Innovative and reliable, the Mavic Crossmax ST Disc is a proven reference.
Lighter and tougher. The new Crossmax ST is even more dynamic, with a lower inertia thanks to its fully inter spoke milled rim (ISM). New graphics highlight the amazing performanc
Submitted by
SoIll57
a Weekend Warrior
from Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2012
Strengths: Stiff, Stable, lightweight, smooth, tracking and looks great! Straight spokes are easy to work with too.
Weaknesses: Needs a mavic specific spoke wrench
Bottom Line:
The wheel stiffness helped greatly in making my older stumpjumper frame track well and improve trail feel. These wheels high stiffness were great with improving the steering and flex I felt with this bike. They are light, perform awesome and are a great value. I love these wheels! Also, the spokes are VERY strong and give me a lot more confidence when shredding on the local trails. I would recommend this for people looking to step up performance for enduro riding with a much stiffer and lightweight wheel. Oh yeah, over two years of riding I only needed to true the wheels once and I ride pretty hard and weigh about 190 lb.
Strengths: - looks cool
- super strong
- stiff
- lite
Weaknesses: - need special spoke wrench
- expensive to replace spokes/parts
Bottom Line:
Best set of wheels I've owned in my 20 years of mountain biking. Super durable and tough- I've beat the sh*t out of these wheels for almost 4 years and only had to true them 2 or 3 times. I finally broke a spoke after a branch got caught in my derailleur and jammed it into the my wheel. The hubs run as smooth as the day I bought my bike. I'm totally impressed.
I will say they are expensive but if you buy them for closeout through a web retailer then they are 100% worth every penny.
Similar Products Used: Mavic SLR, Chris King, Cane Creek
Bike Setup: Titus Racer-X
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Submitted by
jzogg
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2011
Strengths: Light, fast, decent UST
Weaknesses: POOR design in hub. 2 prawl system is weak. Not enough contact points.
Bottom Line:
(2009 model): I broke one of the prawls on a tough climb. Luckily within the first year so covered under warranty and got it rebuilt. Just broke a prawl again but now outside of the warranty. I'm over 200lbs and have strong legs but still a weak system, totally unreliable if you do any serious riding.
Submitted by
Canuckistani
a Racer
from Radium, B.C.
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2010
Strengths: Weight, strengh, stiffness. These wheels are light and super strong. They are light enough to race and strong enough for B.C. All Mountain runs -- i.e. downhill.
Weaknesses: OK, I'll admit the rear hub is not the greatest design, but if you get your head wrapped around the fact that the rear hub needs to be taken apart and serviced (which is much, much simpler than it sounds) every two months during the season you will have yourself a great set of wheels. The job is simple, all you need to do is dissasemble and relube with 0 wt synthetic motor oil. Also, it is true that the freehub body glides on a plasic bushing that eventually wears out -- again with service you can get more than one season of heavy use out of the bushing. Aftermarket replacement bushings are available on ebay for cheap. Problem solved from the people I know who have used these replacement bushings.
Bottom Line:
I can't say how good these wheels are. No they are not Shimano, set and forget (almost) hubs. But the rims are better than anything Shimano has ever made (well I heven't tried the 2011 scandium XTR wheels yet). They are certainly stiffer than the 2010 XTR wheels and almost as light. Stan's? I don't even know why people bother with that stuff. These wheels are a little a little finicky (not bad though) but super high performance and that is why so many racers use them. I'm dedicated to Crossmax.
Similar Products Used: Lots of Mavic, WTB, Alex rims. Mavic are the best in my books.
Bike Setup: 6" travel Giant Reign
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Submitted by
jsage7
a Weekend Warrior
from Fayetteville, AR
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2010
Strengths: light weight tough rim
Weaknesses: Hub: Wheels were original equipment on 2010 Orbea Rallon 10. The rear hub bushing wore out before the first 150 miles. LBS sent it back to Mavic for repair under warranty. Same problem again with less than 100 miles on rebuilt hub. Mavic says its not their problem. I've read great reviews about Mavic but the proof is in the product and customer service. They have obviously cut some corners while cornering the market.
Bottom Line:
What good is a company that won't stand behind their product. Buy at your own risk.
Submitted by
trabe
a Cross Country Rider
from Andover, NJ, USA
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2010
Strengths: The wheels stay true and are very strong from a structural standpoint.
Weaknesses: Free hub body - Repaired under warrnty within the first year, one year later failed again and Mavic told sorry Charlie they are out of warranty and not able to be repaired. They will not even sell you a new hub to be laced into the wheel! No discount on a replacement wheel either. They want $300 to replace the wheel. poor customer service, I've had many XT wheel sets and never experienced this kind of failure.
Bottom Line:
I have 3 friends with these wheels as well and they have all experienced the same failure! It seems these wheels have a cronic problem and Mavic will not step up to the plate and support their customers.
Weaknesses: paint is fragile especially on spoke, need also specials tools for maintenance
Bottom Line:
Lighter than my previous wheelset (-200g) although much stronger. These wheels have endured the transvesubienne, an enduro race of 50 miles in extreme conditions. The wheels stayed true!!! However, the wheels needed to be trued after the very first ride, spokes becoming quickly very loose. Now it does not hâppen anymore. One issue is the price of the spoke (hard to get), and the fact that you need a special key for the spoke and the hubs.
Similar Products Used: Sun DS1 on CK hubs (1800 g wheelset)
Bike Setup: Santa cruz Blur LT2
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Submitted by
twelve34
a Weekend Warrior
from West Linn, OR USA
Date Reviewed: May 18, 2010
Strengths: Weight, stiff, fast. UST system works great.
