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Submitted by
German Joe
a Weekend Warrior
from Germany
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Anywhere over here is good. | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Local German bike st | | Strengths: | Always straight and true. Good looks. Nice for the price. | | Weaknesses: | I haven't found one yet, and I'm a fat guy Mt biker. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock G. Fisher rims, other Mavic products. | | Bike Setup: | 1989 hardtail frame by G. Fisher. Downhill fork, V-brakes, grip shift, everthing UN-stock. | | Bottom Line: | Bought these rims as an upgrade from my stock rims during a major rebuild on my old GF hardtail. It was a great choice.
I'm a fat guy that likes the winding trails throught the trees over here in Germany. Long steady climbs and fast downhills are on the menu almost every weekend. I have received many compliments and they look great with muddy Tioga Psycho (tan colored) tires. Bottom line:
Great rims for the price, I couldn't be happier.
Greetings from Germany. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Russell
a
from Boise, ID
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Three Bears | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | Reed's Cycle | | Strengths: | Ran it over with my 4Runner in my driveway by mistake...took it to my LBS, had it spun...no problems! it was cradled by an uneven slab in my driveway. been riding it for a year an a half since with no problems. great xc wheelset for the price and weight. | | Weaknesses: | none that i can think of... | | Bike Setup: | full xt build, float fork and shock on an edge cycle's titus racer-x | | Bottom Line: | great rim for the price and weight. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from SLO CA USA
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Lemon Grove, Cerro San Luis | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambriabike.com | | Strengths: | Always true. I have two sets: one on a '98 Schwinn Moab - original owner. 2000 miles on- and off- road, and never need truing. Second bought recently after pleasure with the other set. | | Weaknesses: | None, really | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 321s, Ferals with Xero hubs | | Bike Setup: | All XT drivetrain, save for crank - STX. | | Bottom Line: | Buy these, and love them for a long time. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kosul
a Weekend Warrior
from Athens,Greece
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Goura,Parnitha | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Very strong and cheap | | Weaknesses: | Not the lightest but good weight for its price | | Bike Setup: | Corratec X-Trail hardtail. | | Bottom Line: | Very strong rims. I do mostly trail riding and the wheels get
some constant bashing on rocks at full speed.I have trued the rims just once (just a little).
Concerning the weight I don't do any racing so there is no need to have the lightest rig around. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fergie
a Cross Country Rider
from Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | It rolls around and around, and around, for years. | | Weaknesses: | After 2200 miles, I haven't found one yet. | | Bike Setup: | 2000 GT Avalanche | | Bottom Line: | The wheels on my bike are one of the few things that are original, and I only replace things that are broken. The hub on my front wheel is experiencing some wear now (side to side action), and my rear wheel (XT hubs) is now disintegrating, with spokes popping after every few rides. The Mavic 221 hubs? still going. I will try to rebuild these wheels this winter, with the same hubs and rims, if possible. Right now, I am waiting for a new rear wheel to come in the mail before this one lets go. These rims have done me right, after several years of taking a beating. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Micheal Desk
a Downhiller
from victoria,britishcolumbia, canada
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Freeride,dirtjump,dh | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | used | | Strengths: | havent owned one yet... | | Weaknesses: | your reveiws... | | Similar Products Used: | singletrack's? | | Bike Setup: | specialized p.3 | | Bottom Line: | Im planning on buying a 32 hole mavic complete on a deore hub for 50$ im a downhill, freeride, dirtjumper on average i hit 8 foot drops everyday but will go up to 12 footer's. plus major downhill and 5 foot tall 10 foot gap dirtjumps. I am not planning on this rim lasting long. just need to get riding again as i blew my mag 30. HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THEY WILL LAST ME? (and im only 120 punds) | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Anthony Bowen
a Cross Country Rider
from Panama City, Florida (TAFB)
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Hobby Park (W-S, N.C.) | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson USA | | Strengths: | I have been on these only a few times. They are lighter than the stock rims I have before. The tires go on with ease. I use 2.10 IRC Mythos XC tires. I like the way they look too. Hopefully I will be able to add to this in a year or two. It is nice to see so many rewiews on a product that I will be using a lot of. | | Weaknesses: | I had some work done to my bike and had to have my wheels properly setup. I guess that wasn't accomplished at the place that built them. Be careful when purchasing wheels online. When I get them back, they should be able to handle anything I can dish out. | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager Corvair | | Bike Setup: | 03 Gary Fisher Tess SS (32-16), Canecreek Direct Curve Brakes, Bont SS Race Crank, MTB Speed V, Crank Brothers Mallet C pedals, IRC Mythos XC Tires, the rest Bontrager Select. | | Bottom Line: | I will have to continue this review when I put some miles on these wheels. I hope that they are as reliable as the reviews indicate. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eddie Mathews
a Cross Country Rider
from Kerrville, Texas 78028
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Any in Texas Hill Country | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came on bike | | Strengths: | It's a great rim for what it was designed and built to do -- cross country biking! | | Weaknesses: | According to all those who are trashing it, it's weakness is that it can't perform like rims in the $500 price level. Folks, get real! They do their job if you put them on a bike designed for typical cross country. I am 220 lbs. and have zero problems. | | Similar Products Used: | Mostly stock rims with two Trek hardtails -- 4100 and 4500 and one Specialized Enduro. | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Specialized Enduro, Manitou Skareb Super 100mm front fork, Fox Vanilla coil rear shock with 900# spring, Specialized Team Control tires, Mavic 221, Avid Speed-dial brakes, Thomson stem, Easton Monkeybar handlebar, Shimano LX derailers, lots of other upgrades. | | Bottom Line: | The 221 rim should be fine for the rider who bought a bike to fit the kind of riding they like to do. Too bad those who mention their rims failing on non-jumps didn't comment on their air pressure. I bet you they couldn't even tell you if you asked them. Everyone I know who has had bent rims while riding normally had bad habits of not checking air pressure before jumping on their bike and taking off. In three years, I have never taking my bike out without measuring and adjusting air pressure to fit the type of ride I am doing. It's that important folks! As a result, my 220-pound frame has never bent a single rim and have had only one flat in 1000 mile of riding. And I think I am fairly agressive on trails and bunny-hopping on and off curbs on my street. Don't have an air pump? Taking the time to buy one and using it is cheaper than buying new rims or paying the LBS to true your rims every month. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Josh
a Cross Country Rider
from Mas
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Been riding it up and downs..still give me the confidence in it. of coz there are occasional drops here and there not to high just a couple of feet..wont hurt it.. | | Bike Setup: | Rock Shox Sid,Parkpre alumax,FSA headset and BB, Deore XT FD and RD,Deore XT V-brakes,SRAM cog, | | Bottom Line: | Will continue with it till it fails me or might upgrade to other Mavic crossmax'es later..Good buy value for money.. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a
from Regina
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Bottom Line: | Just an update from my review in 2004. I still have the rim, still ride hard and am still casing the odd landing. Its still cheap, and still round...and fairly true. The 221 is still with me, and recently I was challenged to put a fat tire on it....my front tread needed replacing so I stuffed a Kenda Kinetics 2.35 on it....iti fits and seems to run well. I still thing fat tires belong on fat rims (better tread footprint that way) but it seems to work good! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Belgian Bob
a Weekend Warrior
from Oxford
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Swinley Forest | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | stock on bike | | Strengths: | Round, light, not tricky to fit tyres to.
Strong enough to take a year of trails and XC riding in a sometimes careless and aggressive fashion. | | Weaknesses: | Probably suffered from being a factory build on my spesh...
A year isn't a long life for an XC rim, is it? | | Similar Products Used: | Other mavic rims, Ritchey Rock Rims (cr*p) | | Bike Setup: | 2004 Spesh 'Hopper Pro, some stock bits, others not so stock. | | Bottom Line: | Factory wheels on Spesh bikes: You get what you pay for.
Probably not a bad rim in itself, but after a year of singletrack and rocky descending (I'm not a downhiller, I don't pretend to be. Think very rough XC), these died last weekend...
I'm going to rebuild with something a little stronger, and have the wheels made by a proper wheelbuilder, just to be sure.
