Submitted by
Pete
a Cross Country Rider
from Indianapolis Date Reviewed: May 1, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
STRONG! lightweight for the money, ceramic braking is unbelievable in bad conditions
Weaknesses:
Ceramic coating begins to fade after awhile
Bottom Line:
These wheels are amazing for the money. if you're a weekend warrior or even a racer looking for a decent set of wheels that are nearly maintenence free, these are the ones you want. I have trued them once, and they are still holding strong after about 2000 miles worth of trail. the regular steel spokes make replacement easy and much cheaper than aluminum spokes on the crossmax. the hubs roll forever! i wish i had a set of hubs this nice for my road bike! they dont flex during the turns, and have even held up to some light trials stuff. i even took them off a six foot jump on concrete and they survived no problem (dont suggest doing that though) i plan on getting a second set for my other bike. 5 chilis for value and 5 chilis for overall rating
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jon Churchill
a
from Grand Rapids Date Reviewed: July 28, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Fort Custer
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Very strong, light, fast rolling
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
Bontregor Corvairs (stock)
Bike Setup:
IRC Mythos with Stan's Notubes, Avid TI brakes, SRAM 9.0 levers
Bottom Line:
These rims are so fast and improve handling. They're very tough. I only had to true them once, and that was when I first started riding on them. I ride rock gardens on a regular basis and I've wiped out many times, these wheels just keep on going. They also break phenomanally with the avid breaks. I cant believe the price I got these for. Look around you may be able to find them for cheap. The perfect wheel for the weekend warrior.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Juan
a Cross Country Rider
from NC Date Reviewed: January 30, 2004
The pictures on Ebay didn't reveal how used and abused these wheeles were. I was shocked when I opened the box - I thought I just got suckered out of some hard earned money. To my delight, the wheels spun smoothly and they were completely true. I cleaned them up and they haven't disappointed me yet. 6 months of bashing and they're just as true as when I pulled them out of the box (All I had to do was look at my RPM-Lites and they'd require truing).
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kade
a Racer
from Wisconsin Date Reviewed: June 6, 2003
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$380.00
Purchased At:
Brings Cycling & Fitness
Strengths:
strong wheels, w/ a fully rigid setup, even the 24 spoke front wheel stays true.
Weaknesses:
ceramic braking surface gets very slick, GREATLY loosing braking power, but im gonna try this cleaning process i found earlier (look below). they are a tad bit heavy.
Similar Products Used:
mavic 221, sun CR18, WTB speedmaster
Bike Setup:
Gunnar Rockhound, surly rigid fork, mavix crossride ceramic wheels, sram pc99 chain, sram 9.0 cassette, full XT w/ XTR rear derailleur, avid sd7 brake/levers, easton ea70 bar, thomson post, sdg comp saddle, race face prodigy stem
Bottom Line:
these wheels are very strong considering the spoke count, they have served their purprose, but my next wheelset will probably be XT, XTR, or Chris King hubs laced to X517's (non-ceramic). here is a way i have heard to clean your braking surface if it gets that build up on it like mine...and you loose most of your braking power...
1. Go get a Scotchbrite pad (I like the green ones) from the hardware store. 2. Cut two strips to fit underneath your brake pads. 3. Adjust some slack into your brake cable and sandwich the scotchbrite between the brake pad and the brake surface of the rim. (Do this procedure one wheel at a time so you retain useful brakes at one end of the bike). 4. Wet the scotchbrite pads with simple green. 5. Ride the bike while applying the brakes on the wheel you're cleaning. Go about 100 yards or so. 6. Remove the wheel and clean off the soap and residue with a hose (just trickling, no pressure) and a scrub brush. 7. Enjoy your rejuvenated braking performance.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dennis
a Cross Country Rider
from San Luis Obispo,Ca Date Reviewed: May 26, 2003
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$275.00
Strengths:
Great looks, price,..nice adjustable cartridge bearings
Weaknesses:
None yet
Similar Products Used:
Lots of Mavics
Bike Setup:
Ellsworth Truth
Bottom Line:
Great wheel set, Still true after hundreds of miles. Didn't like the ceramic coating, too grabby with the brakes. I ride in a pretty much dry climate. I have ceramic brake pads. The coating is pretty much gone and I love the braking feel now
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Birmingham Date Reviewed: November 18, 2002
Favorite Trail:
the long mind
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
Cycle1st.com
Strengths:
Strong, Light, Well made, Replaceable cartridge bearings, long lasting rims
Weaknesses:
At this price point.......none
Similar Products Used:
Almost everything European and U.S
Bike Setup:
Specialised Endoro with full XT and Marzocchi Marathon Forks.