Weaknesses: None yet.
Bottom Line:
I bought the 2009 version online for a deal. Immediately noticed an improvement in weight of wheels and how stiff they were; the bike seems faster. Do not have any experience with any other wheelset, but am very pleased with these and would buy them again.
The UST system is great. I am using the '10 Nevagal UST's and will never go back to tubes. I used a little latex sealant to help seal the stem when I installed it--just to be sure. They are not leaking any air.
I will give them 5 Chilis for the sale price of $500, but would not for the MSRP. At that price, I would probably get some Chris King Hubs and have a set made.
Bike Setup: Fisher Hifi Deluxe. Kenda Nevagal UST 2.35 tires.
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Submitted by
GRAVES
a Cross Country Rider
from Charlotte, NC USA
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2010
Strengths: Great tracking, great feel, great looks (08-09 graphics are nice and clean)
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I've ridden the 08s and 09s pretty hard on XC (XC/light mountain) trails around the Charlotte area (Lake Norman, US Whitewater, Sherman Branch, and the Uwharries) and love them. I have had zero problems. I'm not an extreme rider but I ride as aggressive as possible without getting stupid. I do have to work for a living. My point is I've ridden the wheelset hard and been fortunate to not have any problems. I purchased my ride from the LBS with the 08 STs already in place. I liked the wheelset so much I picked up a virtually new 09 ST set when a friend recently went from his Epiphany to the Evolve (29er). I have no idea how the 2010s ride but I can say I wish I had the 15mm thru-axle setup of the 2010s. On a side note, I think Mavic screwed up a good thing when they "updated" the graphics... Bottom line: If you can pick up a set of the 09s around $550 and don't have to have the 15mm setup I would recommend getting a set before they are all gone. For the money I think this is a great wheelset.
Bike Setup: Ellsworth Epiphany, XO, Tru/Noir, Formula R1, Thompson Elite Stem/Post, American Classic headset, Blacksheep Ti Bars, Oury Grips, Mavic Crossmax ST w/ Conti Vert Pros (08 wheelset), Mavic Crossmax ST w/ Panaracer FireXCPro (09 wheelset), and Crank Bros 50/50s
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Submitted by
Robert Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2010
Strengths: Mavic probably make the best mountain bike wheels
Weaknesses: Spoke tension
Bottom Line:
Just wanted to mention that after purchasing these wheels, I checked the spoke tension and there was a wide variation in tension. Wheels were very true, but had up to a 50% difference in tension between spokes. This could explain some of the problems that people have described. I would recommend taking your brand-new wheels to a good wheelbuilder and have the wheels checked (and re-tensioned if necessary).
Strengths: Very Cool looking, and very tough looking!
Reliable as they come
Weaknesses: Other han the price, NONE!
Bottom Line:
I have no idea what some of these riders are complaining about when it comes to "spokes & hubs". I have been riding Crossmax since the original first generation in '99. In fact, I still have the wheels on my spare bike, and they ride as good as 1999. I have had 3 sets of ST's and have never had any problems at all. I'm 220 (6.3ft), so I'm hard on my rig. I ride in the toughest of trails in AZ and Utah. I love Crossmax and always will. Buy them if you truly want the best wheel in the world. Every single bike of mine has some sort of Crossmax version.
Bike Setup: Always begin with the best frame (Foes), XTR cranks, Easton monkeylight, Thompson stem & post, King headset, Sram XO, Crossmax ST, Hope disc brakes, & more.
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Submitted by
HiDef
a Cross Country Rider
from athens
Date Reviewed: January 20, 2010
Strengths: They are light, but tough. Race worthy and epic ride fancy! UST application is their claim to fame (tube use good too). Stiff and accelerate very fast. On the fly spoke replacement if needed (proprietary spoke/tool).
Weaknesses: Proprietary and expensive spokes if they break. Freehub bushing prone to wear out after hard year of riding- expensive.
Bottom Line:
I have been very, very pleased with the ST's performance compared to all the other wheels I've ridden. Very light for their toughness- after a year of riding only had to true them slightly a time or two. Easy to service which is necessary (Phil's Tenacious on the inside on freehub). The spokes are expensive and specific if you're prone to breaking them. If you are a bigger racer or love flat free (UST) long, tough rides they are great!
Similar Products Used: Dt Swiss 420's with XT hub, XT Sun Ringle Cr-18 wheels, Cane Creek Ti WAM, LX Mavic 221...
Bike Setup: Giant Trance X0 Large- one sick machine.
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Submitted by
CrashT
a Cross Country Rider
from Missoula, MT
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2009
Strengths: They've run true for the past 2 years. Have had them checked up & bearings adjusted twice; bearings still feel great. No squeeking. I weigh 180 with gear and do trail riding without a lot of drops. They can be run tubeless and I run them that way when riding in the desert - they do well with some Stans and Spec 2bliss tires. Normally run them with light-weight tubes and Conti Mountain King 2.4's. Great combo.
Weaknesses: The main weakness is that they have the propriatary Mavic aluminum spokes. So if you break one in the boonies you could have a tough time finding a replacement. Need to pay attention to bearing adjustment.
Bottom Line:
These wheels have taken a beating due to my questionable skills and are still going strong. No detectable flex as in the American Classics. These are a little heavier but still a light, strong wheel. Will get another set with the QR/15mm front hub and pair with the Talas 15 mm thru axle.
