Submitted by
Killer B
a Cross Country Rider
from Horse Shoe, NC
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2009
Strengths: Bomb-proof durability.
NEVER had to tighten a spoke in over 3 years.
NEVER had to true them after 3 years.
Look neat & unique from any others.
Weaknesses: Weight is a drawback up you pedal uphills,
otherwise this is a strength on downhill runs.
Yello may no match your bike.
(I have a pair of the yellow's & silver)
Bottom Line:
Best heavy-duty rims/wheelset available IMO.
I'm not sure I'd pay $699 for them, but look
around for a used pair that most people sell
simply because of the weight.
Submitted by
Bobby Peru
a Downhiller
from Torrance, CA
Date Reviewed: November 28, 2008
Strengths: Great looks, strong rim...
Weaknesses: Hub needs a little TLC now and then...
Bottom Line:
Great rim and strong wheel set all around. I bought these from a friend who got a new bike and the 135mm rear hub didn't fit his new frame. His loss, my gain! I've run these wheels in 3 countries and four US states. I've only had one flat in all of that time. The rear hubs needs some TLC every now and then, other than that, they are great! They are not so "in" anymore, they used to be a very popular wheel set. Not so much any more. Who cares? They do the job and do it well.
Similar Products Used: The only other wheel set I had was a WTB. So it's tough to compare.
Bike Setup: Intense Socom
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
skywalker
a Downhiller
from Australia
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2008
Strengths: Very Light, Super Strong, head turning looks, ust option!
Weaknesses: Presta valves, price & changing tyres is a feat unto itself!
Bottom Line:
Awesome wheels, have taken a beating for 3yrs now & have performed very well! Still perfectly straight, only serviced the rear hub once, never had to touch the front wheel! Check the spokes occasionally as they may come abit loose (like any rim) & check the rear axle too being a two piece item it can occasionally come loose! (simple maintenance will keep this wheel alive for many years)
I weigh 80kg and ride some fairly mean trails & regularly do 10ft drops, these wheels have taken it no probs for 3 yrs now & still going strong! (just remember we are punishing our equipment pretty serverley, so just check on it every ride & you wont have any problems with them!)
Best wheels ive ever used!
Similar Products Used: 729, 329, dual duty, single track!
Bike Setup: Iron horse sgs, Shivers, 6way swinger, x9/pc99hp/pg990 sram, mrp wc2, raceface nsdh, fsa ti bb, lopro mag flats, hope mono6 ti, kforce dh, wtb rocket v stealth &
05 deemax + maxxis 2.7st dhf & 2.5st dhr 24-28psi.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
random
a Downhiller
from NewWestminster BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2008
Strengths: strong, can't dent, no flats, no flatspots.. looks sweet.
Weaknesses: if you arn't a bike guy who maintains bikes and wheels ... if you dont know how to tension a wheel or take care of a wheel.. these aren't the wheels for you.
so only weakness is .. need to do alot of spoke checks.. 1 a week if you ride 3 times.. something like that.
Bottom Line:
these wheels are very good, very strong, and very very trush worthy.
you have to maintain spoke tension, if you do this, you will never have a wobbly wheel.. you will never dent and you will never ruin these rims, they are VERY STRONG!
however, if you dont get a good built deemax and dont maintain them, they do wobble specially if you do like to land sideways;)
so if you know your stuff and can maintain a rim properly, i highly suggest these wheels....
the quality of the wheel outweigh the weight of the wheel in my opinion
Submitted by
robertsm
a Downhiller
from Scottsdale, Az
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2008
Strengths: I beat these wheels up pretty bad. The black powdercoating is scratched off pretty bad from dragging along rocks, yet they are still true. They are qite heavy but they are supposed to be.
Weaknesses: Only problem I had was that the yellow stickers didn't go well with my bike. So I took em off. Easy enough.
Bike Setup: 2008 Nomad, Lyric 2 step fork, X0 shifters and derailleurs, Hayes HFX 9 brakes, Maxxis minion tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jake
from Pawcatuck, CT, USA
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2007
Strengths: well, i bought these seond hand with a crack in the rim. Bad idea, maybe, but i work in a bike shop and figured that i could true them and things would be ok. You know what, for once in my life, I was right! I'm a pretty technechly bad rider, meaning i jump off really big stuff and normally land wrong. These things can take a beating!
