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Mavic Crossmax XL Disc

Average Rating 3.48/5
# of Reviews 27
MSRP $
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Description:-Less racing oriented than the SL, this wheel is the indispensable tool for all your MTB outings: tough and reliable, but always lightweight, it will withstand intensive use on a variety of different types of terrain, and can also be used for “free ride”! On single tracks and cross mountain, the Crossmax XL opens up the entire mountain and will follow you on all your outings. Finally, a “real” MTB wheel!
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    Submitted by Alex a Cross Country Rider from Boulder
    Date Reviewed: March 28, 2008
    Duration Product Used:More than 3 years
    Price Paid: $400.00
    Purchased At:Excel Sports
    Strengths:Great for tubeless riding, light, hard to get out of true
    Weaknesses:bad hub design
    Similar Products Used:Shimano
    Bottom Line:As mentioned by many others the back wheel hub is terrible. A plastic bushing - incredible for a product of this price. I got terrible noise from the free hub. Once the axle gets chewed up the hub is toast. I have spent much money and time on this product. All wasted. If you have a wheel like this you better maintain it like crazy. Take it apart to lube once a month. Stay away from this product.
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by greg a Cross Country Rider from detroit mi usa
    Date Reviewed: September 28, 2007
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $600.00
    Purchased At:speedgoat
    Strengths:strong rim stays true i am 180 lb rider I have had these rims for about a 2 years now and have about 20 races on them . and they have stayed very true.
    Weaknesses:As everybody else has stated the Hubs are junk I was only using these wheels for racing after about 15 to 20 races (about 350 miles ) my rear hub sized. After cleaing it and
    relubing it it still does no work right. I would not buy any mavic wheelset with this design again.
    Bottom Line:Stay away there are several wheelsets out there for this kind of money that will hold up much better and require less work to maintain
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by ian a Weekend Warrior from adelaide, south australia
    Date Reviewed: September 18, 2007
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Purchased At:came with bike
    Strengths:Light, strong, stay true, maxle
    Weaknesses:paint chips off spokes and hub needs regular service
    Similar Products Used:xm223 mavic, sun - rhino lites
    Bike Setup:Reign 1
    Bottom Line:Great wheelset - super strong especially given weight, handle rock gardens and 3-4 ft drops not worries, also good to race XC on. Maxle easy and adds stiffness for Pike forKs.
    Suit all mt riding best.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Zachary Rymland a from Berkeley, CA
    Date Reviewed: June 24, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Porcupine Rim
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $650.00
    Purchased At:REI
    Strengths:Stay True, eye candy
    Weaknesses:Rear Hub design. Fail even if maintained regularly. Poorly desinged. Bad customer support/service.
    Similar Products Used:Easton AM Havoc
    Bike Setup:Ibis Mojo, SRAM X.0 drivetrain, Avid Juicy 7 brakes, Kenda Navagal 2.35, Gravity Dropper seatpost, Specialized BG saddle, Thomson Elite 4x stem, FSA Gravity Carbon Fiber hi-rise handlebar, Time ATAC Carbon pedals, Sytace gripz...
    Bottom Line:These are awesome wheels until the hubs start to go, then there is nothing that can be done. The problem is the design of have freehub body which uses only one set of bearings on the outside and then a nylon bushing on the inside. This nylon bushing begins to rides on the aluminum rear hub shell and begins to wear is down. As the aluminum wears, the cassette begins to wobble, causing poor shifts and eventually more problems. Then, even with the MP3 extended warrenty, Mavic's costomer service will not deal with this issue and consider it normal wear and tear. They have improved upon this design in their new line of wheels, but is still uses this nylon bushing and I think the issue will be the same. Too expensive for this type of quality. Stay away.
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Jeff "ro" a Weekend Warrior from Tucson
    Date Reviewed: June 10, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Green Mtn
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $550.00
    Purchased At:EBay?
    Strengths:Stay true. UST. Easy to change spokes (if you can find the $5 a piece replacements).
    Weaknesses:CRAP rear hub design: Only two pawls, and they require maintenance. I've cracked one pawl, but it still works. The PLASTIC BUSHING that supports the freehub body wears out and then when you crank hard on the pedals it twists the whole cassette out of aligned with the axle.
    Similar Products Used:Chris Kings, LX, XT - stick with Kings if you want burly and reliable. Or maybe Industry Nine or DT Swiss.
    Bottom Line:Cool wheels that actually sounds kinda cool when you ride on them - not the hub buzz, but the low frequency quietness due to the fewer larger spokes. They've stayed incredibly true and I even rode out once with a broken spoke - no problem. I'm 180 lbs and ride hard so I can't be completely bummed that these have such a bad rear hub I guess....