Next time, I'll make a mental note to have wheels on the jig for a service BEFORE a 3 day weekend of riding... Doh! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shane
a
from Ireland
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Fermoy DH track | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Strengths: | Cheep and light, have no probs fittin wider than 1.9 tyres as mentioned by someone else. | | Weaknesses: | A bit on the weak side, have buckled it too easily. | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 721(5 chilli rim) | | Bike Setup: | GT AVAL, mx comp eta, mavics, magura hs33s, xtrc crankset, | | Bottom Line: | Not a bad rim, but probably a bit to be weak running on the rear of a hardtail, if you are into givin it a bit of stick. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a
from Regina
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | anything that challenges me | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | light, narrow, pretty strong | | Weaknesses: | to narrow for anything wider then a 1.9 tire | | Similar Products Used: | rhyno, stock bonti's | | Bike Setup: | Trek 4500, Man black fork, rhyno rear rim, kenda kinetics | | Bottom Line: | Not a bad rim. Bought because the front rim and hub were trashed, so I got this, expecting to bend the rim and replace it soon anyway. So far the rim is straight and true (even after casing a couple of curbs and stairs). Probably great for XC, or lighter riders like myself. I wouldn't want to put it under a 180+ rider, or do any hardcore stuff on it...probably not safe. Overall a good product, but I like wider rims! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Smyth
a Cross Country Rider
from Aurora, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Hardwood Hills - anything there | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Unbelieveable rims. They are exceptionally light, except if you're a weight geek. If you are then, well, you may want to go for something a little lighter. However, even with the lightness they are STRONG! In my 1 year of riding these rims i've needed them trued only once. And that's not because i ride sissy. I've used these rims for everything: downhill (pretty gnarly), XC (perfect for XC), and even freeride. They hold up perfect - not even a flatspot yet. | | Weaknesses: | Nothing...except MAYBE weight... | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 517's | | Bike Setup: | Thin Blue Line CO2 Max, Duke XC air fork, XT derailleurs, Truvativ FireX crankset, Mavic 221 rims, Deore hubs, deore shifters/levers (combo), Selle Italia seat, Uno Ultralite seatpost, WTB Nanoraptor tires. It's the bike that rode me to 10th in Ontario for midget racers - BIATCH! | | Bottom Line: | Unbelievable. Simple as that. Strong, light, and durable as hell. Go buy 'em today. Good work Mavic. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel
a Cross Country Rider
from Kitchener
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Ziggy's Cycle Shop | | Strengths: | this rim is true and i have had no troubles with it | | Weaknesses: | none that i have found | | Similar Products Used: | Hoopster rims, Rhyno lites and Sun single tracks | | Bike Setup: | Heavily upgraded 2001 Giant SE Yukon, with Deore mechanical disks, dirt jumper III's, and Deore front and rear derailleurs. | | Bottom Line: | This rim can constantly take 6 or 7 feet of air and i haven't had any problems with it yet. Going over huge ruts it hasn't been phased a bit. It isn't up to the calibre of a rhyno lite or a sun rim single track but this rim holds it's own for what i do. I'd recommend it for any XC riders who go off decent sized jumps and drop offs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Josh
a Downhiller
from Kelowna BC Canada
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$15.00 | | Purchased At: | used | | Strengths: | It lasts, can run v-brakes on it, light, reasonably strong. | | Weaknesses: | Very thin rim, I've bent it a few times and it has a flat spot. | | Similar Products Used: | Rhyno lite | | Bottom Line: | I have to say that this is a pretty good rim, I've been using it for dirtjumping and some downhill because I didn't bother to go get a better rim, but I haven't needed to. If this can hold up to DJ and DH then it'll hold up for XC. All around a pretty good rim. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve Annette
a Cross Country Rider
from UK
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Many | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Evans | | Strengths: | Not sure as I've only ridden them 5 times | | Weaknesses: | Seem weak and bendy, then a simple bump and they're dead | | Similar Products Used: | Many | | Bike Setup: | 2004 Epic | | Bottom Line: | Just got the bike and had only used it 4 times, off road seemed fine if a little bendy and did the job on a fairly tough ride. Decided to use it to commute, clipped it a little harder than I intended going up a curb, I now have a nice flat spot plus dent and not even a cool story to tell about how it happened. I'm 6'3 - 185lbs and agree with many that this is not a rim for the larger rider. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Anders
a Cross Country Rider
from Sweden
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | no troubles | | Weaknesses: | none | | Bike Setup: | GT LTS2 | | Bottom Line: | So far, I've done 5600km (3500miles) of XC riding on these wheels without any problems. I ride singletrack with small jumps and lots of stones and ruts. I've never adjusted the wheels, they stay true anyway. I haven't even given them any thought until this week when I broke a spoke. It's the first time the wheels had to be fixed and it's now the beginning of my 6th year on these wheels. It's not because of sissy cycling. They have got a fair amount of abuse. Maybe rear susp and 2.1" tires with enough pressure help.
After replacing the spoke and truing, the wheel is back on the track.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean
a Cross Country Rider
from St. Paul, MN
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Lebanon Hills (Eagan, MN) | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$95.00 | | Purchased At: | County Cycles (Roseville, MN) | | Strengths: | These damn things are STRONG. | | Weaknesses: | None to date | | Similar Products Used: | Alex Rims -- not sure what type | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Advance, XT drivetrain and Deore Hubs. | | Bottom Line: | Last season I went through numerous rims. I mean a set every other week. Finally decided to try a hand-built wheel. I told my LBS what I wanted and they set me up with a Deore hub and X221 36 spoke rim. Absolutely bombproof.
I am 195lbs, I commute to work on this bike and I ride some pretty intense singletrack. Inbetween I do a little freeriding. So far they have held their true.
Definitely recommend. Others who say they "whobble" or vibrate, all I can say is they have a problem different than the rim. BUY THESE and you won't be dissappointed.
GREAT JOB MAVIC | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Cook
a
from Lyons, OR USA
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | The one in my backyard (seriously) | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | RC PLUS | | Strengths: | Its strong | | Weaknesses: | If it is tweaked a 1/16 that is a weakness right? | | Similar Products Used: | Power Tools black ugly stock | | Bike Setup: | KHS Alite 500... Kore riser, Truvativ Hussefelt With Gigapipe bracket, Panaracer 2.1's (nice) Mavic 221 in back Converted to 24 speed, shimano deore hub in back, Freeride pedals, manitou 6 and blah blah blah | | Bottom Line: | The mavic 221 is my back wheel. Im a 140 lb rider so it doesnt get too much abuse, but so far it has taken jump after jump 5 foot drops and everything inbetween... landing crooked etc. Today I was out riding on a logging road and somewhere near the top my tire got a leak... well, by the end of 2 mile long road, i went around a pave corner about 20 mph and the back end slid out.. im like.. what the hell... and i get to the town and see my tire flat-- (After i did about a foot drop i heard it hit) It turns out that it held up that whole distance on almost a flat tire (enough to make a back end slide out on pavement) and it appears to be tweaked only about a lil less than 1/8 inch.
Very bottom line: very nice wheel but if your planning to do a 40 foot drop on it id suggest a sun rim Intense Mag 30 :D contact me urban_rider_@hotmail.com | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vancity Bikeman
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancity
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Last a long while. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | N.A. | | Bike Setup: | Heavily modified 2002 Giant XTC NRS 3 | | Bottom Line: | These rims came stock with my NRS 3. Took 3-5 drops like no tomorrow. I finally trashed these rims when I took an off-camber 4 footer on the way home after a 2 hour XC race. These are good rims if they came stock. Once they're cracked, go get somethin' else. I got myself some Sun Singletracks cause I have a 2002 Psylo SL QR20 up front. People call me crazy but the Singletracks I have are lighter than the X221 I had originally. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shane Gouldthread
a Racer
from Weedville
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | never found one you couldnt enjoy | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Mavic quality, doublewalled,trueness.. | | Weaknesses: | none ever noticed. | | Similar Products Used: | all the other ones in price range | | Bike Setup: | back up Trek,Manitou, all XT grouping, mavics, IRC MYTHOS | | Bottom Line: | these worked great. never had any problems with them.looked realy nice and shinny most of the time.just an all round good built rim. never lost trueness much. after one day after school jumping around rocks for fun they got a little bent. but nothing mayjor. congrads to mavic on this rim good job guys!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Briner
a Cross Country Rider
from St Louis, MO USA
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Stinging Nettle | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Stays true | | Weaknesses: | None | | Bike Setup: | Lots of Bikes | | Bottom Line: | These rims came on handbuilt wheels from Quality Wheelhouse. They have been ridden on and off the road for over two years. The braking surfaces will eventually wear out before the trueness and tension does.
Great choice if you're not too concerned with a few extra grams. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt Forget
a Weekend Warrior
from Chula Vista - Ca
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Otay Lakes | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Good looking and light! | | Weaknesses: | Bends, bends, bends, bends - Did I say it bends real easy on any side stress ,such as sharp turns. I bent the both rims on simple turns in sand and rocks. The rim has good virticle strenght but sucks on side stress. I am a large rider 250lbs, but I know have been riding the Sun Rhino Lites for over 6 months without any problems at all. | | Similar Products Used: | Sun Rhino Light is a much better rim for large riders!!!! | | Bike Setup: | 2002 - Giant NRC 3 - Full air suspension !!! | | Bottom Line: | May be ok for a light weight rider but I think even a light rider that rides hard will bend these puppies up!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew Gillespie
a Weekend Warrior
from Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | The one I'm on. | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Cheap, faily light, doesn't give problems | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Bike Setup: | Orbea hardtail, full Deore, Manitou | | Bottom Line: | I'm a very light rider so I never expierenced any shudder or the like but the guy who hand built the wheel also did a very good job. I'll be getting different rims now because I'm getting disc brakes and this rim is not ideal for that but I recommend this rim to anyone who who is looking for a good rim at a good price but doesn't use discs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Evan
a Cross Country Rider
from Frisco, CO
Date Reviewed: October 24, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Ophir Mtn Downhill | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Cheap | | Weaknesses: | Weak, they shake like a fat person jogging. I can't believe how much they shake in turns and big downhill. I have multiple flat spots and spokes break all the time. They were bad after 2 months and toast at 6. | | Similar Products Used: | Cane Creek (after 221) | | Bike Setup: | Specialized FSR XC 02 | | Bottom Line: | Weak wheel. Good for lighter weight riders or Buffed single track. They don't feel stable or track well under pressure. Stay away from rocks and drops. Heavy riders (myself 195) will destroy it. You get what you pay for. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aaron
a Weekend Warrior
from Dunfermline
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Sandy Wallace Cycles | | Strengths: | Low price for the pair. Look great with a good build, sidewalls make sure you stop very quickly. | | Weaknesses: | Nothing so far. | | Bike Setup: | Be-One Tact Hardtail. Deore Hubs/DT Swiss Spokes, Marzocchi EXR Fork, Deore Mech/Brakes/Gears, Profile Stem, V8 Pedals. | | Bottom Line: | I may only had them for 3 months but considering i ride just about every night, the rims are great. No major problems yet. Excellent low budget, Cross Country rims that can be used for dirt jumping - not extreme size jumps like. Mine are laced to Deore Hubs & DT Competition Spokes which are expensive but worth it for a good build. (Thats why they cost a bit) Tioga DH 2.1 tyres are good as well on these rims as there not too expensive.
