Submitted by
Joel Thomas
a Cross Country Rider
from Tokyo Japan
Date Reviewed: January 25, 2006
Strengths: Good first time tubeless wheelset for a lightweight rider on easy trails.
Weaknesses: Rear freehub sloppy, developed a pinging noise after 6 months of relatively light riding.
Bottom Line:
Stayed true,rear leaked but front maintained pressure. Rear hub is weak. Can't find a replacement and Mavic doesn't make them anymore--probably because they caused too many warranty problems! Lace in some Shimano hubs and they'll be greatly improved.
Similar Products Used: Deore 555/Mavic 223 disc wheelset, LX/Mavic 517.
Bike Setup: KHS XC504, FSA Carbon Pro Team crank and Platinum Pro Ti bb, FSA stem and bar, XT derailleurs and shifters, Avid BB7 mech discs and Marzocchi Marathon SL fork.
Aside from an occasional tightning of the spoke ferrules, I've had zero problems with these wheels. I live in Southern Cal, so, the single track is smooooth for miles. I treat my wheels with care. I log between 50-75 miles offroad a week, so I have given these wheels a chance to act up, but to no prevail. I was a bit skeptical when I first read the reviews before actually trying them, but nothing but chili's from me..When these take a crap, I'll upgrade to the SL's. Keep in mind, the higher end components usually require a bit more tinkering, so beware of the "cool looks" factor. Just my opimion and experience.
Weaknesses: I have had to have it trued twice in the past three weeks. not a heavy rider but do like the trails and don't remember casing anything that would make it bend this bad.
Bottom Line:
I like the wheels a lot. they are great, but I wish I new why they bent this quick.
weight is 230lbs. Ride habits – Love downhill’s, stoppies etc.
Front Wheel – like a charm never needed service and have never needed to true them once. Considering all the stoppies I do and my weight, I say that’s pretty remarkable. I will note that the wheel will flex to the left when doing hard stops.
Back Wheel – Stayed true no matter what and never had any flex issues. I did have a ton of issues with the Hub. Over two years it has been serviced 3 times. The good news is that Mavic replaced the entire hub, man does it look trick. Looks very similar to the crossMax hubs.
Bike Setup: Specialized FSR, XT disk brakes, Fox front and back, Race Face crank
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
tom
a Cross Country Rider
from frisco, CO
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2004
Strengths: strong, stay true, UST works great on Mavic rims, good bearings, good value
Weaknesses: A little heavy for racing, out of production
Bottom Line:
These wheels have been great for me. The only complaint I can come up with is the weight- they are heavy for XC racing use. Some are saying these are flexible- my 165lbs. haven't noticed. BTW, I would be surprised if they truly are flexible enough to feel- tires, forks and swingarms are going to twist and flex before the wheel. A litle flex in a wheel allows spoke stretch under impact stress- stretch that will return to true. An overly tight wheel will just break and collapse. UST issues are almost never due to a rim- they are a rimstrip or rim-tire interface problem. Clean the tire and rim bead, and USE SIMPLE GREEN to mount them. It helps lube and seal the tire. Bottom Line: If you are sub-200lbs, and what used to be called a "mountain biker"-you ride trails for fun, I recommend these 100%. UST issues are almost never due to a rim- they are a rimstrip or rim-tire interface problem. Clean the tire and rim bead, and USE SIMPLE GREEN to mount them. It helps lube and seal the tire.
Submitted by
TrailBedlam
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2004
Strengths: UST! Smooth cartridge bearings; fast, relatively light wheelset at a great price
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
These wheels rock!! Got a great deal at the bike show as there was one $10 valve stem missing, which I ordered from my LBS. Installed XT rotors, XTR cassette, poured some Stan's into the Pythons, used a tire lever to get the damn Pythons on (I know - not supposed to use levers, but try to put them on without levers!?!?!) and off I went. Hated the LX rear hub that came stock on my bike - lasted 1.5 years then developed bearing play and ate a bearing. Switched to XT hubs on my 223s, which are strong rims, but not UST. So, I use the XT/223 combo for mud and crappy weather and keep my CrossRocs for dry weather. Pythons are a fast, grippy tire for everything but mud and amazing in loose sand and rock. Neither tire has needed any air after 3 months (thanks, Stan) and they've stayed true. None of the nipples have released at all. I'm not a light guy (190 to 195, depending how much I ride) and I'd recommend these wheels to anyone wanting to go UST without blowing a wad on CrossMaxs.
