List of products by brand Mavic

Mavic (Manufacture d'Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel) was created in Lyon (France) in 1889, this company specializes in the design and manufacture of bicycle parts and accessories, its head office is located in Metz-Tessy near Annecy in Haute-Savoie. This company previously owned by the Finnish company Amer Sports, which also owned the Atomic, Wilson, Suunto, Precor and Salomon brands from 2005 to 2020 is now owned by the French investment group Bourrelier.

Mavic takes part in the biggest cycling events by offering free and neutral assistance to the Tour de France riders, which made it visible on stages covered by television.

Mavic historic :

• 1889 marks the origin of Mavic by the brothers Léon and Laurent Vielle who opens a nickel plating activity
• 1905: the Vielle brothers join forces with Vital Artaud and Joseph Amargain to create a joint company Amargain & Cie specializing in the manufacture of handlebars, the surface treatment of these hangers is carried out by the Vielle brothers.
• 1907: the two companies merge to give birth to the company Vielle frères & Cie, the growth of the company is fast thanks to the strong dynamics of the bicycle market
• 1917: the legal structure of the company changes and becomes the Établissements Métallurgiques du Rhône (EMR), specializing in the design and manufacture of handlebars and rims under the AVA brand.
• In 1922, Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel created a company specializing in the manufacture of mudguards and bicycle accessories.
• In 1924: Henri Gormand becomes the majority shareholder of Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel and renames it Mavic (Manufacture d'Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel)
• In 1929, Henri Gormand joined forces with investors to buy back EMR
• 1930, on the basis of a patent for a hollow duraluminium rim, filed in 1928 by Charles Dieu and André Lestradet (Méphisto rim), Mavic designs and develops its first model of dural rim.
• 1932, Henri Gormand took control of Mavic's EMR. EMRs allow Mavic to mass produce a dural rim and handlebars.
• 1934, Mavic rims are used on the Tour de France but they are painted in an imitation wood color because aluminum rims are not authorized by the race regulations. Nevertheless, Antonin Magne won the event with Mavic dural rims. Mavic dural rims weigh only 100 grams, half as much as the competition because Mavic uses a system of eyelets at the drill holes in order to distribute the mechanical stresses on the two walls of the rim, this process was invented by Mario Longhi, an Italian who filed the patent in January 1934 a few hours before Mavic who will use this process under license.
• In 1935, the riders asked for authorization to use aluminum rims on the Tour de France, the ones that were to be used were "dura" rims, however after many accidents, the glue used to hold the tubulars on the rims. wood is not suitable for aluminum rims. A new type of glue is developed and Mavic rims participate in the victory of many races such as the Tour de France.
• 1955, Mavic diversifies by buying the company Moreau et Compagnie, specializing in the production of bicycle brakes, unfortunately Mavic ceases this activity in 1961.
• 1963, Henri Gormand dies and generates a succession crisis among his eight children. His son Louis will take over EMR and his son Bruno will ensure the continuity of Mavic.
• In 1965, the EMRs were bought out from Rigida (Mavic's main competitor), they were dissolved in 1968.
• 1973, Mavic offers the first lenticular wheel, more aerodynamic than a conventional bicycle wheel, it will never be allowed in professional races.
• In 1975, Mavic designed the first double-wall rim designed for a high pressure tire, it was fitted with hooks in which the tire was blocked.
• 1981, disappearance of the AVA brand
• 1985, Bruno Gormand accidentally dies, his wife Cécile takes over
• 1990, the Mavic company is bought by four executives including Jean-Pierre Lacombe who takes the management
• 1994, Mavic buys Wolber rims, of which Rigida is part
• In 1994, Mavic became the property of the Salomon group
• 1992, Mavic diversifies by designing and manufacturing a wired electric derailleur, the first model is the ZMS (Zap Mavic System), it will be used by teams on the Tour de France but it will experience reliability problems
• In 1999, the Mektronic derailleur (wireless version) replaced the ZMS but was quickly abandoned, not meeting the expected success.
• 2005, the Amer Sports group based in Finland acquires the Salomon group in which Mavic is a division.
• 2020, Amer Sport sells Mavic to the French group Bourrelier

Mavic's technological innovations :

Mavic's innovation is in the company's DNA, but it was only from 1991 that its design office began to be built with the hiring of its first engineer, Hubert Charpin. Thanks to its new skills Mavic has positioned itself as an expert in high-end bicycle wheels, in fact, during the 90s, Mavic offered complete technical and high-performance wheels rather than wheels assembled from rims, standard spokes and hubs. It was at this time that the Mavic helium (road wheelset), Mavic Cosmic (high rim wheelset for road bike) Mavic cross max (MTB wheelset) ranges appeared and were followed by the ksyrium models, aksium, crossmax, ... This new approach results in lighter and stiffer wheels because the spokes, rims and hubs are specifically designed to be assembled and work together. Mavic has also helped reduce rolling resistance by incorporating high-quality cartridge bearings in its hubs and freehub bodies integrated into the rear wheel hub. The materials used are also at the cutting edge of technology, such as maxtal or carbon, the design and manufacture of which are mastered by Mavic. In 2012, Mavic added to this logic the tires, the wheel ranges are now offered with matching Mavic tires.

Mavic and diversification :

Mavic is now specialized in the design and manufacture of high-end wheels for road bikes, mountain bikes, electric bikes, ... but is also diversifying by offering equipment for the cyclist such as shoes, shorts, jerseys, jackets, gloves, overshoes and helmets for all levels of use and all practices.

Mavic has abandoned its electronic business of designing and manufacturing electric derailleurs and computers.

Mavic's competition :

Following Mavic's success in the high-end bicycle wheels market, many players are appearing with technical solutions using high-performance materials on a massive scale, such as Corima, a French company specializing in carbon wheels and rims. very high-end, zipp, Shimano, Fullcrum, ... These brands try to differentiate themselves by offering different spoke assemblies, hubs whose bearings can be ball (shimano) or with different rim profile shapes. Mavic nevertheless remains the benchmark in terms of expertise and know-how due to its history and experience in the design and manufacture of bicycle wheels.

Mavic products offered on our SL Sport equipments site :

The Mavic components available in our store which are in second hand condition are cleaned and rigorously checked, their level of wear is measured from 0 (for parts) to 10 (new in its packaging). The parts and accessories in new condition come from clearance, they are in limited quantities, at the best price. Our Mavic product offer is not limited to the latest generation products, all ranges can be offered.

We also offer parts for repairing Mavic wheels such as spokes, bearings, rims or hubs, as well as tools for their assembly. These components must be chosen with the utmost rigor because they are specific to each range and generation, in fact, the spokes of the Mavic Ksyrium wheels can be flat in aluminum (elite model) or in carbon (rsys) and of different lengths.

Like all equipment, Mavic components must be maintained and regularly inspected in order to maintain their lifespan and performance in the best conditions. In our shop you will find specific cleaning and lubricating products for bikes.