Mavic launch all-new Crossmax line for 2012

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Mavic's entire Crossmax line now features a new version of the ITS-4 freehub(Image credit: Matt Pacocha)

Mavic are offering a completely redesigned line of Crossmax wheels for 2012. While the names – SLR (cross-country), ST (trail) and SX (all-mountain) – and many of the key technologies and materials stay the same, everything from the hubs to the rim extrusions has been revisited, rethought, redesigned and remodeled over a two-year period to produce a new line-up with some impressive characteristics.

Missing, however, is anything in the 29in size – something Mavic's communications manager, Zack Vestal, addressed up front in his Crossmax product presentation attended. "They're all 26ers and there's no getting around that fact," said Vestal. "There are a couple of reasons for that. One, our product development process starts with professional riders and in this development cycle, professional riders, frankly, weren't as hyped up on 29ers as they might be now. [And two,] building a 29er to Mavic standards requires a lot more work than just taking [the 26in wheel] and doing the little iPhone or iPad zoom up.

"You can't just scale the thing up. When you increase the diameter and the spoke length, the ride characteristics change. It's something Mavic want to tackle as its own unit rather than try to scale up existing products. We absolutely understand the importance of the platform...we're already testing prototypes, you might be able to find pictures on the internet...they're out there and we can acknowledge that. At the end of the day, when it's ready, a new 29er wheel system will be engineered to Mavic standards, which is to say very, very high."

The ITS-4 freewheel found on the current Crossmax SX wheelset has been refined to shed weight and reduce drag, thus making it acceptably smooth and efficient for cross-country use. The four-pawl design is said to offer 60 percent faster engagement than the FTS-X freehub used on the current SLR and ST wheels, with 7.5-degree instead of 17-degree engagement. This should go a long way to making good on the pro racers' request for a more responsive wheelset.

The next substantial improvement to the Crossmax range is the Maxtal rims; all three models feature new profiles that are wider and rounder, and also lighter. The SLR and ST wheels share the same rim profile, with a 19mm inner width versus the current SLR's 17mm. This is said to add lateral stiffness and offer better support for larger-volume tires. The SLR uses Mavic's ISM 3D (Inter Spoke Milling) to shave additional weight – the rim is said to be 20g lighter than the 2011 version.

The SX rim features a very similar profile, but with a 21mm inner width to better meet the more rigorous demands of all-mountain riding. All three rims feature a new rounded inner well that's said to increase stiffness and make seating tubeless tires easier. They all use Mavic's FORE technology, where the rim is threaded to accept spokes (in sort of a quasi welding technique, where a super-heated tool punctures the rim without removing material) without the inner wall being punctured, thus creating a UST tubeless seal without need for any sort of tape or rim strip.

Mavic assemble their new Crossmax wheels with two versions of their Zicral spokes. The SLR gets 20 front and rear spokes that are butted and bladed. The front wheel is laced two-cross, while the rear has an ‘Isopulse' pattern — two-cross non-drive lacing and radial drive side lacing. This is said to allow for a 2mm wider hub flange spacing and a more even balance of tension between the drive and non-drive spokes, thus creating a stronger wheel overall.

The ST and SX models use round, straight-gauge Zicral spokes. The ST wheel uses 24 front and 20 rear, laced the same as the SLR wheelset. Mavic say the new, stiffer stronger rim allows the lower spoke count on the rear of the trail wheelset, while they've kept the compliance and stiffness added by the higher front spoke count. The SX wheel relies on 24 straight-gauge spokes laced two-cross on the front and non-drive side, and one-cross on the drive side.