Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Foxboro,MA
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2010
Strengths: Tubeless,Lite weight,just 4.3lb pair, strong ,24 spokes,sealed hubs run great,I love this wheelset,no problems at all after 2 years.
Weaknesses: none as far.
Bottom Line:
I love this wheelset,no problems at all after 2 years. Hubs still running great,no aligment needed. Light weight, can use disco or v-brake. Great value !
Bike Setup: Stumpjumper comp with complete XT group, fox F100 RL shock , schwalbe Rocket Ron tubeless tires.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
icemonkey
a Cross Country Rider
from Eagle, Colorado
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2010
Strengths: Cheap and very very strong
Weaknesses: HEAVY
Bottom Line:
Well I ride a lot and when I upgraded to 9 speed I needed new wheel and these were very affordable with the mavic name. I didnt have the time or inclination to build up my own so I nabbed these. Overall they are very robust. In fact I would consider them not just bomb proof but nuclear bomb proof. 2 - 3 years riding and they are still true - never seen that before. Ive not even taken a spoke tool to them - deliberately as I keep hoping they will die and I can buy a lightweight set. No problem with the hub (that I refuse to service) but im about 170 ish. I do ride a lot - 3 times a week minimum. For cheap, excellent but at recommended retail there are better.
Similar Products Used: Phew! Lots and Lots and Lots of em
Bike Setup: 97 Lavadome, xt/xtr with xc 600 marzocchis
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
emisteve
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2008
Strengths: Strong for Heavy loads and long distance
Weaknesses: Free hub sometimes slips
Bottom Line:
Have used the Mavic Cross land on two bikes ridden 9400km's from Just north of Islamabad Pakistan til Chiang Mai, Thailand via India, Nepal, Tibet. Mostly asphalt but some rugged roads in Tibet. The wheels are still going strong. Not a problem except for several days after 5500km when the free hub started slipping. Checked the Mavic dealers servicing site and it seems a simple procedure to service the free hubs. Being a lazy bloke I love the fact that the wheel hubs have cassette bearings it takes a lot of worry out of servicing. If there is a problem with the ball races just toss out the bearing and slip in new ones complete. Haven't changed them yet.
Worth buying.
Bike Setup: Cannondale F500, Shimano XT components, Cross land wheels, disc brakes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Not So Fast
a Weekend Warrior
from North New jersey
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2008
Weaknesses: As stated in previuos ratings weight of rider may be a factor in rear hub functional. I weigh 215 lbs. There was a grinding noise coming from the rear hub. I had it serviced about 6 months ago. The grinding started again today. I seems to happen when free wheeling.
Bottom Line:
Other 200+ pounders have had problems with the rear hub. Count me in as unsatisfied.
Submitted by
aweewawah
a Weekend Warrior
from Bellingham,WA
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2008
Strengths: Cheapest UST wheelset I know of, seem to be holding up well and staying true
Weaknesses: rim is very easy to ding, not causing any out of round issues, but if i was running rim brakes i think it would affect stopping power and brake feel considerably.
Bottom Line:
Cheap. I wanted to try tubeless without going broke, and i am very happy I did. It feels like my bike is 5 pounds lighter when riding (not when carrying it!). much better acceleration, it actually seems to have firmer grip on rocks and rough surfaces, the same amount of pressure feels like less so you get better traction and WAY less rolling resistance. tires are very easy to mount once you get the hang of it, it takes some practice though. i did have a couple of pressure losses due to the bead breaking, luckily i didnt lose all the air and was able to air up on the trail, but if you are running tubless it becomes even more important to carry tubes with you when riding (kind of ironic, no?). I also recommend one of those CO2 tire inflators. It seems like it takes several rides to really break them in and get the bead to set real nicely (althought I am running non-UST which might also be the problem), but once you do they keep air great, ussually only losing a few pounds over sveral weeks or even months. Ive had tubes that where worse then that! Stans is the real holy grail of tubeless technology though, not too long ago i noticed a hole in the sidewall of my rear tire that i could have shoved a small screwdriver though. All the sealant seemed to have dried up, which will happen if your tire stay on the rims for 6 months or more. I was about to go ride with some friends and didnt have the money for a new tire so i unseated the bead, put some more Stans in there, and went riding (with a couple of tubes in my backpack of course). that was 2 months ago and i havent done a thing to the tire since. Bottom Line: if you want to go tubeless for cheap, these are the only wheels I know of. Make sure you use lots of Stans Notubes though!
Bike Setup: Kona Manomano, Maxxis non-tubeless tires, Stans no tubes sealant
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Horhe
a Cross Country Rider
from San Francisco, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2008
Strengths: Durable, disc and rim brake compatible, strait pull spokes, sealed cartridge bearings.
Weaknesses: Hard to find replacements for strait pull spokes, even though none have broken yet. Ugly yellow stickers, which don't come off easily.
