete with buzzwords and acronyms, etc.
Mavic is the worst offender of all, IMHO. Look for the Torelli
Master in polished aluminum.

'scuse me, but exactly how many of these "crap" rims do you actually have
personal experience with?

....or are you just spouting off stuff you've read on the internet?

Mike