Weaknesses: well, i cant break em, so i guess none..oh yeah, they cost alot
Bottom Line:
if you are like me, you prefer your taco's from a mexican resturaunt, not a mountain bike wheel manufacturer. if you have the cash, buy them. Ignore any bad reviews you red cause they are complete bullsh*t and the people who wrote them are probably 300lbs overweight.
Bike Setup: Fox Talas RLC, Truvativ Holzfeller, MRP system 1, Thomson Elite, Hayes Nine, Sram X-7...
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
jeff
a Downhiller
from Whistler
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2006
Strengths: all the hype around the name dee max the hubs are good
Weaknesses: to soft, flat spot, spokes come loose everyday
Bottom Line:
these rims are for riders who are very smooth,they cant take abuse the spokes come loose all the time and if one breaks is $14 a spoke you have to true them after every ride, flat spot very easy my advice if you have them and there still good get rid of them why you can (unless you have the older 36spoke ones there bombprof)and buy sun mag 30s,double tracks or arrow dh and get your moneys woth
Submitted by
Jason
a Weekend Warrior
from Albany Western Australia
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2006
Strengths: They are popular in mtn bike movies
Weaknesses: Spokes come loose
Bottom Line:
I purchased these rims thinking they would hold up.After a month of riding, 12 spokes had come loose in which time a buckle had formed,not happy.Every ride there after at least 2- 4 spokes were coming loose and I was always having to tru the back rim up.I weigh 75kg and the type of riding I do, would best be described as light free ride/cross country.I was even willing to fore go the fact that they are yellow, all I wanted was a maintenance free rim.It was not to be.Mavic being the kind hearted company they are give you a poxy plastic spoke key which rounds out after about 10 spokes,as well as a poxy plastic rear axle spanner which breaks as soon as you use it.So when I go to send the rear rim back to mavic which is still under warranty,get this I have to pay the freight $45 .The bottom line is, Dee max UST wheels do not hold up in real world riding conditions . buyer beware.
Strengths: Stiff as heck!!!! Bombproof for sure, for only having 28 spokes per rim!!!
Weaknesses: Rear hub continues to loosen up after a day of drops and hucks.
Bottom Line:
Great rim!! I have landed almost sideways 2 times on this rim and it didn't tweek it at all. Over a year of HARD riding and they have never been trued up. They don't need it!!!!!! When people see this rim, it is always.."Those are sweet!!!!!!!!!" So they have a unique look as well. This is just one mean machine of a rim set!!!!
Submitted by
Paul Ruscoe
a Downhiller
from Stoke, England
Date Reviewed: March 23, 2004
Strengths: Very Strong, Light
Weaknesses: kinks on the wheel from where each of the spokes is attatched to the wheel.
Bottom Line:
These wheels are very strong and their weight is great. But still they are not impossible to break or buckle just go off a bike enough drop and they will start to suffer.
Submitted by
Alfred Mark Maniago
a Weekend Warrior
from Las Piñas City, Philippines
Date Reviewed: February 10, 2003
Strengths: lightweight, durable, very good design
Weaknesses: none (so far)
Bottom Line:
i think mavic dee max is one of the best rims sold in the market today. i use the mavic dee max (black version) and this kind of rim is very affordable but strong enough to withstand bumps and drops.
Similar Products Used: i used Araya 26 inch rims before
Bike Setup: dnm suspension fork and seatpost; marin aluminum frame; amoeba handle bars and stem; body geometry saddle; dee max rims; shimano deore hubs, crankset , brakes and derailluer; 2.38 leopard tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Andy Leuterio
a Racer
from Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
Date Reviewed: September 12, 2002
Strengths: Great aero looks, strength, doesn't weigh too much
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I got these rims and set it up with the Shimano Mega hubs & spokes back when I was still using a full-suspension. The wheel & 1.38" tire setup weighed a little more compared to my previous shallow-rim setup, but the deep rims made up for it as I went faster (i use my bike for duathlons and triathlons). Seems there's less wind resistance with these babies.
I stuck with these rims when I switched to my Galmod - it's an Italian brand -but changed to 1.15"s: this is about as light and aero as I'll ever be with an MTB. Wahoo! I can even keep pace with some roadies now. The best part is that when I get tired of road duty, I can change the tires and go back to dirt trails. You can't do that with a road bike.
Similar Products Used: weinmann/ mavic/ velocity/ rigid
Bike Setup: mongoose nx rock shox psylos race face crank lx components dh bars platform pedals dh seat deore disc hubset kenda kolassal tires and front avid disc (more of a custom freeride machine)