Mavic Crossmax XL WTS Wheelset


The not-so-minor details

Product

Mavic Crossmax XL WTS Wheelset

Contact

Groupe Sportif

Price

AUD1,499.00

Weight

1,710gm

Weight notes:

Claimed, w/o tyres or tubes.

Positives

Obvious quality.
Good value with included tyres.

Negatives

XD Driver is an additional cost.

Mavic’s Crossmax wheels have quite the reputation. Mavic, the French gods of rolling gear, have long made the rims and wheels that other manufacturers aspire to equal, and the Crossmax line has been at the pinnacle – le summet, if you will.

Mavic Crossmax XL 10

 

Mavic Crossmax XL 2

Their are four flavours of Crossmax wheels available, and we’re taking a look at the newest version of the XL wheelset in a 650B format (26″ and 29″ are available too), which is right in the sweet spot with the popularity of enduro-style riding/racing. Mavic bill these wheels as the “adventurer’s choice”;  I once ate a sea urchin, that’s pretty adventurous, so hopefully we make the cut.

Mavic Crossmax XL 1

First thing, these wheels come pre-dressed with some excellent looking tyres! Mavic have been developing rubber for both mountain and road bikes over the past few years, and this will be our first experience on their treads. The Quest tyres are a 2.4″ width, with a generous bag to them, nice and soft compound, with a lowish-profile centre tread. The claimed weight for them is 780g in 650B, and of course they’re tubeless ready too.

Mavic Crossmax XL 8
The 2.4″ Quest tyres are a soft compound, with a tread pattern we definitely like the look of.

The wheels themselves are a pleasant evolution, rather than a blank-sheet re-design. Mavic have bumped the internal width of the rims up to 23mm, for more tyre stability, as well as changing the rim profile to make it more dent resistant. The milling on both the hub and rim is something pretty special, giving the wheels that gorgeous ‘carved from a hunk of aluminium’ industrial chic that we really like. 24 massive Zircal spokes hold each wheel together, with radial lacing on the rear driveside.

Mavic Crossmax XL 9
The four-pawl freehub body feels light and crisp in action. Easy serviceability has always been a feature of Mavic hubs too.

We haven’t yet removed the tyres to weigh the wheels on their own, but the claimed figure is 1710g. With tyres and tubes fitted, the complete weight of our 650B wheels is just on 3.6kg, which will drop significantly once we go tubeless (valves are supplied).

Mavic Crossmax XL 3
With a 23mm internal width, the Crossmax XL rims aren’t as wide as many we’ve tested lately – will there be enough support?

We’re genuinely looking forward to riding some Mavic wheels again. With the trends towards super-wide rims we’ve been seeing in the all-mountain category, it’ll be good see how some high-quality not-so-wide wheels perform in comparison. These will be finding their way onto our Norco Range long-term test bike very shortly. NB. Our wheels are fitted with an XD Driver body, not a Shimano driver as is standard.

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