Bottom Line:
This is an amazingly good set of wheels. I have had no problems with them at all. The Ceramic rims give superb braking even in the wet with very good modulation. I can't bring myself to go with Discs when I have these babies!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Justin Dill
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX Date Reviewed: September 13, 2002
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At:
Ozone
Strengths:
Ceramic braking surface works good while it lasts. Ceramic braking surface looks cool.
Weaknesses:
Not very durable and sort of heavy.
Similar Products Used:
Bontrager SuperStock
Bike Setup:
2000 Trek 7000: Manitou SX fork; XT crank, front and rear derailuer; Thomson stem/seatpost; Easton MonkeyLite; King headset.
Bottom Line:
I bought this wheel after ruining my rear stock rim -I still can not figure out how it happened- despite the salesman advice I bought the wheel because the wheel I wanted was "on hold." Funny it was still there three weeks later. Anywho, after about three months of riding some of the coating began to wear off and it became out of true. My LBS said the rim had suffered during a accident and will always wobble just a bit. So, I have continued to ride it for the past year. Now it makes a slight knocking noise every time the wheel rotates due to a really, really loose spoke necessary to keep the wheel some what in true. This is a good wheel for a begining rider that isn't going to be doing a lot of technical riding.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve Recendez
a Cross Country Rider
from Porterville Date Reviewed: May 25, 2002
Favorite Trail:
springville ranch
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$274.00
Purchased At:
going out of business sale
Strengths:
Incredibly rigid, Killer Hubs, sealed bearings, outstanding braking in all conditions
In the past 2 years since i've had these wheels they have proved to be very very low maintenance, incredibly rigid, sure braking, even after the 12,000 miles I put on them. They look real cool. Definetely one of the best wheelsets out there!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Johnny Rider
a
from UK Date Reviewed: May 8, 2002
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$313.00
Purchased At:
merlin cycles
Strengths:
lightweight (except skewers), good looks
Weaknesses:
ceramic surface chipped off, not very strong
Similar Products Used:
X517
Bottom Line:
Ceramic surface on the wheels is not durable. Mavic claimed it wasn't covered by the warranty. I tried and tried to emphasize that it was NOT caused by a crash but they wouldn't believe me.. 2 chillies for weight and looks, 0 chillies for Mavic not standing behind their products..
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
graeme
a Cross Country Rider
from South Africa Date Reviewed: May 6, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Table Mountain
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
Bowman's
Strengths:
Wicked braking! Buck for buck no other product compares.
Weaknesses:
Flex (though can be fun at times...)
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
Super V
Bottom Line:
An excellent product at a really competative price - thanks to my g/friend J (the rims were a sUrPrIsE!) Mavic and the guys at Bowman's. What a difference. I've only just started riding mtb and the Mavic rim upgrade has made everything that much more enjoyable. No bull. Next on the shopping list is a new crank (J, I hope you're reading this:-)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
james
a Cross Country Rider
from mesa, az Date Reviewed: May 5, 2002
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
qbp
Strengths:
reliable and easy to service
Weaknesses:
a bit flexy. i'm 'bout a buck 80 and the slight lateral flex is the only thing i really noticed.not too bad though...what do you want for that price?!
Similar Products Used:
just 'bout everything. i work at a bike shop, so i've been able to ride lots.
Bike Setup:
cannodale f3000sl with full xtr
Bottom Line:
these are worth it. if you want a great wheel without paying a grand to roll over a mountain these are awesome..not for the heavy weights though...too flexy for you boys. for 'bout 300 bucks you get ceramic rims (da bomb!) and full mavic stuff (there stuff rules, nobody can do it like mavic does...nobody). honestly the reason i didn't get the crossmax's was...why? why pay more for the aluminum spokes...hard to find, hard to work on. i enjoy the ablity to work on these with standard tools
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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