Submitted by
dnajarro
a Cross Country Rider
from san diego
Date Reviewed: December 9, 2010
Strengths: light, strong, no slop in hubs, oversized spokes, cool rear hub configuration
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
these are great wheels. they came with a gt zaskar that i bought off of craigslist. the guy i bought the bike from was a heavy guy and he said that he was once riding with to low of a psi when the tire came off the wheel. wheel is still true and strong with a scratch where the impact was. these hubs have no slopp whatsoever. get these if you want a good xc or even am wheelset
Submitted by
Brett Wolmarans
a Cross Country Rider
from Thousand Oaks
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2006
Strengths: follow up to previous review. Just got back from Sedona, was riding around on sub rock, going too fast and twice went over this 2 ft drop to flat, BANG totally bottoming out the 4" travel frame. Oops. But the wheels? True and straight, no hops. The person that posted that these wheels are too weak and flexy for their 170lbs must have got a defective set because these are some bomber wheels ( for XC what they are designed for ). I suggest that person return the wheels because there must be something wrong with them.
Similar Products Used: Buddy's hand built Stans 355's
Bike Setup: Stumpy
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Submitted by
Brett Wolmarans
a Cross Country Rider
from Thousand Oaks
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2006
Strengths: very strong - I'm 215Lbs and hit some rocks and little drops pretty hard. I think the chainstays would break before these would. Easy to service.
Weaknesses: none so far - maybe one a little tricky to mount tubed tire, first time the tube popped off at 35lbs made a sound like a pistol going off, good thing my hand wasn't there. Oh, and the price, I would never pay new for these, I got these used these are the 2003 CrossMax UST ( not XL, not SL, just original one)
Bottom Line:
great. use the mineral oil (buy it at home depot, etc butcher block oil) to lubricate the pawls to get that nice snick-snick sound. Remember to pull the cap off to get the 10MM hex wrench in there. Giving 3 value chillies because even though I only paid $250 these are just so freakin expensive for mass produced wheels when new.
Strengths: Light, faster, UST, great desing, another good product from mavic, blade zicral spokes and ceramic coating sidewalls are the best.
Weaknesses: Weak in side to side movements, hard to find spokes replacements, even ceramic brake-pads (because ceramic rims are not popular in Mèxico).
Bottom Line:
These wheels are made for racing, but is possible to use it for training, also these are made for low weight raiders, but they are strong to carry me whitout any problem (210pds is the number in my scale, YEA... I'M HEAVY!!!).
Weaknesses: Flexy, rear hub has to have constant TLC, rim is weak, ceramic finish chips off.
Bottom Line:
This reveiw is for the Crossmax SL's non disc. I weigh 170 lbs and these wheels are too light and flexy for my weight. When riding, it always feels like I have a low or flat tire due to the rear wheel flexing so much. I constantly have to true these wheels and service the rear hub at least once a month. The rim is very weak or made of a softer aluminum as there are a bunch of dings and dents. I have had to replace one of the spokes and many of the others are bent. The ceramic finsish is chipping off. For the price you pay for these wheels, I would expect a better longer life product. After two years of use, my LBS has recommended I retire these wheels and get some new ones.
Bike Setup: Rocky Mountain Element TSC. Built up frame with various components
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Submitted by
Jason
a Cross Country Rider
from Port Hueneme, CA USA
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2005
Strengths: Super strong and stable wheels. Ceramic braking surface.
Weaknesses: I hear the hubs are wishy washy. I havent had any issues.
Bottom Line:
Bought these used but from what i can see so far these are very strong and stable. Little or no flex when leaning to one side. Cermaic braking surface is good shortening your stopping distance. More in control of bike which gives confidence. These are super fast and super smooth. Glad i chose to go with these.
Bike Setup: Trek 6000. Upgraded with xt/xtr der's, shimano crankset, xt 8 speed cassette, 04 Marzocchi Marathon S (see my review) Bontrager seat post and handlebar, teflon der cables. Much to follow
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Submitted by
Bill Sornson
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego, CA USA
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2004
Strengths: Stay true, flats rare (with tubeless tires, at least).