People that ride mostly Cross Country should buy them but also there good for a bit of Downhilling but not master jumping though. Good for weekend thrashing i would say!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shawn Anderson
a Racer
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Ribbon Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Bow Cycle | | Strengths: | Holds up well to abuse extremly well when you concider its low price, Narrow, Relitivy light but i dont really care about that | | Weaknesses: | Kills brake pads quickly | | Similar Products Used: | Various higher end Sun Rims | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Rockropper w/ Mavic 221
Norco Bigfoot w/Mavic 221
Specialized Hardrock w/Mavic 221 | | Bottom Line: | I like these rims i have had to replace a rim since i got it
and i have used more that one bike that has had this rim (bike setup shows the bikes). With all those bikes i have never seriously bent up this rim and at the most givin it a slight wobble which i fixed in like 3 seconds.
I weigh 175 pounds and would say if you weigh any less than 185 pounds this rim is a great buy and will last, if ya weigh like 220 pounds dont buy it cause my friend... distroyed his and he weighs 230 | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Hobart AUS
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | cheep,ok for light cross country | | Weaknesses: | VERY flexy, it's not just my spoke and hub combo either. i have friends with these wheels and they have the same problem | | Similar Products Used: | Sun Rhyno lite, hopefully something else soon | | Bike Setup: | 2003 giant XTC, full XT, skareb forks,michilen , titec, race face cranks | | Bottom Line: | Can't wait for new wheels, every time you stand up and sprint these wheels flex so bad (have to have pads a mile away from rim to stop constant rubbing) also lots of flexx hard cornering. Even though this is not realy the wheels fault it is worth saying, i was riding alony the road last week and then suddenly a spoke snaped, nocked the wheel out of true and sent ne flying in to the (very hard) road. i came away from this with a broken sholder and can't ride for six weeks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Murray
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | wheel world | | Strengths: | Good looks, fairly light, sidewalls stop well | | Weaknesses: | Strength, narrow | | Bike Setup: | K2 Zed Team comp. hardtail, XT drivetrain, Truvativ Stylo crank, Avid SD7 brakes w/booster, Judy XC 100mm shocks, speed V saddle, Titec stem, seatpost, WTB Moto Raptors etc. (special built by me) | | Bottom Line: | Got loose in gravel on downhill part of an XC trail, my Titec stem twisted, the wheel buckled, my 190 lbs went flying hard, landed head & shoulder first, got up and tried to ride it but bent too bad so had to disconnect front brakes for rest of ride until I could straighten it using the two foot jump method. Surprising enough, it did straighten well! Well...will not buy again for the front at least! Same goes for the Moto Raptor 2.1s, get a tire that does not require as much inflation to keep from flatting. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joseph Collins
a Cross Country Rider
from Osseo, MN, USA
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Great rim. No problems at all. So far it has withstood everything I have thrown at them. I have over 400 miles on them without truing them once. Granted I don't ride them as hard as some but overall I have been very happy. | | Weaknesses: | Haven't found any. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock wheels on a Specialized Hardrock | | Bike Setup: | '02 Specialized Stumpjumper M4 | | Bottom Line: | For everyone that is complaining about these rims, they weren't meant for freeride. If you look at their website they are listed under cross-country racing and cross mountain. They aren't meant to take long drops onto hardpack. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hank Chinaski
a Cross Country Rider
from Creston, IA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | secret | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | came stock w/ bike | | Strengths: | strong rim, doesn't dent easily; braking surface works in all conditions | | Weaknesses: | heavy? Aluminum chips end up in brake shoes - watch your fingers! | | Similar Products Used: | all kinds of rims | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Mongoose ProNX 8.3 full suspension; rims are laced to Formula hubs (also very nice & smooth) | | Bottom Line: | I finally trashed one of these wheels after 3 seasons of fairly hard XC use (lots of logs, and some < 4' drops onto soft dirt), but it was entirely my fault. The rear wheel simply couldn't handle a very focused 190 lb (me) side load at crash speed ;). To their credit, me & another guy were able to stomp the 'L' shaped wheel back into round enough to finish the ride. Every other stress on this rim has been handled with aplomb, and the braking is consistent, wet or dry. I will be buying another set if I can find them laced to some lighter hubs. You should buy it if you're an XC rider concerned more with durability and price than grams. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
peter
a Weekend Warrior
from Bunbury, Australia
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | where ever | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came stock with bike | | Strengths: | well i spose it was light, looked good. | | Weaknesses: | well here we go, apart from going out of true very easily it TACOED during a BUNNY HOP. Not happy at all. i will admit i landed a bit off center but nothing i hadnt done before. | | Similar Products Used: | cheapo single walled rims on no name hubs. hey these could aleast handle a bunny hop | | Bike Setup: | stock giant XTC2 | | Bottom Line: | They TACOED during a BUNNY HOP, need i say more. I will never ever get these rims. I advise that any who weighs over 80kgs (i weigh 87kg) should look at getting different rims. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Ft.Wayne In.
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$99.00 | | Purchased At: | Super Go | | Strengths: | cheap | | Weaknesses: | I have found none | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager Valiant | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Hard Rock | | Bottom Line: | I bought these as a front and back wheelset with LX hubs and for my spare bike and free set of Bontrager SS Revolts came with the set. One year later and one trueing and they roll just fine. A set of Mavic wheels laced to LX hubs with Bontrager skins all for $99. How can I complain. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ximena Figueroa
a Cross Country Rider
from Talca, Chile
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | cerro La Virgen (Talca) | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Bruneau store | | Strengths: | Cheap, friendly, looks nice | | Weaknesses: | get out of true easily | | Similar Products Used: | mavic 517, rigida, zac weiman | | Bike Setup: | xc | | Bottom Line: | I think this rims are good for the price, their mix strong and light weight, ideal for beginners.
It is easy to set up the tire, specially when get flats in race. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike DeGasperis
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Shorthills Provincal Park | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Ramsays Online | | Strengths: | Light, UB sidewalls, Doublewalled, Stainless steel eyelets, Affordable | | Weaknesses: | None... Why is everyone trashing these rims! | | Similar Products Used: | Sun, Mavic 217 | | Bike Setup: | Norco XT | | Bottom Line: | I weight in at 155lbs and have used these rims for some pretty hard cross country riding. No proplems to report at all. For the money I feel you can't get a better XC rim. The 221's are NOT intended for freeriding dropoffs!
4 Chilis for the slight weight disadvantage. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
brian
a Downhiller
from ohio
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | bike shop | | Strengths: | nice and lite and look good | | Weaknesses: | to weak one good hit and they are shot | | Bike Setup: | azonic ds-1 | | Bottom Line: | there good for cross country and they can take hits just not the big hits. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Racer
from Laramie, Wyoming, US
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Happy Jack | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | From A Friend | | Strengths: | Light, Cheap and Strong. | | Weaknesses: | Deore hubs are a little sticky, guess that isn't the rim tho. | | Bike Setup: | Mongoose full suspension. | | Bottom Line: | I have raced one season collegiately and my first race I destroyed my front rim, so I bought these from a friend and have had no major troubles. I wouldn't say I haved really pushed limits but I abuse them to the best of my abilites. I have had to true them quite a few times but nothing major, I ride everyday and regularly jump off stuff, ride up and down stairs. If a rim can take hard riding, jumping, trail riding, street riding thats a good rim. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Newport Beach, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Inexpensive | | Weaknesses: | Bend pretty easily | | Similar Products Used: | Older Mavics | | Bike Setup: | GT XCR LE | | Bottom Line: | These came with my bike (I got it used, but the wheels were new). The wheelset is Deore hubs, straight 14G spoke, and the 221s. I've bent these on almost every ride. I'm 5'10" 185lbs. I don't do big jumps or drop offs. I ride XC trails, fairly fast/hard during decents.
I've trued them most times and had them professionally trued. They just wouldn't stay trued.
For a fire road or mostly street/path rider, these are great value. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Wilson
a Cross Country Rider
from Pleasanton
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Any East Bay ride. | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Have held up well for about 3500 miles. | | Weaknesses: | These wheels need to be trued alot for the first couple of months, but they seem to break in and stay put after they have been ridden a while. | | Similar Products Used: | Ragida, other Mavics,and good old Steel rims. | | Bike Setup: | FSRxc. with aftermarket FLOAT R/C. | | Bottom Line: | I was reading the reveiws and was stumped by the love them or hate them comments at first. I went back and saw alot of the riders that hate them, have hardtails,while the people that like them, mostly have duel suspension.
That said, I think these are very good (Not excelent) rims if used in their intended application of, XC. riding. I weigh 210lb.s and do small jumps of no higher than 2ft. and have had no bends or anything happen to them.When I first bought the bike, I was about to go crazy, because I had to keep truing them. However the wheels became very solid and didn't need all that truing after they "broke in" for about two months. I now have about 3500 miles on them and only have to true them about twice a year, or about every 600-800 miles.I use them off road and do up to 40mph. down fire roads with small rocky areas and they hold up well.I suspect they might best be used on duel suspension bikes given my own experience and looking at the bike setup info. in the other reveiws here.
