Tested

SPECIFICATION Weight: 1,030g front S30, 1,150g rear S35 • Internal rim width: 30, 35mm • Freehub: XD driver, Microspline or HG • Rotor mount: six-bolt and centrelock • Contact: mavic.com

My first handbuilt mtb wheels used Mavic rims, I learned to build wheels using Mavic rims and I raced DH with Deemax wheels hese fornew years, Sun soRinglé it’s satisfyingwheels use tothe see the French brand’s proven back doingDüroc whatrim mated it doesto bestallnew after going financial installed, difficulties. with two bottles of sealant, These and alloyboth E-DeemaxSRAM XD S wheelsand Shimano are a relatively bodies. new addition to the Mavic range and are available 35mm two different – and two ways. diametersFirst, you – 29in can line andup 27.5in all six – for the even twoon sizessignificantly to makelighter a mullet/MXwheels. set-up that I’ve been running on a Specialized Turbo Mick Levo Pro for the last 10 months.

Considering Mavic’s history, little of the tech built into the E-Deemax comes as a surprise as it has been tried-and-tested over years by numerous top riders such as Fabien Barel, Nico Vouilloz and Ann-Caroline Chausson. As one of the original pioneers of tubeless technology, the E-Deemax gets a fully sealed rim with no need for any rim tape. That means much less chance of air leaking over time and less hassle when initially setting up your tyres. In the case of my test wheels, a pair of used Maxxis tyres went on using just my thumbs and seated first time using a charger floor pump. When it came to taking the tyres off again, however, I did need to use a tyre lever.

Mavic can use a sealed rim bed thanks to its FORE Concept, where the oversize, splined spoke nipples thread directly into the alloy rim. Between each spoke is evidence of Mavic’s venerable Inter-Spoke Milling process, where material is machined away from the rim to save weight. The E-Deemax wheels are far from light – I weighed the S 30 front wheel at 1,030g and the S 35 rear at 1,150g – but they’re comparable to DT’s e-bike specific Hybrid options, even though the Mavics boast a higher max system weight and ASTM classification.

The rim is finished with Mavic’s Black Shield means that the rims on my test samples are showing no sign of any scratching after 10 months’ use. Applied over the top are some slightly naff decals, but these can always be removed if you don’t like them or customised at point of purchase at Mavic.com.

Another piece of the E-Deemax puzzle