    I'll replace them with something built off a quality hub though.
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by C T a Cross Country Rider from Boulder, CO
    Date Reviewed: April 27, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Monarch Crest
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $450.00
    Purchased At:EP Form
    Strengths:Stayed Fairly true, Lightweight, tubeless, 20mm or QR front Hub
    Weaknesses:REAR HUB!, Air seal - Need stan's or something to keep air from leaking, Broken quite a few spokes
    Similar Products Used:Nothing of this supposed quality, only some crap deore hubs on mavic 317 rims.
    Bike Setup:Giant VT. Hayes HFX9, XT drivetrain, fox float RLT, Swinger 4-way rear
    Bottom Line:The rear hub requires a lot of work. I cleaned this hub numerous times and I still wore the paint off the internal hub near the Pawls. Purchased a new freehub body and the bushing still does not provide a good fit. I've only ridden these wheels for 1.5 seasons, and I'm worried this summer is going to do them in. For a supposed $800 retail set of wheels, this product should last a bit longer. And like I said, I've done regular maintenance to insure longevity. I'm fairly hard on equipment, and I ride 3-4 times a week, but my Deore rear hub lasted longer than this "high end" hub.
    As for the spokes I actually found these to be pretty easy. The are a breeze to replace, even without taking the tire off, and even though I'm not the best at truing wheels, I found no problem in making these straight. The front wheel has held up pretty good as well, only the rear hub has skewed my opinion.
    I'd purchase the front again, but for $300-$400 I'd suck it up and build something better in the rear. Start with a DT, Hadley or King if you're looking for a durable "all-mountain" rear wheel that's gonna last.
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Robert a Cross Country Rider from Gainesville, Ga, USA
    Date Reviewed: April 8, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:Chicopee Woods
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $650.00
    Purchased At:Bike Town USA
    Strengths:Strong, straight, smooth-rolling hubs, good looks. Tubeless seals well, no leaks.
    Weaknesses:None yet
    Similar Products Used:Rhyno-Lite & OEM/stock Mavic
    Bike Setup:Specialized Pro XC, Reba fork, fox float rear, Panaracer FireXC Pro 2.1 tubeless
    Bottom Line:I purchased the Pro XC with stock wheels and after about every ride, breaking 2 or 3 spokes, got old fast especially after a couple of walk-outs. This was my 2nd bike and by then, riding intermediate trails. Lots of roots, rocks, logs, 3ft drops, ~3-5 rides per week/15-30 miles per ride. After 2+ yrs, no complaints, they rule! I weigh 235 lbs & ride fairly hard & fast. I've done NOTHING to these wheels & after 2 yrs, still as true as the day I bought them. No issues, worth the $$, would recommend them to clydesdale riders.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Aaron a Weekend Warrior from Tucson, AZ.
    Date Reviewed: January 3, 2007
    Favoriate Trail:La Milagrosa, Tucson
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $700.00
    Purchased At:Supergo
    Strengths:Stay true,spokes don't break, lightweight.
    Weaknesses:Hub Maintenence. (but it's easy). Expensive
    Similar Products Used:Various Mavic rims with XT hubs.
    Bike Setup:Turner 5 Spot. Full XTR. Nixon fork. UST tires.
    Bottom Line:These wheels are TOUGH and light. I weigh in at around 200 pounds, and the trails here in AZ are very rugged, and technical. I used to break spokes like I owned a spoke factory! No matter who built my wheels, they would never stay true, spokes loosened, spokes broke, you name it. These wheels have been perfect. I have owned then almost 2 years, and have only trued the rear wheel once. And it really didn't even need it. You do have to clean and lube the freehub every month. But it's an easy task, that I don't really mind doing. Also, they require special spokes, that no bike shop will have in stock. So if you get these wheels, order a couple extra spokes as spares. Not that you'll need them. I would give these 5 chili's, but will only give them 4, because they are too damn expensive. I see you can get them for about $550 now. That's more in-line with what they are worth.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by gary a from laguna beach
