Submitted by
Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from Taiwan (residing)
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2006
Strengths: Popularity - lots of people have them They look cool They're light, I think
Weaknesses: tire mounting difficult
Bottom Line:
I've had trouble getting tires onto these. My last two sets of tires fit very tightly. The trick is to slip them into the center groove of the rim which is a smaller diameter than the outer part, then to overinflate them to get the beads to 'pop' out and into their seated positions. I inflated and deflated my Specialized tires 3 or 4 times to get them seated correctly, inflating the tires, which are only rated to 50 psi, to up over 70 psi. The first few times, portions of the tire's bead remained in the center groove, causing the tires to be untrue. This was using tubes. Perhaps this is not a problem with no tube, but a repair out on the trail requiring a tube I think would be a hassle using a little hand pump.
My first UST rims. Hutchinson spyder tires were easy to mount. I filled the tires up with a portable hand pump with ease. I don't notice any leaks so far. I bought the rims attached to shimano XT hubs with 24 spoke pattern and have had no problems. The wheel feels pretty stiff. I do mostly cross country with small jumps. I would buy them again.
Bike Setup: Titus switchblade, RF next cranks, Marz forks, Mavic 3.1rims on Sh XT hubs, RF stem, Thomson seatpost, candy pedals, WTB saddle, Cane creek headset, Hutch spyder ust tires, Avid discs, Rogue lock on grips and some other stuff.
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Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Bristol, CT USA
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2004
Strengths: Never had any problems
Weaknesses: None in iver a year of riding
Bottom Line:
Since I swtitched to UST with this weelset, I have nothing but praise for the hweel. They are built up with Chris King ISO disc hubs, and DT spokes. 32 hole Mavic X3.1 rims front and rear. For the amount of times I have hit tress , logs, ledges, and the minor jumping and some wild crashed I've had, they have held up great. Minor truing twice a year, but nothing serious.
If there had been a light version back then I would have done that, but durability is number one thing I want from my bike.
I run STAN's in the tires, just for the punctures I maght get, no problems with leaking.
They were expensive because of the King hubs ($680) but so far worth it. They have been on 2 frames now. I won't replace them until they break.
Built with a set of King hubs for a strong and light (for UST) wheelset. I had a slow leak from around the valve stem that was cured with 3M Super Weatherstrip Adhesive, purchased at Napa Auto Parts for $4. No need for Stan's now.
Weaknesses: needs special tool to insert spoke beds
Bottom Line:
Although I have the 32 hole versions these are the strongest rims I have owned. They have put up with all manner of abuse on race courses and trails and hav stayed true till I had a flat and hit a rock. Definately a worthwhile purchase but It's Cross MAx next for me
Similar Products Used: Mavix X517/XTR Rolf Dolomite
Bike Setup: Cannondale Scalpel with Xtr Group
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Submitted by
Jason D
a Downhiller
from Seatle, WA. USA
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2003
Strengths: Incredibly strong and true, very lightweight, love these rims for crosscountry and the city.
Weaknesses: Nipple brace stripped out when I was tightening them, probably my bad though. A bit** to get worked on because 2 years ago ust was brand new, took 3 weeks for mavic to send local bike shop brace key. After that never once had to touch the wheels, still in great shape.
Bottom Line:
I love these wheels because they're so light and always have stayed true, have used d321's for a while now but can definitely tell the difference in weight because they're huge. If you want one of the best XC wheelsets on the market, buy these, the factory mavic disc hubs that came with the rims are still in great shape too. Cheers to mavic for a great product.
Bike Setup: K2 disco monkey, full xtr, 02 jr-t, mavic d321's, fox vanilla rc, whatever.
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Submitted by
life speed
a Cross Country Rider
from santa rosa, ca USA
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2003
Strengths: Uses standard hubs and spokes, non-proprietary.
Weaknesses: Had to buy from the frogs (French), one more special bike tool required
Bottom Line:
Tire was easy to mount (WTB Weirwolf 2.1), holds air well. Only had to adjust 14g/15g spokes once after the first ride, surely due to the wheelbuilder (myself, 1st time) not the rim. Use loctite on the nipple inserts when building.
I haven't hit any really big rocks yet, so I don't know about strength. I suspect it is fine for my 190 lbs.
Tubeless benefits are nice, tire is more supple and traction is better. I'm at 40 psi in the rear tire, and could probably go lower.
