MAVIC CROSSMAX XL WHEELSET
£500
SPECIFICATION Weight: 964g front, 1,109g rear • HG, XD or MicroSpline freehub, six-bolt or CentreLock • Contact: mavic.com
Mavic offers three tiers in its mountain bike trail wheel range and the CrossMax XL is the budget model. Like its siblings, it’s built around a 30mm asymmetric Maxtal alloy rim, which is SUP welded and machined; the difference is it doesn’t get Mavic’s ISM inter-spoke milling process, so is slightly heavier than more expensive models.
This double-wall rim does feature Mavic’s innovative Fore technology, which involves drilling just the outside wall and threading in an oversized alloy insert into which is laced a conventional spoke. Eliminating the hole in the rim bed means you can run tubeless tyres (or regular tubes for that matter) without needing rim tape. It also makes the rim stronger, allowing Mavic to run fewer spokes (24 front and rear in this case) and cut weight from the rotating mass where it matters the most. On the scales the CrossMax XL wheelset is about 150g more than claimed, but it’s still fairly light in its class – it undercuts the similarly-priced Spank OOzy 395+ wheelset I tested earlier this year by nearly 200g.
The rim gets Mavic’s Black Shield treatment, which is designed to protect the rim against impacts and scratches. It’s a sort of double hit of anodising and paint, and on the E-Deemax wheels we tested previously, it was pretty hard wearing, but on these Crossmax XL wheels I’ve noticed a few little nicks and areas where the treatment has worn ever so slightly.
Mavic previously used a conventional pawl system in its freehubs, but the CrossMax XL features the new Drive 360 freewheel technology. This has a spring-loaded double ratchet, which is a little like the system used by DT Swiss, but it only has 15° of engagement. The freehub produces a nice purr, but there is quite a bit of lag before it picks up. So why bother? The ratchet ring mechanism is just more durable than using individual pawls, and that makes a big difference on an e-bike, or when you’re putting a lot of torque through the drivetrain.
You can buy the CrossMax XL with either a Shimano HG, Shimano Micro Spline or SRAM XD-compatible driver body – they all cost the same. Both 29in and 27.5in diameters are offered, and you can also mix and match sizes
