Mavic Crossmax SX wheelset

My only previous experience with Crossmax was a set of ceramic, V-brake rim SLRs bought for fifty quid from a mechanic I worked with some years back. They were light, accelerated like crazy, made a strange, hollow rumbling noise off-road and paid absolutely no attention to where I wanted them to go. I quickly sold them on to someone who has probably since felt extremely surprised as they rode off a cliff while turning in the opposite direction.

Unsurprisingly, this wheelset has nothing in common with its forebear save a bit of the name. Each wheel has 24 Zircal alloy straight pull spokes sitting in machined recesses on the fat hubs, with nipples threading directly into the rim at the other end. Everything spins on Mavic’s cartridge bearings and the freehub is all mad buzzy noises and super-fast pickup.

The 21mm internal width UST Tubeless rims suit tyres from 2.0-2.5in wide. They’re finished with all the know-how and acronyms Mavic possess, being pinned, welded and machined to give as much strength and as little weight as possible.

They’ll fit pretty much every standard going and all adaptors are included, save one for a quick-release front axle. You even get the tools needed to adjust bearings and true wheels.

They go exactly where they’re pointed and at 1755g or so for a pair, they accelerate like they have no right to. They’ve shrugged off everything I’ve asked of them, to the point where I reckon they might even be overkill for me. Finding the proprietary spokes may be a nuisance should you break one, but that’s the only bad thing I can manage to come up with.

Overall: If you’ve ever ridden a set of wheels and thought they were stiff, these will blow you away. You could probably ride them off a cliff and they’d be just fine, regardless of what happened to you.

Jon

Review Info

Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

What Mark doesn’t know about social media isn’t worth knowing and his ability to balance “The Stack” is bested only by his agility on a snowboard. Graphs are what gets his engine revving, at least they would if his car wasn’t electric, and data is what you’ll find him poring over in the office. Mark enjoys good whisky, sci-fi and the latest Apple gadget, he is also the best boss in the world (Yes, he is paying me to write this).

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