    Date Reviewed: December 19, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:rock-it
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $750.00
    Purchased At:rock'n'road
    Strengths:strong, lightweight, stays fairly true considering I weigh 200 lbs.
    Weaknesses:rear freehub maintenance
    Similar Products Used:cheap wheels
    Bike Setup:sc heckler, pike fork, these wheels, shimano drivetrain, avid mechanical brakes, cane creek cloud nine rear shock
    Bottom Line:okay, here's the deal with the freehub, if it is not maintained, problems develop. It is actually a good, low-friction design, but unfortunately it needs constant lubing, with the proper lube, to not wear out. The inner freehub "bearing" is actually a plastic bushing, which rides on the hub shell. This is okay, plastic will not wear metal, HOWEVER the pawls are made of softer metal than the freehub body, so over time tiny particles of steel worn off the pawls will get into the surface of the bushing. These will first begin wearing out the bushing, which will make the freehub body develop play, and you'll need a new freehub body ($40). If you let this go on too long, the steel particles will begin wearing out the hub shoulder the bushing rides on, at which point you'll need a new hub (you might as well get a new wheel.) To prevent this, every 2-4 weeks, remove the freehub body, completely clean the pawls, bushing, and hub surface (remove all the black stuff, which are the steel particles) and smear a small amount of lube on the pawls, freehub teeth, and bushing.Use your finger-don't pour the lube in- you don't want it getting into the outboard freehub bearing. Also, remove clean, and lube the inner dust seal (which can get noisy if dry and dirty.)For lube, you must use either mavic mineral oil(good luck finding it) or Pedro's Road rage or Pedro's Syn-lube. don't use petroleum or teflon-style chain lubes like triflow, they can make the steel particles stick to the bushing.Reassemble. although this needs to be done often, it's very easy to do, and it's part of having light, high-performance parts. However, i am givinh it a lower rating because the LBS shuld inform you of this when you buy them, especially when you spend $750 and want them to last. The info is on mavic's website, but if you aren't a psychic and don't think to go there you won't know about it! 6 months after I got these wheels,(i didn't know about, so didn't do, the maintenance) it started making mystery shrieks when coasting fast, It took me a while to get it figured out. I stumled across this info on the web, and replaced the frehub body, which was worn, luckily before the hub shoulder got too worn. however, mavic recently came up with an upgrade to help the problem. When your freehub body gets worn, replace it with their new one, the fts-x, which will also come with harder pawls,(so fewer abrasive steel particles are generated) and a new axle stub which has locktite to help the axle stay tight, and a new dust seal. Otherwise, these wheels perform great, bearings very easy to adjust on-the-bike, bearings easy to replace. can take the abuse of aggressive cross-country and some light freeride, but they're not meant for serious hucking and downhilling. Oh, and the rims are little narrow, you shouldn't use atire wider than 2.35"
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Rogier a Weekend Warrior from Netherlands
    Date Reviewed: December 2, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:Bikepark Winterberg
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $350.00
    Strengths:Light, very very strong, suitable for qr and 20mm axle.
    Weaknesses:wear-in takes a couple of rough rides and trueing the wheels after, not a big deal.
    Similar Products Used:basic wheel sets from local shops (deore quality)
    Bike Setup:Kona Dawg Dee-Lux 2006, with Saint brakes
    Bottom Line:These wheels are great and practically indestructible! Let's start with the beginning. I had a hardtail bike, broke a couple of rear wheels when doing (little) jumps or hitting a rock (i wasn't a technically good rider at the time). I decided i needed a full suspension bike if i wanted to practice jumps without breaking the wheels all the time. Bought the Kona with these wheels because they where on sale at the time and they seemed to be a lot better then the standard wheels on the bike.