Weaknesses: THE HUBS!!! They both suck, but the rear is unbelievably bad and even Mavic can't fix it (see below for story).
Bottom Line:
These wheels were the worst cycling purchase I ever made. Although they look nice, the hubs are ridiculous. Besides spokes pulling out, the bearings drag like nuts and the parts come apart with NO TOOLS.
History: I bought the wheels in the summer of '03, and the rear wheel dragged right from the start. Cranks would turn while wheel spun, and if back-pedal the wheel would turn backwards. In other words, BEARING DRAG. I lived with it until I finally got a "death squeal" that caused a terrible vibration and moise thru the whole rear end of bike.
The guy who sold 'em to me replaced the bearing (blaming me for the problem, by the way), but the drag was just the same and the death squeal returned after very little use. A friend just took the wheels to a race where Mavic supposedly worked on them (both hubs come apart by hand, no tools required), but the drag is STILL THERE!
Someone on a newsgroup I read (AM-B) with the more expensive SLs (I have the Crossmax XLs)had the EXACT SAME PROBLEM (death squeal), but the sales guy treats me like I'm from the moon for even suggesting there's a problem.
First a spoke pulled out (snapped back in), then the death squeal, then BOTH hubs came apart by themselves. I just visited Mavic's site and there's not even a way to write or call them.
Bottom line: avoid these Ps OS. If you even LOOK at water, then the hubs will seize up. Mine bite the big one; not sure why others seem satisfied...
Similar Products Used: Various mtb wheels (517s on XTR hubs, Sun Ringle, etc.)
Bike Setup: Titus Swithblade, full XTR, non-disc
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Submitted by
Scott Turnbull
a Weekend Warrior
from Superior WI
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2004
Strengths: Light,stiff beutiful wheels will make any bike look grest.Improved cornering ability on my hardtail Stumjumper dramaticly.
Weaknesses: Pricey,owners manual.But you get what you pay for.
Bottom Line:
Its almost Sept here in upper Wisc and winter is not far off. I just purchsed theese wheels two days ago and have been riding as much as I can.Its almost like theese wheels added another dimension to the bike,a step beyond shall we say.The Stumpjumper is already a fine bike and with addition of theese wheels makes it a GREAT bike.Get a set
Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Thunder bay
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2004
Strengths: i have taken these wheels off ten foot drops and and they're soild. for how light they are the strongest wheel set i have ever riden ceraminc coating is awesome ude have to like smash them on a rock to chip it.
Weaknesses: havent found any yet
Bottom Line:
i first tried these wheels and the 2004 ontario summergames. the course was pretty intence and i ride hard and these wheels are still perfectly true. the bottom line is these wheels rock
Strengths: CXM UST wheels roll very well and are quite light. They do look extremely cool and will turn heads at any race. I have found that they hold air extremely well with either UST or regular tires.
Weaknesses: I ride real trails, not the kind you will see during the olympics or some NORBA races. If you ride enough you will enventually lose it, from time to time for sure. Our crew rides that edge/mix of cross country and freeride. As such after a good wipe a rim can become a little out of true. After 6 in one ride, both can. While it is a bit of a pain, I don't think it makes the rim a bad one. A little more rider still would help. It is likely a trade off you have to make if you chose to ride such a light rim.
Bottom Line:
Bottom line is that these are high performance race wheels for skilled cross country riders. They are not for hucking gaps or big drops. They are for winning X-C races. Buy accordingly. Also buy a set from your local bike shop. You will get the tools and the instructions needed for proper care.
Bike Setup: 2004 M5 S-Works. Full XTR, Easton E709, Shimano 959.
