The Mavic wheel ranges, for which use ?

Which Mavic wheels to choose ?

Mavic is the specialist in high-end bicycle wheels. Mavic started out as a designer and manufacturer of rims and wheel components, today complete wheel sets are offered.

It was in the mid-90s that Mavic began to define the wheels of a bicycle as a global system that could modify its behavior and its performance.

This article lists the Mavic wheel ranges from their launch until today.

• Mavic wheelset for road bikes :

1994, the mavic Cosmic wheel:

The rims of the Mavic Cosmic wheels have a high profile for performance against the wind. They can be aluminum or carbon with aluminum brake bands. The spokes of the front wheel are flat in stainless steel, assembled radially.

This Mavic Cosmic wheelset is particularly designed and efficient in triathlon, pelotons or on long roads.

1996, the Mavic Helium wheel:

This very high-end Mavic wheelset is designed as a set for road mountain performance.

For a weight of 650 grams of the front wheel and 850 grams for the rear, it was a revolution in 1997 when the ONCE team used these wheels. They are recognizable by their red color.

The rim is made of MAXTAL double-wall aluminum, it is SUP welded, this process consists of welding the rim connections in order to improve its mechanical strength, eyelets are crimped on the rim for a better distribution of the forces coming from the spokes. The front wheel has 24 spokes assembled radially and the rear wheel has 28 spokes. The brake bands have UB control treatment to improve braking efficiency in all conditions. The freewheel body is in aluminum, the spokes are in stainless steel and the spoke heads in brass, the bearings are sealed, adjustable and can be replaced.

1999: the Mavic Ksyrium wheel:

This new model of Mavic wheels came in the market in 1999, it is more versatile than helium because it can be used for all road profiles.

The rim is made of Maxtal double-wall aluminum but the fixing holes for the spokes are not crossing the both walls, in fact only the first wall is drilled and tapped for screwing with the spoke heads, this process coming from aeronautics, it has been called FORE by Mavic, it eliminates the need for rim tape, ensures complete rim sealing and reduces weight. The rim connections are also SUP welded for better mechanical strength.

For this pair of wheels Mavic is also innovating by using aluminum tubes on which the spoke heads are attached instead of the traditional spokes. These tubes are stamped to be wider for very good overall rigidity.

2007: Mavic R-sys wheel:

Mavic R-sys wheels incorporate an innovation called Tracomp which chaange the assembly and the use of spokes. Indeed the spokes are made of carbon, they can be subjected to traction and to compressions due to the position of the rim when it is stressed relative to the hub.

A ring fixed inside the hub prevents the spoke & spoke head assembly to move inside the hub. At the other end of the spoke, Mavic reuse the FORE spoke head mounting system on the rim. The tracomp innovation only works for radial spokes, it allows to reduce the weight and increase the rigidity of the whole wheel, in particular when cornering and accelerating.

• Mavic MTB wheelset:

1996: Mavic Cross Max wheel:

This Mavic wheelset was offered in 26 inches, it is a light, stiff and efficient overall system used at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

The double-wall MAXTAL rim is oversized but thin to reduce weight, the holes for the spokes are fitted with eyelets. The rims are anodized in black, the connexions are SUP welded and the brake bands have UB control ceramic treatment to generate good braking quality with V-brakes or cantilever brakes used in this period. The 26 stainless steel spokes are radial on the front wheel and 28 spokes are crossed and radial on the rear wheel. The ball bearings are adjustable, sealed and can be changed.

In 1999, the construction of Mavic Cross Max wheels evolves, the FORE spoke fixing system on the rims is implemented, this principle allows a gain in weight and rigidity.

1999: Mavic Deemax wheel:

Mavic Deemax wheels are designed for downhill mountain biking use. This model is recognizable by the yellow color of the oversized rims, the holes of which are fitted with two eyelets and the SUP welding system of the fittings.

Very quickly, from 1999, these Mavic Deemax wheels were designed for the use of disc brakes necessary for the descent where the braking constraints are very high.

This model of wheels is not light (1.16 kgs for the front and 1.39 kgs for the rear) but it is resistant to shocks and strong mechanical stresses.

Mavic wheel for Gravel :

2018: Mavic Allroad wheel series:

Mavic has developed a series of wheels for Gravel use, the rims are designed for tire sections (30, 35, 40 mm) wider than those for the road bike but less than those of the MTB, they receive an ISM 4D machining which reduces the weight of aluminum models. The spokes are in Zicral and the rims are drilled FORE.

Mavic Allroad wheel models are offered with carbon rims, for tubeless or inner tube tires and disc brake hubs.

These wheels benefit from all the experience and expertise of Mavic.

Mavic wheels by use and range levels:

Meaning of acronyms:

UST : for tubeless tire

Disc: for disc brake

EBM: hub with electric motor

SL: super light