    The first rides where disappointing because i had to true the wheels every time after a rough ride. After trueing them a couple of times they stayed ok.

    From that moment on they where great! absolutely indestructible! from bad landings on jump practice to freeride in spain, bikepark winterberg (great fun!) and freeriding in the French Alpes they never let me down and i hardly ever had to true them again.

    The only time i had wheel problems whas when a 15 cm big rock flew straigh through the wheel and nocked away 10 cm (!!) of one spoke, while bending the two surrounding spokes outward. I didn't even notice it until i stopped for a rest, after a realy great ride! The spoke was replaced in no time, the wheel didn't even have to come off the bike.

    I once had a big crash where i was too fast on the six cross in Winterberg, overshot the table and landed from 6m height in the air: it broke the arch of the Fox Float 130 and one of it's legs came up through the crown... The wheel stayed perfectly true.

    Bottom line: these wheels never let you down, they are practically indistructible and lightweight. Not cheap but worth every cent! Buy this for XC, all mountain, freeride, dirt jumping, light downhill... it can do it all.

    practical detail: i'm 75 kg, so maybe heavier guys can break these wheels, but i couldn't. I did a lot of stuff where i thought i broke them, but they stayed ok, always.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Sonse Sutezzo a Cross Country Rider from Boise
    Date Reviewed: October 17, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:all of em
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Price Paid: $650.00
    Purchased At:competetivecyclist.com
    Weaknesses:I have been riding this set for about six months fairly heavily. Lots of jumps, rock gardens, and aggressive riding. I thought that is what they were for, but while cleaning my bike I noticed that several spokes on the rear were loose to the point of having a quarter inch of movement. I have had wheels that cost 200 bucks that went 5 years without being trued. What's up with that?
    Bike Setup:Intense 5.5, oro puro disc, fsa carbon all around, marzocchi z1 light, sram xo drivetrain.
    Bottom Line:The verdict is still out on these. Maybe I should have gone for the deemax.
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Tom a Weekend Warrior from Westchester
    Date Reviewed: September 16, 2006
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $584.00
    Purchased At:beyondbikes.com
    Strengths:good looking, lightweight, front wheel works with either QR or 20mm axle
    Weaknesses:Need to be cleaned and lubricated, or the rear hub will seem to give out
    Similar Products Used:Crossmax Enduro Disc, other wheelsets made with Shimano hubs and Sun or Mavic rims
    Bike Setup:Banshee Morphine, White Bros. fork, Race Face cranks, etc.
    Bottom Line:This is a pretty nice wheelset for the money. Pretty beefy for their weight, reasonably stiff, work very well with tubeless tires.
    After I had them for one year, the rear hub suddenly and completely ceased to engage. I contacted Beyond Bikes. They gave me the phone number for Mavic customer service (which I was unable to find anywhere). The guy at Mavic tells me that my hub is fine, I just need to clean and lubricate it. I didn't really believe him, but I went ahead and tried it. Instructions are on Mavic's website. I know other people have had this problem with Mavic rear hubs. When it happens, just clean and lubricate the rear hub. Your hub will then be just like new again. The instructions say to lubricate the hub with mineral oil. I couldn't find any at the hardware store. Try the drugstore. Apparently it is commonly used as a laxative.
    I find that I am more likely to read a four star review than a five star review. I want people with these wheels to know how easy they are to fix when the pawls seem to give out, so I am giving these wheels four stars. They really deserve five, in my opinion.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Jeff a Cross Country Rider from Highlands Ranch, CO
    Date Reviewed: September 10, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:Trail 401 in Crested Butte
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $600.00
    Purchased At:LBS
    Strengths:Stiff and light. Sealed cartridge bearings easy to replace.