My 221s came with the bike, so my ratings will reflect how they stack up against other stock wheels that have come on other bikes I've puchased. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from Canada
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | urban/dj just about anything | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Tommy and lefevbre | | Strengths: | price( i got it complete with deore disc hubs and dt spokes for 100). Strong. | | Weaknesses: | none yet. what's up?? all you people hate these rims i love them 4-5 foot drops to flat and they still hold up. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | specialized,psylo, avid disc. funn seat. | | Bottom Line: | i like em. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris
a Cross Country Rider
from winnipeg, manitoba, canada
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | light, looks nice | | Weaknesses: | out of true, weak | | Bike Setup: | stumpjumper M4 | | Bottom Line: | I'm unhappy with these rims. I've had my bike for 3 months now. I ride 2 or 3 times a week, mainly XC, with drops no larger than 3 feet. I had to have them trued once for minor warpage; then, last week, I just jumped off a curb (about 2 feet drop) and the rear rim totally warped out. Needless to say, it's disappointing to have such poopy rims on such a great bike. I think the bike shop will fix/replace it for free, but if it happens again, i will forever stay away from mavic. Also, I don't know how to respond to all the comments about "...if your wheels are built right, then the rims should last..." All I know is I bought my specialized stock, and the rims are unsatisfactory. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Carl
a Cross Country Rider
from Arlington, Virginia
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | None that i know of. price? possibly... | | Weaknesses: | weak. | | Bike Setup: | stumpjumer hardtail. mostly stock | | Bottom Line: | I'm 6'3" 180, and I think I'm a bit too heavy for these rims. They bent hitting a curb (admittedly harder than I should have) and have sence gone out of true several times doing standard XC stuff (log crossings, short drops etc.) Basically just a pain to always have to true them. buying 517s later this week. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jared McDonley
a Cross Country Rider
from Boca Raton, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Any place but here | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Very light rim. They are stonge when built well. They hold up to almost any thing. | | Weaknesses: | If wheel set not built right then they will become untrue very fast! | | Similar Products Used: | Sun rhino lites | | Bike Setup: | XC | | Bottom Line: | This a good rim. Im not to sure that the people on here fully know what they are talking about, or they just got a bad wheel builder. Love them. I am 5'9" 155 and have had no problems with them. They are not free-ride stronge but they will hold up well. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kendall Mills
a Weekend Warrior
from Lawrenceville, nj, USA
Date Reviewed: July 14, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | ringwood | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | a guy i know | | Strengths: | strong, i dont know what i did to it or how it was built, but it puts up with a lot of crap | | Weaknesses: | the rear wheel used to rattle on a tight turn on the pave. have to true now and then, usualy wobbles sligtly | | Similar Products Used: | well thats it i guess, actualy ive ridden some atomic labs liked them, in an Id by the els. | | Bike Setup: | check this out!an old school mongoose hard tail (nx. 7.3)psylo sl, none of that wussy travel adjust(5inch) the bike wasnt ment for the travel but i love it, xt lx comps short stem(powertools) riser, selle karve saddle (sweet marzocchi thingy)panaracer dh tires, race face Prodigy dh cranks and evolve isis fr bb. the wheels are radialy laced front and a half radial half 2 cross rear | | Bottom Line: | the bottom line is i dont know what happend, they are still here putin up with my crap, i take them off 5.5' drops to flat landings. some crazy voodoo i guess, they arnt true very often and the usualy had two or three spokes loose to the point they dont do anything. i tightened them all up and put thred lock on and they are solid, rock solid. they arnt like the atom labs, but the keep up with a 175 pound 16year old football player. i was bunny up a set of two stairs at some good speed and my buddy and i did it over and over till one time he and i slamed our ims on the sharp concreet real hard. he had a 517 rear and he toasted one side, he is lighter and a more nimble rider, i hada small snake bite. we hit, i mean HIT now he has a flat side on his rime and i just have a flat. i dont know whats happening. i dont trust them so much but maybe i should.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
A.Man A.Man
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: June 17, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Maybe the weight is light and good for lighter rider. | | Weaknesses: | It needs to be true every now and then and even after trueing, it still doesn't look like a good stiff rim. | | Similar Products Used: | Alex OEM rim from Scott Yekora | | Bike Setup: | Scott "Yekora" with some rubbish components | | Bottom Line: | I got this in replacement for my rear wheel from a minor road accident I had 6 months ago. So initially, got no complain as it is Mavic. But after weeks of intentionally (manage to clear some tree roots, stones and small road curbs) and unintentionally (wrong timing to clear the same obstacles as above) XC hard riding, it show its weakness. Even after 2 shop mechanics true it again, it still failed to have a good straight rolling position. My front Alex OEM rim works better and have not had any problem at all until now. I will not get the same model again in future for any aggressive XC riding.
SO judge yourself on this rim if you're considering one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marc
a
from Canada
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Aggressive XC | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | came on my bike | | Strengths: | looks pretty good i guess, it's a mavic, fairly cheap | | Weaknesses: | pretty much just crap | | Similar Products Used: | lots of rims | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mtn, XTR, Marzocchi Z2, Deore Discs, RaceFace, Im putting Rhyno Lites on (I dont race mind u) | | Bottom Line: | The best advice i can give u is to stay away from this 221 rim. If ur looking 2 buy one dont unless u never ride your bike. Save ur money and buy something else im sure it will work much better than these. I mostly ride XC but I also love 2 do small 2-3 foot drops and I also love dirt jumps. Im sorta into trials abit aswell. PPl ask "Why didnt u get a freeride bike?" The answer to that is that I want a light bike i can climb awesome on and get to the trails on aswell. Im not sure if u guys understand my position but I love to ride! Go with some 517s if ur XC and check out Sun Rims or something beefier if ur a beast. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tobbe
a Cross Country Rider
from Sweden
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Härsjörundan | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with the bike | | Strengths: | None that I can think of. | | Weaknesses: | Too narrow. Breaks if you are heavy and like to ride fast. | | Similar Products Used: | Many. | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Stumpjumper hardtail. | | Bottom Line: | They lasted six months. I'm sure these are OK if you are a light rider. Avoid them if you're near or over 80 kg. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ian worby
a Racer
from peterborough, uk
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | woodston cycles | | Strengths: | this is an update | | Bike Setup: | gt i drive xcr2000 frame, custom fitted/tuned judy xl's. a nice little freeride bike | | Bottom Line: | i've been giving these rims abuse for 18 months now and haven't trued them once. so i dont knwo where everyone else gets there wheels made but they're s**t. they survive 20 ft doubles, downhills, fat lardy mates riding into curbs at speed. maybe i'm just lucky | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Green Iggy
a Weekend Warrior
from Pinole, CA
Date Reviewed: March 16, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | they work, not too heavy | | Weaknesses: | weak, needs truing often | | Similar Products Used: | Weinman Zac19 (crap) | | Bike Setup: | Giant Iguana | | Bottom Line: | These rims are very narow and did't seem terribly stong when I first got them. My very first pinch flat from hitting a curb hard dented the rim and put a flat spot in it. It still rolls fine though. I would reccomend spending a bit more and going up to the Mavic 517 if you can afford it. These rims work but are not very strong. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
andre white
a Weekend Warrior
from pretoria, south africa
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | rond die oos transvaal | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | none that comes to mind | | Weaknesses: | weak. very weak rims | | Bike Setup: | dave hinde, full xt with 2002 judy sl | | Bottom Line: | broke my rear rime after 3 weeks and after doing my first xc race on this bike 6 weeks later i feel i would have have to get the front one replaced soon aswell.
if you weigh 75kg plus and plan to do ANY xc riding don't go for these. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Bay Area, CA
Date Reviewed: February 28, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | light weight, decently strong, durable braking surface | | Weaknesses: | not as strong as I'd hoped | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager Mustang, Bontrager Valiant, bargain Weinmann crap, old-school Sun | | Bike Setup: | XT hubs, Wheelsmith 14-guage spokes (3-cross F/R) | | Bottom Line: | For a wheelset running 3x 14ga. spokes on 450 gram rims, I expected these to hold up a little better. In point of fact, they're not much stronger than my super-svelte Valiant/Revolution/Hugi 240 wheelset and significantly heavier. The rims have a tendency to bend kind of easily, although truing them hasn't been a problem. Also I'm a little concerned by the thinness of the center cavity. It can't be more than 5mm tall, I'd guess, which I don't think would make for a very impact-resistant rim.
I bought them as part of a machine-built wheelset that I then took to my LBS and had them hand-tension, which made a huge difference in their handling, but I still don't have a lot of confidence in their durability. My WTB dual compound front brake pads are wearing down the rim enough that I'm moving the barrel adjuster on my front brake lever almost every week.
Would I buy these again for my (195-pound) self? No. Would I recommend them to a sub-170-lb. cross-country rider on a budget? Absolutely. Normally I'd give these 3 chilis, but I'm pretty heavy for an XC guy, so I'll boost it up one for normal-size XC guys. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gordon
a
from Ft Worth, TX USA
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | Sun and Ski Sports | | Strengths: | For a big man none | | Weaknesses: | Will bend easily | | Similar Products Used: | factory rim on Hard rock | | Bottom Line: | I was on a easy trail for 20 minutes first time out and the rim was unridable. I do not recommend this rim to anyone that weighs over 250. Needless to say I was pissed on my hike back to my car. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phil
a Weekend Warrior
from Albuquerque, NM
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Most everything in the Cedro Peak area | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike World | | Strengths: | Super strong and true rims, but light as well. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Similar Products Used: | None, built these wheels up by hand and have never failed yet. | | Bike Setup: | Diamond Back V-link (old) with a various "frankenstien" setup. | | Bottom Line: | I built these wheels with XT hubs and 14guage spokes and alloy nipples. I used a 4 cross pattern and surprisingly they turned out not to be too heavy. Over the past 4 years of use they have been tensioned and trued twice! Of course it goes without saying that you should really have someone build your wheels who knows what they are doing too!
My background is 15+ years of BMX and an insatiable love of cross country for training. I am smooth but I have put these rims through some torture testing and I have to say that Mavic really pays attention to what they do.
