Inside Line: Mavic’s lightest wheels get even lighter

Mavic is nearly synonymous with high end wheels—as it should be as the seminal French brand is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year—and its upped the ante with its latest iteration of light weight race wheels, the Crossmax SL.

Built for cross-country riders, racers and fast trail riding, the new Crossmax SL wheel system combines all of the latest Mavic technologies while shaving up to 100 grams from the previous generation SLR.

The weight loss comes from an all-new rim shape and Mavic’s proprietary ISM 4D machining which trims the rotating mass ever further. On the previous generation rims there was material machined away from between the spokes. In the ISM 4D version, the entire surface of the rim is stripped of excess material to shed grams. The rims feature a 19mm internal width and 23mm outer, better suited to smaller XC race tires.

Keeping the rims in place is the FORE spoke drilling that leaves a seamless inside bead seat for easy UST tubeless setup, and 20 bladed, Zircal spokes front and rear. The hubs are made from a carbon fiber body with aluminum flanges and use Mavic’s ITS-4 freehub body with four pawls working in pairs to deliver a tiny 7.5 degree engagement.

The Crossmax SL wheels will be available in every wheelsize and hub configuration, including a Lefty Supermax front hub for 27.5 and 29-inch wheels. They will ship with quick releases, 15mm front adapters, 142×12 rear adapters, UST valves, a computer magnet and a spoke wrench.

Claimed weights:

• 26-inch (1390g per pair, 630g front/760g rear)
• 27.5-inch (1470g per pair, 665g front/805g rear)
• 29-inch (1520g per pair, 690g front/830g rear)

Look for the Crossmax SL wheels to go on sale in September for $999.