    Weaknesses:Free hub maintenance. Kind of pricey.
    Similar Products Used:Mavic X3.1 rims with XT hubs.
    Bike Setup:Specialized Epic Marathon.
    Bottom Line:These wheels are very stiff and responsive. They have stayed true for me for 2 years of hard singletrack riding. I use Stan's sealant with regular tires to keep the wheels light and it works great. However, if you do not enjoy monthly servicing of the rear hub, DO NOT PURCHASE THESE WHEELS! The free hub requires cleaning and relubing very frequently and if you don't do it often enough, you will wear out your rear hub like I did. I purchased the MP3 warranty which saved me. If you buy these wheels, buy the MP3 warranty, service the free hub every 100-200 miles, and enjoy the heck out of them.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Howard Kaiser a Cross Country Rider from Chandler, AZ
    Date Reviewed: July 21, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:All
    Duration Product Used:More than 3 years
    Purchased At:Came w/ bike
    Strengths:Durability, light, good looks, UST
    Weaknesses:Plastic spoke wrench, wheel stickers
    Similar Products Used:This is my first Mavic set
    Bike Setup:Came stock on my 03 Hollowpoint team.
    Bottom Line:Solid wheels that are virtually maintenance free. I've only needed to tweak the wheels a little to keep them straight. Much easier to maintain then my other wheelsets.
    Spoke replacement (if/when it happens) is a breeze with this design. No broken spokes in 3 yrs of hard riding!
    I'm a little concerned about the plastic spoke wrench...I hope that I don't strip it anytime soon cuz there is no other way to adjust the spokes. I think I'll order a spare.
    Also, the wheel is full of ugly sickers. Fortunately, they peel off, but leave a sticky reside that's hard to remove.
    I like the convertable from wheel hub (20mm/QR axle).
    No problems with bearings or freewheel (but I ride in AZ where it's dry!)
    They are not cheap, but I would definitely buy this wheelset for upgrading another bike (if I had another bike that needed upgrades)
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Mike Westermann a Weekend Warrior from San Francisco
    Date Reviewed: July 6, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:Market Street, SF
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $400.00
    Strengths:Sweet looks. Very sweet.
    Weaknesses:Damned spokes won't stay tensioned.
    Similar Products Used:Other mavics.
    Bike Setup:Cannondale F1000, FSA Carbon Team Crankset, XTR Front, XTR Rapid Rise Rear, XTR Dual Control Levers, Avid Mechanical Discs, Avid Full Metal Jackets, Crank Bros Eggbeaters, Specialized FatBoy slicks.
    Bottom Line:I do almost exclusively street riding and bike-commute every day to work. These wheels start making a "ping" sound within 20 miles of street riding after a re-tension. This is kind of unacceptable if you ask me. I'm a fairly strong rider and torque it pretty quickly up steep hills, but that shouldn't be enough to loosen spokes so quickly and so completely that you can grab them with your finger and shake them. It's a shame because I really love the looks of these wheels. And I'll be honest, I'm pretty caught up in looks.
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Stoney a Downhiller from fairfax, va
    Date Reviewed: June 14, 2006
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Purchased At:came on bike
    Strengths:finally need to be trued after two years of very hard ridng
    Weaknesses:none
    Bike Setup:came on giant VT1, just put them on a santa cruz chameleon
    Bottom Line:i'am mech. and i have worked on and riden alot of wheels. i have to say these are the best wheels i have ever ridden. i have never done any maintance for two years on these wheels and i haven't had a single problem. i weight 220 lbs. and i ride all mount., and some freeride and i learned to jump and do drops (2-4ft) on these wheels so they have been flogged. i love them! when they finally die (god forbid) they will hang on my wall in pride!
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Martin a Weekend Warrior from Nottingham
    Date Reviewed: May 14, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:Black route at glentress
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Purchased At:The hub in the forest
    Strengths:Weight
    Looks
    Weaknesses:Spokes

