CrossMax SL Disc: Light, Quick and Oh-So-Racey

WHAT: Mavic CrossMax SL Disc HOW MUCH: $874.90 WHERE: www.mavic.com

The CrossMax SL Disc features proprietary Zicral spokes and Maxtal, tubeless rims. At 1,685 grams it's well-suited to cross-country racing.

There was a time, not so very long ago, when souls seeking premium wheelsets walked into bike shops and had some wheels built for them. By hand.

It’s a whole different ballgame today. Nowadays, the same seekers of high-quality hoops walk into their local bike shop, open a catalog and point to the pre-built wheel that they desire. There are plenty such wheelsets available. They have brand names and unique features. Many have high price tags. People have come to accept this.

The wheelset that singlehandedly started the whole pre-built, Chi-Chi wheelset craze is the Mavic CrossMax. The all-black, incredibly light and ever-so-sexy wheelset debuted in 1996. It was more than just light. It was also strong and dependable. More important yet, the wheelset had a name and a branded identity. Suddenly (seemingly) generic, handbuilt wheelsets with 32 silver spokes seemed terribly passé.

Well, the CrossMax is still alive and kicking. Like Madonna this wheelset sheds ounces and gains a new tweak or two every season. The model pictured here is the CrossMax SL disc. At 1,685 grams (770 grams for the front wheel and 915 grams for the rear) it is one of the lighter cross-country disc-compatible wheelsets on the market.

The CrossMax rim is constructed from Maxtal (a proprietary 6000 series aluminum alloy) and features a fairly tall and triangulated profile for greater strength and rigidity. Like all Mavic rims, these are UST tubeless models. By drilling only the inner rim wall, Mavic eliminated the need to seal off spoke holes on the outer wall and, consequently, created an airtight seal between tubeless tire and rim (assuming your tubeless tire’s beads are uniform). Mavic claims that drilling only one rim wall also increases the rim’s overall strength and rigidity.

The CrossMax SL sports a set of bladed, aluminum (“Zicral” is Mavic’s buzzword for the material) spokes. There are 24 spokes per wheel and both front and rear wheels utilize the tried-and-true, 2-cross lacing configuration (a good thing as this is, after all, a disc brake-specific wheelset that is going to see plenty of torstional loads).

Last, but not least, this wheelset utilizes Mavic’s own hub. The flanges (see the image below) are beefy things of beauty, designed to withstand the high tensions of straight-pull spoking. The hubs roll on removable, sealed, cartridge-bearings. As for mounting disc brake rotors, the CrossMax SL Discs are available in both the six-bolt international standard and Shimano’s Center Lock standard.

I’m a fairly traditional guy when it comes to wheelsets. You may have guessed this by my intro. Nevertheless, I’m consistently impressed with this wheelset. I’ve beaten on this model for well over a year and have encountered no broken spokes, worn bearings or other major trauma. Sure, I knocked the rear wheel out of true a few times, but after a few minutes of truing, all has been a state of bliss. Acceleration is crisp and the wheels are, indeed, very stiff. The CrossMax’s track with astonishing accuracy for a wheelset this light.

If you are a weight weenie who feels obligated to purchase the absolute lightest wheelset on the market, there are other disc-specific options to consider including American Classic’s MTB 350 wheelset (1503 grams), Spinergy’s Xclones (1610 grams), and Shimano’s XTR Discs (1,674 grams). Of course, if you’re the kind of person who just has to have the lightest parts (irrespective of factors such as strength, durability and ease of maintenance), you are also probably the butt of all your riding buddies’ jokes. Just something to consider.

If I’m going to nit pick the details here, I’d have to say that truing the wheel is not as simple a chore as is the case with a conventionally-spoked model. You need a special spoke wrench and replacement spokes are more expensive than your standard stainless steel, J-bend model. If you’re going on a trip to some remote locale, I’d highly recommend bringing that wrench and a few replacement spokes with you. You never know if the local bike shop will stock those parts.

I’ve encountered no problems with the hubs, but have definitely worn out similar Mavic bearings on their lower-level CrossLand models. Fortunately, replacing the cartridge bearings is simple.

The CrossMax SL’s come with a limited two-year manufacturer’s warranty. Personally, if I were buying these wheels, I’d pay for Mavic’s MP3 warranty. It’s a 2-year (from the date of purchase), unconditional warranty. You can only get the MP3 warranty by purchasing the wheelset through a Mavic dealer (local bike shop).

Cost for the MP3 warranty is eight percent of the purchase price (about seventy bucks). While I haven’t personally encountered any breakage problems (I weigh 180 pounds and have zero grace on a bike), I’d still recommend a warranty like the MP3 for any wheelset that features expensive, proprietary components. Furthermore, if you plan on running this wheelset with tubeless tires and you ride rocky terrain, you really should get the warranty, as you are more likely to dent the rim when you run lower pressures in such conditions.

Finally, Clydesdale-types with visions of launching drop-offs dancing around inside their heads, would be better served with Mavic’s CrossMax XLs. The XLs are designed to withstand the greater stresses of All Mountain riding and tip the scales at a remarkably svelte 1800 grams. These SLs are, after all, designed with cross-country racing in mind. I’ll post a long-term review of the heavier-duty XLs in the near future.

For more wheelset reviews, check out the June 2005 issue of BIKE (now on news-stands). That issue contains reviews of no fewer than eight wheelsets.