One hour from Nice in southern France, where good weather and great trails are guaranteed, we tested the new Mavic Crossmax XL WTS (Wheel Tire System) on a two-day adventure. EWS champion Jerome Clementz guided us over several trails from the Trans-Provence and gave us the chance to give the Crossmax XL a hard time.

Mavic divides enduro riding in ‘racing’ and ‘adventure’. The Crossmax Enduro WTS, presented last year, finds its purpose in pure racing. The new Crossmax XL WTS is meant for adventure and is claimed to be more comfortable, more durable and more versatile.

Mavic Crossmax XL Wheels 01

Testing

It’s clear that after two days of riding you only leave with some impressions. We had a Lapierre Zesty for the job and rode all kinds of trails in dry conditions. The riding started on day one with technical uphills and fire-roads, but soon the first trails came in. Anything from flowy and super fast to technical and steep came on our path.

Mavic Crossmax XL Wheels 02

Comfort

The Crossmax XL WTS has some wide rims with 2.4-inch tires (2.35 on 29). The big volume definitely gives a lot of traction and comfort. Especially on the rear-wheel the difference compared to the Crossmax Enduro is huge, the inner width got an upgrade from 19 to 23 millimeters. Mavic claims that the narrow 19mm Rim with a 2.2-inch tire delivers better responsiveness for racing. We found that in reality the comfort and traction of the wide 2.4-inch tires on the 23mm rims simply feels better, gives more confidence and is just more comfortable.

Mavic Crossmax XL Wheels 03

Durability

The tires give an all-round ok-feeling, they’re not the best for specific circumstances and a bit of grip in cornering is lacking. The good thing is they are very predictable; after only a few descends we knew what we were up to. They have a 50a single rubber compound, in theory this should be good for the durability. After two days of riding we didn’t see any notable wear on the tires.
The rim-hooks are improved and claimed to be 50% stronger than the Crossmax Enduro’s. We experienced quiet some impacts getting to the rims, but couldn’t find any damage, so far so good.

Mavic Crossmax XL Wheels 04

Reliability

24 spokes in the front- and rear-wheel make the overall package reliable and stiff. The wheels feel great descending, during the test we had a Fox 32 fork with 140mm of travel and could feel really well how the fork bended under load, the wheel didn’t. The weight of the wheels and tires is good and allows quick acceleration, on the trail and climbing.

Mavic Crossmax XL Wheels 05

Bottom-line

Mavic did it. They made a set of wheels with tires that work for its purpose. The hardcore enduro-racer will probably not find the love of his/her life, but everyone who is looking for wheels and tires to simply rely on; the Crossmax XL WTS will be the right choice.

Facts

  • Sizes: 26”, 27.5”, 29”
  • Weights (wheels): 1660g (26”), 1710g (27.5”), 1780g (29”)
  • Weights (tires): 690g (26×2.4), 780g (27.5×2.4), 810g (29×2.35)
  • Rim internal width: 23mm
  • Available axles: 9/15/20 (front) – 9×135, 12×135, 12×142 (rear)
  • SRAM XD-compatible
  • Available: Mid-June 2014
  • Retail price: 850 euro (wheels and tires)

More technical details can be found in the First Look article

Text: Ruben Torenbeek Photos: Jérémie Reuiller, Mavic


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