Similar Products Used: Mavic 223, first on LX hubs, now on XT
Bike Setup: Spec Stumpy Disk, XTR, Fox Float R, RS Duke XC, UST Pythons, Stan's Sealant
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Blacksburg,VA,USA
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2004
Strengths: still true,even after running into curbs and going down steps(up them too)
Weaknesses: hubs developed a little play,have to adjust them about once a month
Bottom Line:
seem to be pretty strong and very light,nice tire seating even when using tubes,have not bent them yet and they even come with the perfect spoke tension.
Similar Products Used: richey off center wheels,other mavic wheels
Bike Setup: ironhorse desperado,xtr drivetrain,minuite fork,titec cocpit,the new x-pedals from azonic(cool)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
namaSSte
a Cross Country Rider
from NE Ohio
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2004
Strengths: Inexpensive and good looking. Weight is good.
Weaknesses: FLEX!!! crap bearings, the spoke screw things blow, and Mavic is the worst (did I iss anything). Oh yeah, but I hit that below.
Bottom Line:
I really liked these wheels at first when I used them for xc racing only. Light weight and the UST thing seemed (note past tense) like a great idea whose time had come. Turns out, I was wrong. Twice I dnf'd after flatting because the "nut" holding the stem in stripped out. I shoulda known then that the problems were just starting. Try tensioning spokes sometime. With those stupid little spoke screw things, it su@ks! Sure if you want to pay extra for a tool from Mavic (I found this out later) you can fix your crappy wheel but this is mentioned no where. In addition to that, good luck getting replacement screws from Mavic (took me almost 2.5 mths! for two 5 cent screws that made the wheel unusable). The guy at Mavic was rude to boot (imagine that from the French!). Anyway, I'd deal with it if the product was great but I have gone through 3 freehubs so far and countless broken nipples (again, the spoke screw things inflicting their evil) all for a wheel that is flexier than a Russian gymnast. All in all, the wheels work for light xc work in dry conditions. For a trail rider or someone who spends a lot of time getting muddy, I'd look elsewhere. For less loot you can build up some XT hubs on Sun rims and have a lightweight, bomber set of wheels and use the saved cash for post ride beer!
I'm writing up my final review of these wheels, after two hard races on them, and over 100 miles in two weeks.
When I mounted up my wheels, I noticed one major problem, the front hub was loose. I took it off, and it was rather very easy to fix, so that was no problem at all.
The second issue was spoke tension. Factory didn't seem that good, they were making 'creaking sounds' a little more then brand new wheels do. The front wheel already needs trued up in only about 100 miles, but the back is pretty good still.
As long as they stay the way they are, I will be happy...
Weaknesses: Seems a bit heavy, but they aren't the most expensive wheels in the world!
Bottom Line:
I just got these wheels this week and set them up. I'm writing a review right now basically about first impressions, I will write a more complete review in the future.
These wheels seemed pretty smooth at first (bearings), and the UST doesn't leak as much as everyone says. Any UST system, 10-15lbs lost overnight would be considered average.
I'm setting up the wheels with regular tubed IRC Mythos XC Slicks tires and Stan's NoTubes. I'm saving a tremendous amount of weight, and have reliability of Stan's Sealant. Also, running a regular tire with a softer sidewall gives a little more 'cush' or 'sag' so that you maintain traction more.
I don't know what it was, but once I installed my disc rotors, they weren't exaclty straight. On my old set of wheels, the where perfect, but for some reason on this set of wheels, they don't line up right. It's not because there is dirt caught anywhere (drop-outs, etc.). I almost blame the machining on either my old set of wheels, or these Crossrocs, wasn't done straight.
For right now, I have seen no reason why I sould give it perfect rating, considering I paid only $240 brand new.
My only question, where will I be able to find parts, as Mavic no longer makes these wheels, and how durable will they be? Everyone speaks of them being to flexy or they are too heavy for the wheels, but a flexy wheel isn't necessarily all that bad-no flex, no movement, spokes break.