If you want a rim that will not let you down, then go with Mavic. They work with almost all cross patterns and as long as they are built up with attention and kept up with the same voracity, you will be a happy consumer. If you let your parts go, you get what you put into it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ian Worby
a Racer
from Peterborough
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | oem on gt xcr2000 | | Strengths: | Strong, light, last well, what more do you need, a rim will fail if the wheels built poorly | | Weaknesses: | could be a little wider | | Similar Products Used: | mavic: 517, 517 ceramics, 521, 521cds, crossmax
sun: mammoth, rhyno lites | | Bike Setup: | i-drive xcr2000, custom judy xl's easton bars + pedals, syncros s/post xtr groupset, grimeca system 8 f+r, | | Bottom Line: | i've ridden these rims xc, dh, dual and 'freeride' if you like. they are still true, a wheel with survive most thigns if built properly, just half a turn tighten on each spoke can make a big difference, because i'm not a great rider, a slam my bikes around, but if i've managed to destroy my i drive unit, and not the wheels then you boys are doing something wrong | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary, AB
Date Reviewed: January 12, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Powderface | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Price - OEM rims on a $1200 USD bike
Decent strength - I've had the rear rim trued, but it's only needed truing once, despite some fairly aggressive riding (up to 2-3 ft. drops, stairs now and again, lots of singletracking, etc.) - do note that the front wheel is radially laced. | | Weaknesses: | Strength - while pretty good, I don't recall it taking too much to throw the rims out of true that first time around... although that was a month after I bought the bike, and a quick true fixed everything.
Pinned/welded joining surface along brake wall is showing some wear and starting to separate slightly, but not enough to create a lot of concern... | | Similar Products Used: | Weinmann 517s (ugh!)
Matrix OCR (not much better)
Spinergy Rev-Rokes
Mavic 517s | | Bike Setup: | mainly stock '99 Stumpjumper Comp with different tires, a rise bar, better clipless pedals, a new seat, etc... these rims were OEM with Ritchey spokes and Specialized hubs on the bike. | | Bottom Line: | These haven't been perfect rims for me, but from the way a lot of the reviews sound, it's like I ride a completely different rim from a lot of you. I am 6'2", 175 lbs., I dabble in some easier urban assault stuff, and I'm not the most graceful rider in the world... I think I'd put my stuff through its' paces more than most would, as is witnessed by the 4-5 Kalloy seatposts I bent back on my previous ride over ~3 seasons. Still, the rims are on my bike, and both - even the radially-laced front rim - are arrow-true, with no bends or dents...
The wearing down of the pinned surface of the rim does irk me though... it seems like that's a pretty poor way for a rim to wear. But I think I'm still OK for braking surface, and it looks like even the slight gap at the edge of the rim that's currently at the pinned joint will be OK for quite some time...
Maybe it's wheelbuilding, maybe I'm just really good at running 30+ lbs. of pressure whenever I ride, or maybe it's luck, but while I've thrown these rims out of true and worn down the joined sections somewhat, I have yet to toast a 221. And even if I did at this point, I could still sleep easy, knowing that it took me 2+ yrs. of Sport-class XC racing, technical riding and small jumps to do so. Not that these are my dream rims, but for OEM stuff on a mid-grade bike, I can't complain... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Racer
from Wolverhampton, U.K
Date Reviewed: December 22, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Red Bull | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | Local Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Relatively inexpensive and light with good durability on the rims. | | Weaknesses: | Not a strong rim, easily dented and prone to going out of true. | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 220 and 517. | | Bike Setup: | Trek Pro 9 .XTR. Rolf Propel. Thompson/Flite. | | Bottom Line: | I wanted a pair of inexpensive wheels to ride in the winter mud and take the strain off my Rolf's. I expected the wheels to be much stronger than they are. I have to agree with comments made by other contributers in this section in that the 221 is hardly strong enough to be considered a full-on cross country rim. However the side wear is quite good and certainly as good if not better than the 517's. All in all though I do not consider this rim as recommendable. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gina
a Weekend Warrior
from Bromley
Date Reviewed: December 21, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Any techy stuff | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | local bike shop | | Strengths: | cheap and light | | Weaknesses: | not a strong rim and it goes out fo alinement all the time | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 227. 517.517cd | | Bike Setup: | RockhopperA1 FS..manitou..xt and lx..panaracer..kore lite..selle italia etc | | Bottom Line: | This is not a very good rim. It has neede to be adjusted almost every month and I am only 9 stones. My riding is not mad but the rims will easily bend | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy
a Cross Country Rider
from Worcester U.K
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Ther Long Runt | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$140.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlin Cycles | | Strengths: | Light and cheap. Also the rim does not wear too quickly. | | Weaknesses: | The rim is weak and will go out of true easily and often. It also dents easily | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 220, 222, 217, 517, 618. | | Bike Setup: | Rotwild, XT/LX, Ritchey, Selle Italia, USE, Continental. | | Bottom Line: | These rims are not so strong, in fact I think they are a bit too weak for off road work. Mavic do say it is an entry level rim but do not specify what that means. Wheel build is crucial to you having any hope with this wheel. It has got to be brilliant and even then you will have to true it all the time. No good if you are over 9 stone.I cannot reccommend this rim. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Christopher Van Hulsentop
a Weekend Warrior
from Townsville, QLD, Australia
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt Boonya | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Tonys Bikes | | Strengths: | NONE | | Weaknesses: | EVERYTHING | | Similar Products Used: | Sunrims 0 degree | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Hardrock FS with heaps of upgrades | | Bottom Line: | This rim is a complete heap of crap. Most probably because mine is only 36 spoked but i would definetly reccomend a sunrims 0 degreee over this any day | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a
from Rockland County, NY
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Lasted almost two seasons of road/trail with some mud and roots mixed in. 6'4" 250 lb rider. | | Weaknesses: | dented, causing crack in braking surface. Had to true often. | | Bike Setup: | STX hub, 14 g DT spokes, Continental town & country tire | | Bottom Line: | This rim dented and cracked on a trip up/down Perkins Memorial Drive (gasp). Pavement is kind of broken up. I'm going to try the Sun Rhino for the rebuild. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ananth Gopal
a
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: October 15, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | dunno | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Pjns cycles | | Strengths: | Fairly light, mavic, nice braking surface. Good for cash strapped dudes. | | Weaknesses: | none so far maybe a bit weak. | | Similar Products Used: | i dont read what the rims say when i ride bikes
| | Bike Setup: | Raceline enduro xc. All deore kore stem gamma el forks( pogo stix) | | Bottom Line: | Good light rims for conservative xc riders. DOnt use these for hardcore stuff like hardout downhilling. I dont know why every1 give these rims crap reviews, there real good for what they are meant for ( xc riding) and are a real bargain + there mavic. If you are stupid enough to buy these for downhilling or freeriding thats youre fault.
Cya! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Standard rims on 2000 Specialized Stumpjumper | | Strengths: | Weight, Durability | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Rolf, Bontrager | | Bike Setup: | Out-of-the-box Specialized Stumpjumper | | Bottom Line: | The rims on my Stumpjumper have been terrific. I've only had to do occasional trueing...once a month or so. I ride, on average, four days a week for about 20 miles each day. Some of those miles are on roads and paved trails (15%-20%)the remainder is on single tracks and cross country.
Many of the reviews of late are from misdirected/confused riders. I've have the good fortune to live in, or at least very near to, mountains for the past 25 years. And I've been riding MOUNTAIN bikes for the past 15 years or so. Short of flat tires from thorns and the like, I have had very few problems with any part of my bikes. Maybe my "good luck" is due to this...MOUNTAINS typically do not have stairs and curbs and whatever else may present itself as a physical challenge to thin-walled aluminum extrusions. If you feel it's necessary to "ride" over these, and larger obstacles, may I suggest an urban assult vehicle such as a "Hummer".
