Mavic Crossmax Pro Carbon 29in Boost Wheeelset

Though we've come to associate it with traditionalism and a staid, stick with what works design ethos over the past decade, the last year has proven Mavic to be quite iconoclastic. The Crossmax Pro Carbon 29in Wheelset embodies this new boldness well, and while it's tempting to characterize it as a sharp departure from the brand's norms, the wheelset is actually perfectly in line with what we expect from Mavic: stiff, lightweight, and most importantly reliable. It represents the adoption of two major pieces of relatively new technology: Boost hubs and full carbon rim construction. When combined, these two developments add a bit of riotous French stiffness to your wagon wheeled rites of spring on the trail. For those of you who just did a double take at seeing new and carbon in the same sentence, let us explain. The new technologies that induced Mavic to go full carbon include things like hookless beads and the ability to encircle the tire bed in layers of uncut, uninterrupted carbon fiber. Both design features increase the wheel's ability to take hits without folding, and both actually are relatively recent developments. The hookless bead increases strength by eliminating the tiny, fracture prone shelf of a bead hook the uncut tire bed does so by eliminating the structural compromises of rims that are drilled for spoke holes. When combined with meticulous lay up schedules and precise resin impregnation, these construction features give the wheels a reliability on par with Mavic's alloy rims. The lay up itself targets radial flex read: squishy cushion for unruly runs in order to balance the inherent lateral stiffness of carbon with the forgiving vertical compliance of low profile alloy rims. The lay up benefits aggressive riders because it helps maintain contact with lumpy terrain by absorbing impact through engineered flex, bouncing less, and keeping tires glued to the dirt. Boost spacing goes even further down this rabbit hole, spreading the flanges wid...