I gotta say, this motorcycle’s truly operating for me this week:
I’ve had it arrange for my older son, and so the stem is 2 centimeters shorter than what I typically use. I considered converting it again, however it seems it feels nice, in all probability as a result of I’ve were given no less than two further centimeters of stomach fats to slump over since I closing rode the motorcycle incessantly. Professional motorcycle becoming tip of the day: eating beer is extra a laugh and not more tedious than swapping stems, so if the achieve to your motorcycle is just too quick, I like to recommend merely ingesting your approach there.
Whilst the Litespeed is from 2001 (effectively, the body, anyway) I got it in 2019 from Vintage Cycle in what I believe to be a particularly favorable business. I were given the motorcycle of my erstwhile turn-of-the-century Fredly Cat 3 goals, they usually were given this:
I name {that a} win-win.
The Mavic Ksyrium wheels at the Litespeed are the wheels that got here with the motorcycle. Like several bicycle owner who owns a couple of Rivendells (Rivendae?) and writes pompous assume items about friction moving, I after all assume pre-packaged wheels are “icky,” particularly ones with plenty of proprietary portions. On the similar time, if a superbly just right pair comes into my purview, I’m very happy to make use of them. Additionally, there was once a time once I didn’t assume such wheels had been icky; I believed they had been cool, and driving the Ksyriums jogs my memory of ways the ones crafty Frenchmen at Mavic so captured the imaginations and wallets of Freds everywhere in the global.
Mavic will get many of the credit score and/or blame for the entire concept of the out-of-the-box “wheel device” or no matter you need to name it. If truth be told, I feel Campagnolo had been doing it prior to them with wheelsets just like the Shamal, and Spinergys and Hed Tri-Spokes additionally cross long ago. Nevertheless it’s the Mavic Helium everybody thinks about once they bring to mind the prototypical pre-built wheel, almost definitely as a result of Mavic made a giant deal at the Helium’s tenth anniversary and satisfied everybody they invented the idea that:
As a tender Fred I take into account being captivated by means of the Helium, although it was once simply an odd wheel with a purple rim and too few spokes. I used to be in a similar way considering the Cosmic, which compensated for having too few spokes by means of having a too-heavy rim:
[Pic from here.]
In addition to the Classics wheelset, which had slightly sufficient spokes, however which Mavic’s advertising and marketing other people attempted to persuade you was once overbuilt by means of hanging the phrase “Classics” on it:
[Pic from here.]
Then in 1999 they got here out with this:
I’d been racing on a suite of Cosmic something-or-others, which had a finicky rear hub and needed to be despatched again to Mavic once or more. So naturally when Mavic presented an much more proprietary wheel I completely needed to have it. Certain, it’s hoary and clunky-looking now, but if the Ksyrium first got here out it appeared impossibly unique, and but it promised to be a crit wheel and an aero wheel and mountain climbing wheel and a coaching wheel–all on the similar time! Plus, it didn’t use rim tape (hello-weight financial savings!!!), and the spokes had been aluminum, identical to your motorcycle! I’m too lazy to seem it up, however my recollection is that the Ksyrium price anything like $800 or $900 on the time, which was once very dear for a suite of wheels again then; certain, they’d pioneered all forms of proprietary gimmicks applied sciences with this factor, however the actual accomplishment was once convincing other people they had to spend with reference to $1,000 for a suite of all-around functionality wheels. (Have in mind: this was once at a time when even though your native motorcycle store not constructed wheels you need to nonetheless get a suite of well-built Ultegra/Open Professional wheels from like Colorado Bike owner or no matter that had been awesome to the Ksyrium in just about each and every approach for like $250.)
Anyway, the fat-spoked Ksyriums regarded completely improbable on my fat-tubed Cannondale. This was once additionally the peak of the coloured highway motorcycle tire craze, and till they began to peel the thrilling decals regarded nice with purple or blue or gray or no matter hue I came about to be driving that week. Then in the future I used to be driving thru Big apple and was once the sufferer of a sad act of violence when a tender miscreant ran out into the road and kicked the wheel of my fancy race motorcycle for no reason why, sending it approach out of true. Even after taking it to the store the place execs tended to it with the proprietary Mavic spoke wrench and hockey puck you want to true it, the wheel was once by no means reasonably proper once more. So I gave up on them and acquired a gorgeous pair of blue Open Professional-rimmed wheels with Dura ace hubs, on which I appear to recall I were given an excellent deal as by means of this level such wheels had been all however un-sellable to “severe” roadies. And that was once that.
Having kind of gotten off the Mavic wheel device horse within the early 2000s, those more recent Ksyriums appear definitely futuristic to me, and but at this level they’re over 15 years previous. I suppose the purple spoke is supposed to memorialize the Helium, and due to the aluminum spoke era they’re in a position to broadcast considered one of their many acronyms on it:
Consulting a well-liked seek engine, “ISM Generation” refers to Inter-Spoke Milling, which is a pretentious approach of claiming they scrape some subject matter off the rim in between the proprietary nipples:
Don’t fear, I’m certain it’s accomplished reasonably judiciously, simplest they overlooked the “J” since differently 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 now not lubricated, resulting in a screeching sound when coasting that folks consult with because the “Mavic dying squeal” or anything like that. I used to be nonetheless “racing” at the moment, and so I’ve heard it in particular person; just like the sound of cats fucking, it makes the hairs at the again of your neck rise up. Even if I’ve by no means skilled it with those wheels, being neurotic in addition to a tinkerer (they generally tend to move in combination), awhile again I attempted to interchange the bushing with an aftermarket bearing, a process I controlled to botch. I then ordered upgraded pawls from a man who makes a speciality of Mavic portions, since supposedly the explanation they begin howling is the unique pawls had been too comfortable and as they wore the micro-debris would put on out the bushing or anything ridiculous like that. All of this was once nearly for sure a waste of time, since I don’t use the wheels just about sufficient to want to fear about it taking place any time quickly. Nonetheless, prior to my journey this morning I took the freehub aside with the intention to administer a preemptive lube activity:
The retrogrouches amongst us like to decry all this proprietary performance-oriented era, regardless that the issue with it truly isn’t the era itself such a lot because the delusional individuals who acquire it, and ceaselessly we get disappointed at corporations for making merchandise we truly shouldn’t be purchasing within the first position. Principally, beginning within the past due ’90s we perceived to settle for the perception that we must have particular fancy race wheels on our highway motorcycles all instances, which is totally ridiculous. Alternatively, there’s one just right factor you’ll be able to say about wheels like this, which is they’re designed in order that a crew mechanic can overhaul like 20 of them in one night time in the midst of a degree race. So whilst the bushing that saves like 20 grams would possibly get started loudly protesting if now not lubed continuously sufficient, no less than lubing this is a easy topic of taking two Allen keys and popping the freehub off:
You don’t even want to take away the cassette first with the intention to get complete get admission to to the internals:
As soon as in there, it’s simply two pawls, that bushing, and a few skateboard bearings:
There was once nonetheless various the artificial motor oil I’d lubed it with closing time I used to be in there, however I wiped probably the most peripheral dirt away and added some Dumonde freehub oil for just right measure:
The Ksyriums are simply sufficiently old to look funky and out of date, however expectantly with due care I will stay them rolling till they turn out to be correctly antique. As a result of relating to motorcycles, the entirety comes again into taste, whether or not you need it to or now not.