Chilis for all! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
B dubs
a Racer
from galena ohio
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | alum creek | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint | | Strengths: | i like these rims. they are light and some what strong. They look bad ass | | Weaknesses: | they arent designed to ride huge drops and lots of downhill | | Similar Products Used: | bontrager convairs (suck) and old mavics | | Bike Setup: | fuji suncrest lx, derore, ritchey | | Bottom Line: | i dont know why every person in here grips these rims are great for the price. they are not ment for huge downhills, they are ment for single track cross country. If you want to do downhill then dont buy 221s, buy 517s, but for cross country they are well worth it.so all you fools get a clue and buy a bike for the style of riding your going to do.boost the rating some | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
B dubs
a Racer
from galena ohio
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | alum creek | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint | | Strengths: | i like these rims. they are light and some what strong. They look bad ass | | Weaknesses: | they arent designed to ride huge drops and lots of downhill | | Similar Products Used: | bontrager convairs (suck) and old mavics | | Bike Setup: | fuji suncrest lx, derore, ritchey | | Bottom Line: | i dont know why every person in here grips these rims are great for the price. they are not ment for huge downhills, they are ment for single track cross country. If you want to do downhill then dont buy 221s, buy 517s, but for cross country they are well worth it.so all you fools get a clue and buy a bike for the style of riding your going to do.boost the rating some | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
adam
a Downhiller
from new hampshire
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | mountains | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | on the bike | | Strengths: | not many but i have taken a couple of crashes and drops without tottaly destroying them, the eylits are good stuff | | Weaknesses: | spokes came almost tottaly loose after a while of riding, paint comes off | | Similar Products Used: | azonic dh riser bar | | Bike Setup: | Gt avalanche with wellgo b-1 pedals azonic riser bar and grimeca rear disks | | Bottom Line: | good all around, light which i dont give a rats arse about look good before there scratched, if your a leg shavin xc rider these would be fine but if not go out and buy some sun mammouths | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
adam
a Downhiller
from new hampshire
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | mountains | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | on the bike | | Strengths: | not many but i have taken a couple of crashes and drops without tottaly destroying them, the eylits are good stuff | | Weaknesses: | spokes came almost tottaly loose after a while of riding, paint comes off | | Similar Products Used: | azonic dh riser bar | | Bike Setup: | Gt avalanche with wellgo b-1 pedals azonic riser bar and grimeca rear disks | | Bottom Line: | good all around, light which i dont give a rats arse about look good before there scratched, if your a leg shavin xc rider these would be fine but if not go out and buy some sun mammouths | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Victor Riley
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, Tx 77346
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came on my bike | | Strengths: | I guess the Mavic name that they carry | | Weaknesses: | Staying round | | Similar Products Used: | Sun something..... they were stock on my old bike. Never had to mess with them so at the time it was a non issue. | | Bike Setup: | 4" front / 4.5" rear suspension. XT/LX drive train. Z3QR20 / Fox Float R | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is that I rode a hardtail for the past nine years and the only rim issue I had was when my wife ran over my bike in her car. Needed new rim on the back. But for these to be only 6 months old and both the front and back rims to crater like they did really surprises me. I am not the 8' drop dude but apparantly even the 4' drops are more than these can handle. I may be too harsh on these and maybe they are great for cross country. But if you are going to get a bike with 4+" of travel would you not think that the rims should be stronger. Well they are not. I hope I have better luck with the 517. I feel pretty stupid not getting the Rhyno lite but the LBS had the 517's in stock and it was the fastest way to get riding again. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kirk
a Cross Country Rider
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Merlincycles.co.uk | | Strengths: | Have gone out of true only slightly since I bought them, not enough to get fixed. | | Weaknesses: | I have incredible trouble getting a tyre onto the rim without getting a pinch flat. It's so difficult changing tyres. | | Similar Products Used: | Average stock/cheap stuff. | | Bike Setup: | Handsomedog tange prestige steel frame, bontrager, lx, avid. | | Bottom Line: | They've been great for my general xc use but cause so much trouble changing tyres that I'm thinking of changing them, they look too narrow too - a previous tyre I had seemed to 'roll' on the rim when I turned or waggled the bike about, maybe it was a bit flat but I'd prefer wider, slightly heavier rims. Don't know how much they cost-bought a wheel. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Georgi
a Downhiller
from Sofia,Bulgaria
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | bulgarian shop | | Strengths: | cheap and nice | | Similar Products Used: | ambrosio dh28 | | Bike Setup: | scott g-zero + rst hi5 | | Bottom Line: | I broke my front rim very severily,landing in a mud with big speed after moderate jump. Maybe my spokes were not tightened correctly, but these rims are not for heavy torture :) also had problems with my v-brakes....the rims were always eating them.
not my kinda rim. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin Bowman
a Weekend Warrior
from Halifax, PA
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Hebron Trail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Light, Strong, Cool looking(anodized red), Mavic | | Weaknesses: | I've had none in the couple weeks I've used them. | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 217 | | Bike Setup: | Kona Muni-Mula, Marzocchi Bomber z5, XT, Sram 9.0 SL, Avid Speed dial 2.0, Sweet ride. | | Bottom Line: | I've heard bad bad things about these rims, I've ben told not to buy them, they're week, and they're just an all together horrible wheel, so of course I bought them. I couldn't believe it, they were great. I don't know what these other people are doing, but I'm 6'3, 190, and they work great for me. Really strong and tough, and I ride pretty hard, and the red anodized rim isn't to shabby either. I'm not going to say that they're the best rim ever, but they are not nearly as bad as some of the people say they are. 5 flamin chili's to boost the rating!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken
a Weekend Warrior
from Los Angeles Area
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | lots | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | light | | Weaknesses: | It is weak | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager Mustang | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Schwinn Homegrown | | Bottom Line: | I suppose you can't expect too much from cheap rims, but these things are really too weak for any sort of "real" riding. On my fifth ride with these, I bent the front rim something awful and I didn't even abuse it. If your bike comes with these rims like mine did, seriously consider replacing them If you are looking for replacement rims, definitely do not buy these! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe Kickass
a Cross Country Rider
from Kickass, MD USA
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | all of em | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | A store | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | read below | | Bike Setup: | Trek 950 steel frame with LC RC components | | Bottom Line: | I ride 9 miles of X-country that is mildy hilly and very muddy every day. The mud is tough on a bike and I eat up a lots of components with the daily "grind". Yesterday, after riding a set of 221's for 3 months (I've put about 435 miles of off road action on these) my rear rim EXPLODED. Im not a "rad" dude jumping off of cliffs or large dropoffs, I just ride and ride and ride and thats it. It exploded while I was simply on level ground going about 6 mph just coming out of a mud puddle. The sidewalls appear to be made out a very high grade of cheddar cheese and were wearing rapidly as a result of the brake pads getting mud on them (unavoidable during my rides) and grinding them down to nothing...until BOOM.
Plus ever since I've owned them, I constantly had to true them (and again, I don't jump or do drop offs). My friend has an identical set and his are suffering the exact same problems mine are....now were just waiting to see when his go boomski!
I give these wheels of s-h-i-t 1 fecal flambes. (i.e. don't buy them)
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bill W.
a Weekend Warrior
from Virginia
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Any | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Light
Look Nice | | Weaknesses: | Weak
Don't stay true | | Similar Products Used: | Bontragers
| | Bike Setup: | GT | | Bottom Line: | If you do any jumping or any kind of riding that involves hard hits, you'll ruin these rims quickly. Not only do they require repeated truing (even after moderate rides), they bend easily. These rims really can't hack it. Actually, mine bent from a very minor sideways hit. These are basically the kind of rims that should be OEM and nothing else. I don't think anyone should actually purchase these. There are similarly-priced rims by other manufacturers that are much stronger. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
nik
a Racer
from whyvale
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | lite for price
good for lite riders (150) and lower
mavic | | Weaknesses: | bend ez
dont stay true
look like hell after there scrached up
no that wide
| | Similar Products Used: | bontrager sun(on dh bike) | | Bike Setup: | oryx hta 500 xt cranks and shifters xtr f-r duraller time pedals and so no | | Bottom Line: | i way 191 pounds so im not a littel guy i race xc dh ds but im as smoth as a trils rider any ways to day i was out doing some drops ya no the bigest was 5ft and any ways i was riding drops and i wendt of 1 and the wheel bent to a 90 deger angle so i swor and tryed to bend it back but the rim cracked but that woulkd only make sence so all i have to say it that if your a beginer get it if no well forget it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Greenstein
a Cross Country Rider
from Barrington ILL
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | its a light weight rim. only good for light xc
| | Weaknesses: | everything i bent this rim on my second ride. once u think u have it trued it will bend on u | | Similar Products Used: | bontrager maverik | | Bike Setup: | gt backwoods, psylo xc, hellbent,welgo
| | Bottom Line: | its ok to get but dont get it if u will be riding any rough terrign. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Boston, MA
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar | | Strengths: | Cost-$50 complete with 9 Speed LX Hub | | Weaknesses: | Weak!!!! | | Similar Products Used: | Some WTB rim that was indestructible & some old specialized rim that was also pretty bombproof. | | Bottom Line: | I bought this rim complete with a 9 sp LX hub and have ridden on it maybe 8 times. It looked as though it had been well built when I got it. I brought it to my LBS the other day to have it trued and the guy told me that it is pretty much DONE! he re-tensioned the whole thing and said that it might have a couple of rides left in it.
Now, I am not the type to do 6 foot drops, but there are some pretty fast, bumpy downhills where I ride; but nothing that my old rims didn't handle for years.
If you just bought your first mountain bike and plan on coasting on some pretty slow stuff, this is the rim for you. If you ride aggressively at all, DO NOT BUY THIS RIM!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mirko Zatezalo
a Downhiller
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Rock Garden - in Akatarawa forest NZ | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Price - they are cheap and will hold on well for beginners who don't ride hard - or recreational cyclists. | | Weaknesses: | The rim is not strong enough for any serious mtb rider, Trust me I have used 5 rims like this in 2 years on 2 bikes, as they came stock on my bikes. They are soft and dent easily and start going up and down. Side to side truing is often required. | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 217 - very very strong rims in comparison - Mavic 138 - | | Bike Setup: | from STX - RC to XTR - Hardtail Xc rider - flat bar | | Bottom Line: | rims are great if you are a recreational rider or a beginer - as they will do the job for you - if you like to hit things at speed and like to let it all ang out they are not strong enough. I am 72kg by the way and use them for XC riding. With 80mm of travel coming from Judy's | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
way2jedi4u
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Trials biking at the UW | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | R+E Cyckes | | Strengths: | Weight | | Weaknesses: | Strength | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic x138
Bontrager Superstock
Mavic x517 | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Kona Muni-Mula
Body Geometry MTB Comp Saddle
Tooth Fairy Trials Ring | | Bottom Line: | These hoops are nice and light, but they just dont stand up to the crap that i dish out, nail one curb at 15 mph, and boom, they're crooked as a lawyer. They came with my bike, laced to Shimano Deore hubs, soon to be replaced my Mavic x517 Ceramic Black hoops, black DT Double-Butted spokes, XTR hubs, and green alloy nipples. (To match paint job) In short, buy these rims if you're on a tight budget, or if you don't hack it hard. Lata' all
~The Jedi | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Racer
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | red bridge | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | schwinn dealer | | Strengths: | srong | | Weaknesses: | they aren't as prestigious as 517's | | Similar Products Used: | x517, dolomites | | Bottom Line: | I got these on my $600 schwinn moab 1 two years ago and rode them for 1 season and now use them to ride around town and jump off benches and over stairs and whatever, and the only truing they've ever recieved is me using a pair of pliers to turn the nipples, and they are still true and don't have any hops. they are strong wheels for the price. if this rim bent after 2 months , it must of been a very poorly built wheel. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a Cross Country Rider
from San Mateo, CA
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Waterdog Lake | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$130.00 | | Purchased At: | Price Point (Set with XT Hubs | | Strengths: | light, cheap | | Weaknesses: | Weak, doesn't hold up to much abuse, I've pretty much wrecked the rear, and i'm fairly light at about 145 pounds and i dont ride really hard on them either | | Similar Products Used: | Cheap cheap cheap | | Bike Setup: | '00 Schwinn Homegrown, SRAM, Race Face | | Bottom Line: | well, this rim comes stock on a lot of the mid range XC bikes out there, and i'd say until you really put 'em out of true, don't get new ones, but if you're planning on getting some aftermarket and you're willing to sacrifice weight for strength, i'd go with something a little stronger. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Crazy Bit#$
a Weekend Warrior
from NY
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | The internet | | Strengths: | -Light
-Decent XC rim | | Weaknesses: | -Brake surface wears out
-Avoid drops or other abuse,or you will be truing it all the time | | Similar Products Used: | Sun Rhyno Lite(great) | | Bike Setup: | S.C Chameleon | | Bottom Line: | I will the first to admit that I have subjected these rims(laced 3x with LX hubs) to my own crazy,dumbass riding style and have abused the living hell out of them.I weigh 200 and I am downright brutal on parts.
