Fresh Goods Sunday - Kinesis Crosslight CX Disc Wheels

When I ordered my Bowman Pilgrims I was looking for a disc road wheel set. I do love my Mavic wheelsets and they do a couple of disc versions - top end one is the ksyrium-pro-disc but the price tag was just too high. I looked around for other alternatives and decided on the Kinesis Crosslight CX MKIII models. The rrp is £300 but Merlins had 20% + Top cash back off. For the money they are a cheap light wheel - may be too cheap and too light, time will tell. I have heard/read some bad reviews on these wheels but not sure if they were on older models.
Once ordered they landed next day (as is normally the case with Merlin's) out of the box they are ready to roll and come with quick release's and rim tapes. I popped them on the scales to see just how far out the manufacturers claimed weight was (see photos below). The cassette went on no problems. I have fitted several different manufacturers / model of tyres and are all a tight fit on the rim except from the marathon racer wired tyres.
First time out there was a lot of spoke bedding in noises coming from both wheels. After a couple more rides and some honking out of the saddle they have gone quiet. I will keep a close check on the spoke tension as that was one of the major problems.
The other problem i have is the rim tape keeps sliding left/right when fitting tyres/tubes leaving spoke  holes exposed causing tubes to pop. The rim tape is too slack to keep in place so had to cut some gaffer tape up to cover holes first then fit some tighter, more flexible rim tapes.
I have used the wheels now for a few hundred miles and have bedded in and seem stiff enough out of the saddle on steep climbs, i dont feel any flex and are rolling smooth.
As for the looks of the wheel they are ok, stealth plain black with some blue stickers which match my Pilgrims frameset! Yes the Mavic's are always going to look better in my eyes.
Here is the manufactures blurb -
"NOW SHIMANO 11spd. COMPATIBLE. CAMPAGNOLO FREEHUB AVAILABLE AS OPTIONAL EXTRA.
This 3rd generation, lighter, stronger CXdisc wheelset is a real advance on previous versions and has a completely re-profiled rim section, with eyeletted spoke holes and pinned joint.
These new wheels are 151g lighter for the front and 94g lighter at the rear, saving a total of 245g where you will really notice it.
We have designed these wheels to work perfectly with our ‘Crosslight Pro6‘ frameset and they are a great partner for The ‘Decade Tripster‘ fast commuter too.
The 10spd freehub is interchangeable to allow the use of Shimano or Campagnolo gearing.
This is a true disc-specific rim profile, not a modified rim-brake section and these wheels use the same high-tension triple butted, stainless spokes and alloy nipples as our Maxlight wheels.
Hubs: Rear: 9mm QR. 7075 alloy, High quality, 10spd. 3 pawl alloy freehub. Alternative Campag compatible freehub available. 4 large sealed bearings, 6 bolt disc mount. Front: 9mm QR. Lightweight 7075 alloy, double sealed bearing, 6 bolt disc mount.
Spokes: Triple-butted Stainless Steel, with Grey anodised alloy nipples. 28h 3-cross build.
Rims: 28h, Clincher. 24mm width, 22mm depth, true disc-specific profile, High Strength alloy.
Weight: Front: 689g. Rear: 866g.
Price: £299.99 pr."

Front wheel with rim tape

rear wheel with rim tape