Submitted by
Felix
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2004
Strengths: Looks nice, UST works!
Weaknesses: flex under 80kg rider riding smooth road. Side to side free play of 1-2mm on rear hubs. Lock front brakes yet front hubs still able to rock forward and backwards 2-3mm. Lots of slop.
Bottom Line:
I would only consider buying these wheels if I am on a buget and is my 1st set of wheels. If you have never used a good pair of wheels, I think you would not notice the slop on these X roc wheels. Great poser value for a low price. UST works very well.
Similar Products Used: Coda hubs with Mavic rims, Dura Ace hubs with Mavic rims, WH-7701, HED ALPS, Xmax SL, etc etc
Bike Setup: 03 Cannondale F1000SL with MARGURA Marta
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Belula bob
a Cross Country Rider
from Rhode Island
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2003
Strengths: tubeless and disc (with pythons ust and LX cassette) for dirt cheap. Mavic cartridge bearing for dirt cheap.
Weaknesses: They lost their true in a week (not bad enough it needed to be fixed - thnx u discs) - Heavy - Spokes suck: One just snapped while road riding...
Bottom Line:
Mavic is supposed to have real good cartridge bearings, so when switching to discs, I thought I'd buy these as beater wheels. I can say I have "beaten" them and they have not held up as well as I hoped for. On the other hand, after fixing the busted spoke and getting them trued the hubs are still as smooth as the first day (and I ride in new england year round in some messy stuff!). Overall certainly not the best wheelset out there, and had this been an $800 wheelset, I'd be ticked, but for $200 who's complaining?
Submitted by
justin
a Cross Country Rider
from harrisonburg, va
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2003
Strengths: strong enough to withstand all around trail riding and light jumping, nice looking, stay true, great value, tubeless advantages.
Weaknesses: hard to tell if it is the tires, wheels, or my fault setting them up, but I never could get the tires to hold air for more than a week.
Bottom Line:
These wheels are a great value, and perform very well for all-around trail riding. I always had confidence in them, even when doing jumps, and they never got dinged up or dished regardless of what I threw at them. If you want them to hold air better, I suggest stan's or using diluted detergent to seal the bead when installing the tire. I ran them with 2.1 michelin wg xls, and they served me quite well.
Similar Products Used: 2001 mavic cross rides, bontrager stuperstock
Bike Setup: 2001 giant mcm team custom, full xtr, full raceface, mavic cross rocs, psylo sl, time atacs, avid mech discs...
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Durango
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2003
Strengths: They spin. Quiet freehub.
Weaknesses: leaky, heavy skewers
Bottom Line:
They are OK. For the price I paid ($240 with Pythons and an LX cassette) they are worth the money. I would be extremely annoyed if i had paid $380 msrp for the wheels. They have never held air well - I run them at 35psi, and after 2 days they will be down to 20. The skewers were crap. About a full pound for the stock skewers. I swapped them for some salsa - ti's and an XT cassette that were on my other wheelset, and it lightened the finished product substantially.
FWIW - the pythons suck. They call it a dry-condition tire, and they are right. They are like a slip'n slide when it gets wet.
Weaknesses: Tubeless. Leaks from spoke holes (gave it the bathtub test) Heavy. Not very strong.
Bottom Line:
I was really suprised how heavy these things were straight out of the box. Dunked one in the bathtub and watched bubbles slowly form from spoke holes. One of my rims has something rattling around inside it, and i cant get it out since its sealed!
I have a set of Mavic 517/XTR wheels on my otehr bike and i absolutely love them, so i figured I'd stick with Mavic for some tubeless. After about a mointh, I was riding my bike with tubes in both wheels because they had so many tiny holes and would deflate every 2-3 days.
These wheels are not very strong either... I can feel them flex a little and I only weigh 145 lbs!
I was lookin for Crossroc UST Disc wheels, for around $200.
Sorry to clutter your forum - just thought I would spread the word. Thanks!
e-mail me at [email]yorkadam@msu.edu[ Read More »
Is the CrossRoc UST Disc rim the same as the Mavic 3.1x UST Disc Rim? Any differents in weight??
Are the eyelet on both rims made from the same metal or does the 3.1x use a ligh Read More »