I huck off stairs,4-foot(and even the occasional 6-foot)drops,curbs...you name it.I've knocked these rims out of true more times than I can count.They're good for XC,but I need stronger!!So I just bought me another pair 'o' Rhyno Lites(already have them on my Surly)and I plan on rebuilding my wheels with them over this weekend.
Anyway,these aren't bad rims for their intended purpose.3 chilies. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Bellens
a Cross Country Rider
from Leuven
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Price, strength | | Weaknesses: | Breaking surface worn out due to 6 years of use. | | Similar Products Used: | Nope | | Bike Setup: | Steel + RS Judy Race + Shimano XT | | Bottom Line: | I've just replaced mine after 6 years of heavy and lighter duty trails. (190 lbs) My bike is a steel one with RS Judy Race ans Shimano XT components.
I replaced them because the breaking surface had become quite rought due to the tons of dirt I went through here in wet Belgium. For this my XT brake pads were gone evevry 300 km. But for the rest NO abdolutely NO negative remarks for this cheap and reliable rim (I do agree on the correct building remarks if you want a good wheel...)
Regards
Eric | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ed talbot
a Racer
from lincoln ri usa
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | lincoln woods | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | sirios bikes n attle mass | | Strengths: | excellent braking surfaces looks alright performed well all year under varing conditions though this rim obviously can't take a huge beating it is an excellent choice for a lighter riding style i took a couple of four foot drops with them and they are bearly out of true with a good builder and a gentle thouch these rims can last | | Weaknesses: | not very rugged | | Similar Products Used: | sun xc mavic238 | | Bike Setup: | stock 2000 gt avalance real hub 32 hole for disk up front
xt for disk inthe back | | Bottom Line: | alright for the right conditions(a very gentle touch &a skinny wallet)
unsuitable for hard riding or casual 5 footers
a great value for the rite riding
overall i wouldnt take it to a race (nor would i take the bike they're on) but it makes a good training gear (beacause they will easily fold with improper technics)
dont waste your money if your looking for a heavy duty rim this aint it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kyle McIver
a Cross Country Rider
from Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | the one I built | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | w/ my Manomano @ Jolley's in Meaford | | Strengths: | Relatively cheap, BEST DEAL FOR THE MONEY, who cares about the weight, on a long ride, I wore through my pads, but they are still fine in terms of performance (holy, you should have heard them scream on the descents.I'm not a weany, strong (I can't tell people enough, GET A GOOD SHOP TO HANDMAKE YOUR WHEELS) they've taken drops up to 5ft, lots of jumps, and even some trials stuff. They are little out of true, but it's still after a year of riding hard and on REALLY bumpy trails (anyone been up here, it's great). All I can say is pull up your skirt Sally, you might actually have to fix your bike for 1/2 hour, oh dear God. | | Weaknesses: | The sidewalls are a little weak, I've got a few dents in them. but the rest is fine. | | Similar Products Used: | Whole bunch of alloy loops. | | Bike Setup: | Stock 99 Manomano, except Manitou SX-LE. B i t c h i n' bike for the $$, only $1700 cdn in the fall, That's the US suggested retail price. | | Bottom Line: | GET A GOOD LOCAL SHOP TO HAND MAKE YOUR WHEELS, THEY COME MACHINE MADE, HAVE YOUR SHOP TAKE THEM APART AND REMAKE THEM WITH HEAVY DT SPOKES, YOUR WHEELS WILL LAST MUCH, MUCH, LONGER AND WILL BEMUCH, MUCH STRONGER. A really good rim, cheap, durable, fairly strong, definately a
BEST BUY, as long as you get a good local shop to make them. Peace out. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Geneva, IL
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | John Muir Forrest | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Reliable,
not terribly heavy | | Weaknesses: | may be heavy for some | | Bike Setup: | Kona caldera | | Bottom Line: | Thanks to all the riders who have stated that these rims aren't as good as others that are three times expensive.
We would've never figured that out. No these aren't terrific
rims, but they usually come stock on bikes in the $700 to
$1000 range. What did you expect? $200 to go toward the rims? I weigh 185 and have a steal bike with a marzocchi
bomber- so we aren't a light package. I've had no problems. I'm not taking five feet drops, but they've been
roughed up and still doing well. When I need to replace them
I may go lighter, but for the $$$ I'm pleased. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Sabo
a Cross Country Rider
from Cleveland Oh USA
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Pontiac lake | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Universalcycles | | Strengths: | the color, a dark rainbow anodizing | | Weaknesses: | machine building dimpled the eyelets
| | Similar Products Used: | Sun 0 degree, Sun Rhynolites (best)
other Mavic's, older 220's 138's,
very old and strong Bontrager,
Weinmanns, really old concave-centered road rims, very cool
Specialized etc...
| | Bike Setup: | Litespeed Hiawassee HT
Atom bomb fork
Ritchey Tom Slick 1.5 tires
Avid archrivals
Lx/xt drivetrain
Flite saddle, Ibis ti bars
| | Bottom Line: | Alright, I don't know why I did not check here first, maybe my old Mavics fooled me. I put a total of 150 road miles, riding on slicks before I broke 2 DT 14g spokes. I've NEVER broken DT's, even when a stick stopped a wheel.
So, I had it fixed, and within 50 miles of a century ride 2 more spokes broke while riding down a long smooth hill. The rear wheel wobbled so bad I almost lost control. I nursed it home and swapped out the wheels. 200 miles is a rather short lifespan. I weigh 150 and ride carefully, very rarely on dirt, and this set never saw dirt.
Now, it may be the fault of the machine building itself, but I've had higher tensioned Suns work with no problems.
Sorry Mavic, you lost a customer.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nathaniel Leeds
a Racer
from LA, CA USA
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Backbone | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | uhhh | | Strengths: | This rim sure hits the spot for the money, its light, has true vertical sidewalls, good surfaces, and nice work on the eyelets. Out of the box is came nearly perfectly flat, with the eyelets nicely seated. As with most Mavic rims it was a real pleasure to build. | | Weaknesses: | To my shock and horror the seam work was really substandard, to poor. The rim did not ship round. After noticing how stiff it was and how much material I had to work with I elected to grind instead of trying to tension the wheel to shape. I suspect that if you, or your shop, has know idea what they are doing they might be trying to correct bad seams with spoke tension resulting in a wheel that is bound for failure. | | Similar Products Used: | Sun xc 0, off brand crap.... | | Bike Setup: | S-works, Judy SL, XT/DURA-ACE | | Bottom Line: | The earlier reviewer's comment about people wanting light, cheap, poorly manufactured components that are not up to spec is really on point with this rim. Clearly some of the material and workmanship is there in this rim, but where it is lacking it is really lacking. Over the years I have expected more from MAVIC; I'm going back to SUN. Other people's comments about breaking this rim seem entirely unfounded: If you choose the wrong tire and dent a rim - your fault; If you can't tell that the tension is wack on your wheel - your fault. For you newbies I suggest making a point of looking everything over after you get it from a shop. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mountain Man
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Bird Sanctuary | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came Stock | | Strengths: | Light, Beautifully Finished, Mavic Quality, Relatively Strong, Great Braking Surface | | Weaknesses: | I d i o t s always accuse you of having weak rims | | Similar Products Used: | Sun CR-18, Alex (both P.O.S.) | | Bike Setup: | Upgraded '00 Schwinn Moab 1 | | Bottom Line: | These rims have the best price-to-performance ratio on the market. Sun CR-18s are a bit cheaper at about the same weight, but they just plain blow sh*t. Mavic makes the best quality rims. These rims are more nicely finished and have better sidewalls than Sun's top of the line Sun 0 XC!
Anyone who claims these rims are weak has wheels that were not properly built. I know, because it happened to me. My rims went way out of true within the first week of riding, because they were machine built. I then picked up my Park Tool spoke wrench and properly trued and tensioned them both. That was about three months ago, and I have not had a problem since.
However, no matter how well these rims are built, they simply are not meant for 6-foot drops onto flat concrete landings. If you use your bike for this, get a pair of D521s. Much nicer than Rhyno Lites.
The sidewalls are the best I've ever seen. Nicely machined for lots of friction. Sun sidewalls, although they say "Advanced Brake Track", are slippery and have little friction to aid braking. Not good in muddy situations.