    Not being able to find spokes or a spoke key
    Similar Products Used:XT on f5219, deore on 517, sora on open pro, ringle on downhill rims,
    Bike Setup:Giant Reign 1
    Bottom Line:I went away for a weeks riding with some mates to Avemore in the highlands. Despite checking the tension on the spokes before I went one of the spokes loosened on the first day and popped out of the hub. Legged it to the nearest bike shop to borrow a spoke key. Trued the wheel, no problem.

    Next ride, at the end of the devils stair case ( a huge decent) the back whee was making more funny noises. This time 3 spokes had loosened. This left me with the choice of a 2 mile walk to the car, or potenialy damaging the rim.

    Back home, and its not possible to buy 1 spoke! I can only get a pack of 10 at £30! Its also taking 3 weeks to get a spoke key.

    The lack of support in the 4 shops i've been into is making me rather nervous about these wheels.
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by AJ a Cross Country Rider from NJ
    Date Reviewed: January 23, 2006
    Duration Product Used:More than 3 years
    Strengths:Solid build, very strong and stiff - roll great
    Weaknesses:Rear hub / freewheel problems
    Similar Products Used:King hubs w/717 rims - cane creek zonos team
    Bike Setup:Trek Fuel
    Bottom Line:This wheelset has been very reliable - I rode these wheels for about 2 years without a single problem. Wheels are very stiff and get a snappy ride. During the 3rd year of ownership the rear hub developed a problem that is common to this wheelset, do a search on the mtbr forums and you will find it. Long story short it was cheaper to replace the entire rear wheel then to fix the hub problem. All in all I would still purchase these wheels again, they roll very nice and look good as well.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Max a Cross Country Rider from SHR VA
    Date Reviewed: January 9, 2006
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $550.00
    Strengths:Strong, relatively light, stiff.
    Weaknesses:stickers came off.
    Valve stem leak.
    Similar Products Used:Shimano, Bontrager.
    Bike Setup:Custom
    Bottom Line:This wheelset has stayed truer than any other I have owned. I have had a valvsetm leak, the sickers came off, but I have had NO issues with the hub or bearings.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Daniel a Cross Country Rider from Phoenix
    Date Reviewed: January 2, 2006
    Favoriate Trail:Desert Classic
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $350.00
    Purchased At:ebay
    Strengths:Strong rims and spokes
    Weaknesses:Weak Hub
    Similar Products Used:Mavic 223s
    Bike Setup:Specialized Epic / XTR
    Bottom Line:The rims on this wheelset are strong but the hub is very weak. I had the hub completely rebuilt after only six months of use. Also, many bikeshops will not work on this wheelset. Other than the hub, this is a strong (but slightly heavy) wheelset. I would buy this wheel again at the price I paid for it ($350.00).
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Rich a Cross Country Rider from Socal and Norcal
    Date Reviewed: December 9, 2005
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $600.00
    Strengths:Strong, stays true, looks good.
    Weaknesses:None, yeah pricey, but what "boutique" wheelset isn't?
    Similar Products Used:Usual OEM, Bontraeger, WTB, Mavix/Shimano, etc.
    Bike Setup:Which one?
    Bottom Line:I hear a lot of people complaining about these wheels. Either they are lying or somehow are mis-using them. I weigh 240 and am a hard trail rider that doesn't shy away from rocky terrain. Not a free rider - no big drops that is. I have done squat to these wheels as far as maintenance goes and they are still perfect. That includes many branches in the spokes, general abuse, and a full winter of very wet riding in Norcal and Oregon. No issues here.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by DANNY a Cross Country Rider from BASS LAKE CA USA
    Date Reviewed: November 26, 2005
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Purchased At:CAME WITH BIKE 03 VT1
    Strengths:LIGHT,STRONG,STAY TRUE
    Weaknesses:STICKERS COME OFF
    Similar Products Used:MAVIC 223/FORMULA, BONTRAGER/DEORE
    Bike Setup:STOCK 03 VT1
    Bottom Line:GREAT WHEEL AND HUBS. LEARN TO PROPERLY CLEAN AND MAINTAIN YOUR BIKE AND MOST PROBLEMS WILL CEASE TO EXIST. HAPPY BIKING!
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Art a Cross Country Rider from Greensboro
    Date Reviewed: November 3, 2005
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Price Paid: $550.00
    Purchased At:Cycles de Oro
    Strengths:light, stiff, stays true
    Weaknesses:none so far
    Similar Products Used:Mavic 517
    Bike Setup:Giant XTC, all XT, Avid mechanical brakes
    Bottom Line:These wheels have stayed true after 6 months of hard riding in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge of NC. Just came back from 5 days of hard riding in Moab Utah and they are just as true as when I bought them. I saw many Crossmax XL wheels on the the majority of freeride bikes in Moab and no one had complaints. They roll smooth and have stood up to some very harsh riding from my 215 lbs body.

