Money often dictates what level of wheel we choose for our machines, and often the list of "affordably-priced" wheels is more difficult to sift through than the "high-end" wheels. Fortunately, the Mavic Aksium Wheels not only keeps the budget conscious satisfied, but maintains the quality and performance we"ve come to expect from Mavic wheels.The Aksium rims are constructed from black anodized 6106 aluminum. As in the rest of their aluminum wheel line, Mavic uses UB Control technology to mill the braking surfaces of the rim. The result is improved brake friction and shudder-free stops in almost all weather conditions.The Aksium wheels feature 20 (front and rear) bladed, straight-pull, steel spokes with brass nipples. Each spoke is equipped with Mavic"s Self Lock technology that uses a special shape on the spoke end to make it impossible to loosen when it"s on the thread. The design eliminates tension loss, and the wheels stay truer, longer.The Aksium wheels aren"t going to win any weight contests, but Mavic"s early and broad dedication to aerodynamics compensates for the extra grams. The 21mm rim profile, low spoke count, and use of bladed stainless steel spokes manage to mitigate much of their beefiness. The Aksium is substantially less expensive than the Kysrium Elite and Equipe thanks to a combination of small details. Rather than having FORE drilled rims and thread-in spoke grommets, the Aksium rim is a more traditional single-eyelet-style, with the spoke holes penetrating the outer wall of the rim And, while the Aksium uses the identical lightweight FTS-L steel freehub body as the Ksyrium Elite and SL wheels, its sealed bearing hubs lack the on-bike adjustability, although they are fully serviceable and adjustable otherwise. The Mavic Aksium Wheels is available with white decals and Campagnolo or Shimano/SRAM-compatible freehub bodies. The front wheel weighs 800 grams and the rear 935 grams (total weight 1735 grams).