Strengths: Strong rim, Stays true, Minimal to no leak down
Weaknesses: If I have to pick something, maybe weight over Non tube wheels.
Bottom Line:
These rims are great. The rear wheel has had no leakdown, while the front has had minimal. These are my first UST/Disc wheels I have run and I'm sold. The ability to run lower air pressure has definitely improved my climbing ability. The wheels are stout, and have taken what every I've thrown them at with little flex and I haven't had to true them since they were built.
Strengths: Easy to build your own custom UST wheels Cheap to replace a rim if you break a wheel UST tires and tube/tires mount easy Strong like other Mavic rims
Weaknesses: Weight of spoke ends holder not shown in product weight... probably adds 2 ounces per wheel.
Bottom Line:
Great do-it-yourself UST wheels. Why spend $600+ for a pair of Mavic CrossMax pre-built wheels(check Crossmax reviews for some negative comments on the hub durability), when you can use good hubs, spokes to suit your weight, and build the wheels yourself. This setup allows a "free ride" person to use UST when they want, and still have the ability to cheaply rebuild a wheel, if/when needed.
Compared to pre-built wheels, building your own has many advantages. If you break a rim on a road trip, a bike shop can rebuild with any rim in stock. Not the case with a pre-built wheelset. I saved $$$ using these rims with XTR hubs, and the weight is the same as the 2003 CrossMax XL.
It took me 32 seconds to install Kenda Kharasma tires on these rims (with a little soap & water on the tire bead). No hassle at all. I have also run tubes & tires on these wheels-- again, no hassles.
Submitted by
Edward Baguer
a Cross Country Rider
from N. Newark, NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2002
Strengths: Let's you have the benefits of UST and hubs of your own choosing.
Weaknesses: sharp valve hole not kind to tubes if you do flat your UST tire.
Bottom Line:
I like these rims married to Chris King Iso hubs. The only problem I have is when you do get a UST flat. You have to use a regular tube because you aren't supposed to try and patch them. The valve hole cuts into the area where the valve stem meets the rest of the tube.
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from West Yorkshire, England
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2002
Strengths: Look the dogs danglies. Make for one solid wheel.
Weaknesses: Valve snapped off on day 2 (using mini-pump). The special eyelet tool (not supplied with the rims) which is required to build the wheels (oh and Mavic also recommend spoke-lock/freeze to secure the eyelet screws).
Bottom Line:
These rims make for a fantastic looking disc only wheelset when built onto some black hubs with black spokes. The wheels are quite light and feel totally solid. I have been running these wheels with Conti-Explorer Pro UST tires with some anti-puncture gunge and have had no problems with leakage so far (the gunge also makes a good replacement for soapy water whilst seating the tire). The valves need to be stronger as it seems I am not the only one to break one whilst inflating with a mini-pump.
Bike Setup: MARIN Alpine Trail, with Mavic UST 3.1 Rims mounted on Hope Bulbs, brakes are Magura Julies.
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Submitted by
Clarence
a Cross Country Rider
from Platteville,Wisconsin
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2002
Strengths: Very strong,good looks,builds up very nice.
Weaknesses: checking the PSI's every day, but that's the only weakness.
Bottom Line:
Mavic UST RIMS are DA BOMB ! Great all around rim for training and riding the rough stuff. They seem kinda heavy, but that is one of the very few downfalls of UST. So far they seem to stay true no matter what kind of hell I dish out.They work best with Kenda Kharisma UST Tires. The Kenda's have excellent edging knobs for traction and improved cornering.I love to ride over rocks, ride in rivers. The traction with UST has been much better than any tubed rims I have used.
Buy them and you will see why everyone talks about tubeless!
Similar Products Used: Mavic x223,Mavic D521,X-Lite phatso and I still use the Pahtso's just for a change
Bike Setup: Cannondale F800,Lefty headshok,Coda lefty front hub ,Chris King iso Disc rear hub,DT Swiss Champion spokes,Hutchinson Python UST tire on front rim and Kenda Kharisma UST on rear rim.
I AM LOOKING FOR 19MM INNER RIM WIDTH DISC SPECIFIC XC RIMS FOR TUBED TIRES.
Unfortunately I do not see any listed for Mavic. What I do find is Mavic XM819 Disc UST and older Read More »
I have a heavy stock wheelset, using V brakes on my current ride, and am thinking of shaving some weight by upgrading my wheels, while making the switch to disc brakes (next questi Read More »