    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Benjamin a from The Netherlands
    Date Reviewed: September 24, 2005
    Favoriate Trail:Pas de Lona hehehe
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $420.00
    Purchased At:Bike2build.com
    Strengths:Light and strong for my 170 pounds. Servicing these wheels is easy. Still going strong after two years of beating 'em up., except for the paint and some spokes that are bend!
    20mm thru-axle option, wich I now use in combination with a RS Pike Race. Stays straight and true.
    Weaknesses:Paint strips of of the spokes easely. Especially on the rear drive side. Some spokes have a dent but that can happen with any spoke. These wheels are actually not very stiff. Lateral stiffness is not great
    Similar Products Used:Not such a wheelset as these babies.
    Bike Setup:Specialized Enduro Pro '03, Pike race, XT/XTR, Thompson, BETD linkage upgrade so I have 6" travel.
    Bottom Line:Never had to true it since I bought it, WTF is happening here!! After two years of smashing these wheels, I didn't expect these wheels to hold out for so long. Done two times the Cristalp in Switserland (the long version), trip to France and many other marathons in Germany and Belgium. Now I upgraded the bike with a new RS Pike race, so i finally can put the 20mm axle option to use. UST tires are a joke. I had multiple snakebites and numerous other flats with UST tires, but that didn't hurt the rims at all. A fine wheelset wich can take a beating and I ain't no easy rider at all.
    Right now I'm building up a hardtail with good old V-brakes. And I'm thinking of buying the ceramics version of this wheelset simply because of the price and quality. Handmade is an option but right here you about to pay the same for a system wheelset.
    Happy trailriding.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Lawrence a Cross Country Rider from Novato, Ca.
    Date Reviewed: September 21, 2005
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $575.00
    Purchased At:CBO
    Strengths:Stiff, Looks, (that's about it)
    Weaknesses:Durability,Price,Cutomer service,Performance...
    Similar Products Used:Any highend wheelset.
    Bike Setup:Turner 5-spot
    Bottom Line:These Wheels suck.This is a 2 1/5 year update. Had many problems with the hubs and had to have a full rear hub replacement at the two year point. Front bearing replaced due to squeeking and just found huge crack down the inside of the rear wheel.Mavic will do nothing for me. (out of warranty,One year). I ride nothig that hard No drops, just trail riding. I feel these wheels should have lasted longer without issue. The wheel is in the trash along with Mavic reputation.
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by jason a Cross Country Rider from brisbane, QLD, Australia
    Date Reviewed: August 18, 2005
    Favoriate Trail:corn trail, lightline.
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $650.00
    Purchased At:xxcycle
    Strengths:reasonably lightweight, sturdy, seemingly indestructable, sleek black looks, servicable main wheel bearings. Great performance when new.
    Weaknesses:mavic spoke key, expensive spokes/nipples to replace, soft alloy nippes, sticks jump in between wide spoke spacing, inner freewheel bush (plastic) runs on the hub body, which wears out the hub body causing excessive freewheel play. No amount of grease or lubrication can prevent this after a about a year. Too many rim stickers. plastic spoke tools which are useless after a few uses.
    Similar Products Used:other decent wheelsets which have a non-sacrificial design.
    Bike Setup:dualie, x.o and xtr, no longer with crossmax ust xl's.
    Bottom Line:For this price of wheelset, the designn should be backed up by a full range of user replacable parts. Included in these parts should be proper inner freewheel bearing. not a bit of plastic running on the soft alloy hub body. My back wheel is now unusable unless i machine the hub and freewheel body on a lathe and fit a 'proper' roller bearing. Bottom line....this is a throw away wheelset that due to the hub design, will never go the distance!
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Mike Z a Cross Country Rider from Chicago
    Date Reviewed: August 16, 2005
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Price Paid: $650.00
    Strengths:Very cool looking and quite lightweight. The freewheel hub has been trouble free so far and is quite quiet. Easy to mount the tires using my hands.
    Weaknesses:after about 5 rides the tension on the spokes was so off that they started pinging very loudly and actually allowed the wheel to flex so much I had a problem making a simple turn without the bike trying to come out from under me. Definitely unacceptable.
    Similar Products Used:Mavic Crossroc 03'
    Bike Setup:SC Blur, thompson, Advid mechs, full XTR
    Bottom Line:These whees are nice but will need to be re-tensioned after a few rides. This is definitely unacceptable for a wheelset of this price. My older Crossroc (cheaper) has never needed to be re-tensioned and they probably have 2500 miles or so on them. I almost wiped several times because the rim flexed so much it was actually causing the tire to wash out, and this was under very easy turning (low speed). After having them re-tensioned properly they have been good but the spokes still ping under acceleration.
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:3