Great set of rims, go out and buy yourself a pair!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Woodsman
a Weekend Warrior
from OR, USA
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Ones w/nobody else on them | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Look good, strong, pretty light, durable, priced right if bought in the aftermarket. | | Weaknesses: | None. | | Similar Products Used: | None. | | Bike Setup: | '98 C'dale F1000, wheels built with Shim. LX hubs and DTs (14-15-14). | | Bottom Line: | Look, it's been said by some reviewers here already, but I'll say it again: these are XC hoops and were never meant for Fred Flintstone-"wheels of stone"-type maneuvers. As noted, mine are on LX hubs w/heavy DTs. Build quality has a lot to do w/end-product quality and performance, and in that vein, a HUGE hat's-off to the builders at Cannondale. They (reportedly) hand-built these wheels in PA and they have been practically perfect in function and performance, with only VERY minor truing fr. and rr., once each. Probably could've gotten away with no attention paid to them, they have been that good. I don't do jumps or drops, but I go for long fire road rides with some rocky, crappy sections. I weigh 180 lbs. and ride with 50-55 lbs. of air in the tires. REPEAT: excellent rims, excellent rims. I would buy these babies again. Five combusting dog-doos. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robbie
a Weekend Warrior
from Brampton, Ontario
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Hardwood Hills | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Decent weight, not a bad looking rim
Makes for an ok front wheel | | Weaknesses: | A bit lacking in durability (for a rear wheel) | | Similar Products Used: | Araya CV17's on my old Maxam Overdrive, Weinman 519's | | Bike Setup: | 1999 GT Avalanche, XT/LX, Marzocchi Z2 Bombers, Mavic 221's with GT Hub on the front & LX in the rear (wheel that is)
Everything stock on the bike except for the front der. upgraded to XT | | Bottom Line: | Came stock on my bike, which I purchased in mid August. I've been riding them every weekend since then to the first week of November, and the rear wheel just came out of true after my last ride (just recently learned how to bunny-hop, so I've been getting a lot more air). I'm a bit on the clydesdale side of the scale weighing in at 210-215lbs, and I ride pretty aggressively. The front wheel is still true (soft bump head on into a tree on the weekend), so I think I'll keep riding the front. I need a bit more durability with the rear wheel, so I'll likely upgrade to either Mavic F519's, Sun Ryno Lites or another freeride/downhill rim, with XT hubs or something like that. I've never had problems with wheels coming out of true, but then again, I only started really riding a lot of trails since the summer.
Bottom Line: Good value rim if your a recreational and relatively light rider. If your planning to do a lot of trails, or if you're somewhat on the heavy side, I'd recommend going with a higher-end rim, at least for the rear wheel. You get what you pay for, and for the price and target market, it's a good wheel.
My flaming turd scale ratings are reflective of the price and intended purpose of the rims. (Don't compare these to rims at 4x the price)
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
vinny h.
a Weekend Warrior
from chicago,IL - cookcounty
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | 8ball-chicago's north shore | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | oak park cyclery | | Strengths: | light, strong for xc | | Weaknesses: | not exactly for the sketchier stuff | | Similar Products Used: | zac 19,mavic222 | | Bike Setup: | raleigh w/deore-ish drivetrain,ditch witch wheels | | Bottom Line: | i don't know what the heck is wrong with all the other guys but it isn't as bad as they say it is. although it isn't one of the better rims out there, it can hold its own. i got this rim in a specialized stumpjumper wheelset, with dt spokes and a specialized stout hub. i only weigh 135lbs. @ 5'6.,but i have taken a couple of 5ft. drops downtown. sure, they bent but i never lost spokes or gotten flat spots. neither have i had my rim crack or my sidewalls prematurely wear. i guess for xc, they are pretty good rims, but for something more agressive, i recommend rhyno lites or a 519. as for the others, it has to be poor wheelbuilding to blame. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel M
a
from Montreal,Quebec,Canada
Date Reviewed: October 25, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Banzai at Bromont | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Local bike shop | | Strengths: | Stayed true for about two months, even after jumping and downhill. Has graet name behind it (Mavic). Lasted longer than my Sun CR 18 rims(they broke after two weeks). STX RC hubs are pretty good. | | Weaknesses: | They now resemble a Taco with bites out of it(they are dented in 5 or 6 places. pinch pretty badly. Next rim, I would definately buy downhill or fr. | | Similar Products Used: | Suc CR 18, Weinmann Zac 19 (both s*h*i*t) | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 840 | | Bottom Line: | Strong rim, given that I treated it like s h i t. I do not recommend them for DH or jumping. Buy them for XC, though. A great rim. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Patricio
a Weekend Warrior
from Bellevue, Washington, US
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Blair Witch | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Bothell Ski & Bike | | Strengths: | Light | | Weaknesses: | Weak as [heck]. Theyre crap. They are so flippin' weak! | | Similar Products Used: | 519, sub 4, Zac19, others | | Bike Setup: | Specialized FSR GC. Bomber Z3 long travel. stock rear. Lx/9.0. lot o Race Face. Avid Arch Rivals | | Bottom Line: | Dont buy these rims. They completely suck. There is only one kind of person that should buy these, a wussy XC rider that is so hung up on weight but he doesnt have much $$. Im not that harsh of a rider at all. I mean Im only 13. The back rim bent permanantly out of true in like the 2nd month. The front is actually doing ok, though. I have been averaging 2 spokes lost/ride. Thats 2 spokes every flipping time I ride! Sometimes more! Its insane! these things suck so bad! Please dont buy these rims. Im giving these 1 chili cause theyre so flipping weak. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dennis Steshenko
a Cross Country Rider
from Moscow - Russia
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Tsaritsino | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike market | | Strengths: | Light, Goodlooking | | Weaknesses: | not found ...yet | | Similar Products Used: | cheap alloy rims | | Bike Setup: | hardtail | | Bottom Line: | I don`t know what all of you disappointed people are doing with your bikes! I`ve used them on quite severe conditions from trials to street riding and didn`t find a smallest damadge. Try using the with DT spokes and work on your technics - believe me, your problems will be gone! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
patrick lipscomb
a Cross Country Rider
from dallas
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Cedar Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | wheels in Motion | | Strengths: | They have much much ballyhooyed Mavic name | | Weaknesses: | damage easily | | Similar Products Used: | weinman 519, Mavic 517 | | Bike Setup: | xt hubs | | Bottom Line: | I had this wheelset built by a local shop. After two off road excursions I suffered a stripped nipple on the rear wheel which knocked the rim out of true. The shop attributed the damage to "rider style" and furthermore told me that the rim was now compromised. I was angry at the shop for performing what I perceived to be an inferior build, however, after reading the reviews posted here I am not so sure. After breaking spokes after nearly every ride I finally replaced the entire rear wheel with the exact setup (I had not seen the reviews posted here)and I fret over the integrity of the wheel during each ride. The bottom line is that Mavic uses its revered brand to supply an inferior product to unwitting users. Do not buy the X221. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nicolai Grøndahl
a Cross Country Rider
from Norway
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | light. it's mavic! (oh yeah!)(uh) looks cool.
| | Weaknesses: | weak - i mean really weak. expensive -u have to by new ones every month. the spokes get loose after two weeks of riding. i tacoed them. | | Similar Products Used: | mavic x138 | | Bike Setup: | cyclepro pinnacle comp(unknown but very good)alu frame really stiff, xt/lx, rockshox judy xc | | Bottom Line: | Because too many riders demand lighter stuff, things worn out quicker. I want stronger stuff that lasts, but it seems that everyone wants bad sucky worn-me-out-quick-let's-buy-a-new-one-tomorrow-i-don't-care stuff. This makes me sick. Another problem with 217's is that they come on many new bikes, if u want some other ones, u have to buy them later. So I recommend hard-core xc bikers to stay away from 221 and buy some stronger rims. If u don't want to ride rocky and difficult trails go for them, they are light and nice to look at. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from NYC
Date Reviewed: August 3, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Strong | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Other Mavics | | Bike Setup: | Marin Full Susp, XT | | Bottom Line: | If you have broken these rims you are doing something wrong. Either they were built poorly or you were being stupid. I have had these rims for three seasons and have trued the back once - a minor adjustment at that.
I use them downhilling several times a season at ski resorts, urban assualts through the city (unless you have been chased through NYC by crazed cabbies, hitting potholes straight on, you have never known excitement or the abuse your rims take)and taken them through your typical rock gardens. Never have I had a problem.
I am not as heavy as some of the guys (160), but I am no featherweight either. Plus, I do not baby my equipment. Overall these are a good rim and they are fairly inexpensive. Anyone on a budget should consider buying these rims. Are there better rims out there? Sure, but for the money these are pretty good. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nigel Ward
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, ONtario
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Kelso | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | -looks:
black colour
-mavic name | | Weaknesses: | too weak
tacoed them | | Similar Products Used: | sun sub 4 [so far so good] | | Bike Setup: | oryx aluminum frame xtr/lx, z4, disks
4rox 6b disk hubs | | Bottom Line: | very weak
bent the front on a three footer drop on to soft dirt
I still have a 221 on the rear and i am afraid i am gonna kill them in dual race.
if you're a rough rider get something strong like a sun rhino or
for xc pick up some sub4 or a 517
STAY AWAY FROM THESE RIMS | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rich
a Weekend Warrior
from montreal
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | the ones with trees and rocks | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | absolutly nothing, except for looks | | Weaknesses: | weak, break easy no worth the time to go to the shop even if they were giving them away for free!!! | | Similar Products Used: | mamoth fat, weinman 519 | | Bike Setup: | 98 hardrock sport fs | | Bottom Line: | do not buy theses rims they are garbage save some mony and buy a sun ringle mamoth fat ok! but what ever you do don't don't buy these aluminum foil is stronger. i bought the rim and monted it on my bike, then i went to the corner store and went up a curve with 40 P.S.I in my tires and the fuc^in thing still bent now i'm out 60 dollars canadien to buy a mavic 521 rim, 20 bucks for spokes and 20 bucks for the shop to rebuild my rim, because the shop said that the rim was not defective. please take my advice and dont buy these rims they are just a waste of money. now i would not be bit@hing if i broke the dame thing jumping stairs ofr something, but riding up a curb? thats not right | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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