Bottom Line:
I've beaten these wheels as hard as I dare on my Rockhopper, I've raced a season on them, and I've toured on them (carrying the entire 40lbs+ load on the rear). The bearings still roll smooth after nearly two years, including one winter's worth of Humboldt's finest mud. It was well over a year before I had to true them.
Basically, if you're looking for a cheap, reliable, strong, low-maintenance wheelset then this is for you. If you're ordering them through a bike shop, try to get some extra spokes along with the wheel set, so you can avoid the pain of tracking them down years down the road.
Bike Setup: Specialized Rockhopper, dual duty as a mountain bike and touring bike.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Deppy
a Cross Country Rider
from Miami, Fl
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2008
Strengths: Super strong, Reliable, and pretty smooth rolling for such an affortable wheelset.
Weaknesses: none whatsoever.
Bottom Line:
I have two Santa cruz Superlights. One that I use to train and one to race. My training bike has the crosslands and I always considered them to be as good as the crossmax until I threw ceramic bearings on the crossmax. Bottom line: if you rode either of my bikes blind folded; you wouldnt know which bike has what wheels. (and the crossland's are 1/3 or more of the price.
Note: I have been beating my training bike for over two years with the crosslands, and have not trued those wheels once.never. It's mavic.
Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from boise idaho
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2006
Strengths: price, performance, reliable
Weaknesses: rim brake sidewall looks goofy
Bottom Line:
Very reliable I going to buy another set for my hardtail, easy tire mount IF you follow instructions the newer generation of tubeless tires are easier to mount, I run Stans sealant and rim strips in the wheel, forget about airing the tires back up out on the trail if they fail which is a rare occurence pop the Stans rim strip out and install a tube, the stock UST strip is substantially more difficult to get out.I have put thousands of miles on a set of tires and I am convinced this is the most reliable set up Mavics costlier wheels are great if you can afford them, I will NEVER return to inner tubes again.
Similar Products Used: stans conversion with 717 rim brake mavics
Bike Setup: 2006 Heckler built up as heavy duty trailbike
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
patrick
a Cross Country Rider
from st. louis, mo.
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2006
Strengths: mavic quality, sale price and looks. They role forever and stay true. What more can you ask? Yesterday, I hit a small stump with the back tire and shot off the trail into the weeds. The tire lost 15 lbs. of air when the bead popped. I just aired up the tire and kept on truckin! The rim is still true. Enough said.
Submitted by
Ivan Castanos
a Weekend Warrior
from Hermosillo,Son. México
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2006
Strengths: Great price for the product, i feel I got a little more than I payed for.is lighter than my old wheelset. sealed bearing cartridge.
Weaknesses: none that I can tell, although it seems like a little flex on the rear rim, but still haven't figure this one out.
Bottom Line:
I like them, people keep on complaining about tire mounting, if they read the manual they would know about soapy water takes care of everything, that gives me at least more confidence that the tire seats properly on the rim. they spin forever lets see for how long, I expect'em to last. I like to give maintence to my bike on the "easy" stuff, i don't mess with suspension issues,so I'll try and comeback in the future if any problems.
Bike Setup: Columbus Thron Steel HT, XT rear, LX front, Hayes 9 hydrolic disc brakes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Fernando C
a Weekend Warrior
from San Fernando, Ca
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2006
Strengths: Price, UST, Strength
Weaknesses: A bit hard to mount tires on
Bottom Line:
I bent the original lower end Mavics (i believe the 217's) that came on my Giant. Then the originals that came on my Specialized. I wanted to go tubeless and I am on a budget so I decided to try these. One of the best upgrades I have done (it's a toss up between my fork and wheels). I am a clydesdale which I assume is why bent those other wheels. These ones haven't even come out of true yet. They spin forever and are oh so smooth ! Get these if you are on a budget and want something durable and tubeless.
Bike Setup: Specialized XC Pro, FSR. Crossland wheels, Kenda Blue Groove up front with Nevegal's out back. Manitou Minute 4 fork. Fox Triad shock.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Keith
a Weekend Warrior
from Pittsburgh
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2006
Bottom Line:
Bought these rims because they were recommended by the bike shop tech as good rims to switch to disc brakes. I had a hell of a time getting the tubed tires on and ended up taking them to the bike shop. They told me they just over inflated to about 100psi and they popped out of the inner tubeless track and then backed it off to the proper psi. Sounds tough if I was out in the field with a crappy hand pump. All in all my rocky pittsburgh ride was great. My bike needs a tune up soon so I will see what the shop tech says about the rims and if they needed too much adjustment. Later.
I read in a few reviews that some people were having trouble putting narrow road tires on this wheel... when i put my 1.5 michelins on the crossland, it was pretty tough until i caved and decided to read the manual in more depth that i had been (i glance at the pictures... i'm a picture glancer...) and tried the soapy water on the bead idea those wonderful technical manual writers took the time to include. it worked out really well. i heard some loud popping sounds, as the manual said there should be, of the tire locking into place. no need to cut out the UST plastic lining for me. i just had to take a deep breath and read the f-ing manual.