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Submitted by
John
a Racer
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2004
Strengths: Tubeless, fairly light for the price
Weaknesses: flexy, fancy stickers come off quickly, threaded axle started chewing out the dropouts in my yeti frame. grrrr. freehub tight from the factory
Bottom Line:
This review is for the 2004 Mavic Crossmax Enduro. These are the cheapest Crossmax and you can tell, if you buy them because the stickers look cool enjoy them while they last, after a couple of months they'll be so tacky the wheels look better without them. Whereas the SL's and XL's have a nice round machined part on the axle these have a Hexagonal thing that has started eating into my Yeti. It has pushed away all the powder coat on the frame and now the wheel sits noticeably off centre in the frame although perfectly dished and trued. Makes for a hell of a job to get the brakes working nicely. The front is radially spoked and while the Sl's and Xl's have no problem with this the Enduro seems to flex a fair bit. No matter who sets up my brakes or how they do it when i'm out of the saddle ing they flex and you can hear them hitting the pads. The last annoying thing is that the freehub was tight from the factory, tight enough to peddle the bike when you spin the wheel. On the other hand they're tubeless and I love it, they are relatively light weighing in at 1720g and are in a more reachable budget. I bought these because I needed new wheels but wasn't lashing out on SL's as I want discs. They're an Ok wheel but when I get discs I'll be buying Sl's.
Similar Products Used: Mavic 221 w/ XT hubs, Crossmax SL's (demo), old Crossmax (demo)
Bike Setup: Yeti ARC, Avid Single Digit 7, Maxxis Larsen TT UST
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Submitted by
Craig
a Cross Country Rider
from Thousand Oaks, CA
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2004
Strengths: This review is for the 04 SLs. Light, smooth hubs, stiff, ceramic coating for improved braking.
Weaknesses: None yet.
Bottom Line:
I like them. Light, strong-I weigh 185 and ride them fairly hard-smooth bearings. Excellent XC race wheelset that seems strong enough to use for everyday riding.
I was using the 02 Crossmax wheels prior to purchasing the SLs. Those wheels held up well. I replaced them purely for the weight savings. The other wheels still work fine.
I've read the other reviews re: spokes pulling through and the like. Have I just been lucky? I don't know. But I do know that I trust these wheels.
I'll post again after a few more months of riding.
Weaknesses: not much, the plasic spoke trueing tool was useless, pricy, but worth it
Bottom Line:
These wheels have lasted a rather long time, and have survived three race seasons. They are rather light, and look awesome, they can seriously make any bike look nice. Since purchasing them I’ve had to replace two spokes, and the bearings in both front and rear hubs. The bearings lasted two years of NE riding, which usually includes a lot of mud, so I’m quite content with the length they lasted. I’ve used these wheels on my last three bikes (Trek STP, Trek Fuel, and Klein Attitude Race), and I’ve always been impressed with them. They are very stiff, with no lateral flex. I may retire them this year, but if i do, it will be with a pair of CrossMAX SL’s.
Weaknesses: Something broke lose in the rim cavity. It isn't a spoke nipple. Aside from an annoyning noise from time to time, it isn't a problem-at least that's what the folks at Mavic told me.
Bottom Line:
This is a 2 year follow up. Fortunately, I haven't had any of the problems others have listed-spokes pulling through, bad bearings, weak. They've worked well for me. In fact, my next wheels will probably be Crossmax SL disk. And I've been riding them fairly hard-including several XC races. I weigh 185, so I'm not exactly a lightweight, either. I think these are the '02 Crossmax wheels. Perhaps there has been some QA issues since then? I've gotten used to the feel, but I still remember the first time I took these wheels out. What a difference! Much better traction, slightly better comfort.
Strengths: Nothing really apart from looking nice.
Weaknesses: Rim eyelet strength. Ceramic coating on braking surface.
Bottom Line:
Steer clear of these wheels. I have ripped 4 spokes out of the rear wheel and it cost me $350(NZD) to get a new rim that took 1 month to arrive. The ceramic coating on the front rim is starting to flake off. A friend has the same wheels and has experienced exactly the same thing. Mavic told him that the spokes ripping out of the rim was just normal wear and tear. Save your money and some weight and get something else. By the sound of it Mavic are making too much money off everyone to care so lets stop buying their product.
