Black rim, 32 black spokes, triple-cross spoked - the wheel has so far consisted of whatever the market had to offer. The spokes from DT Swiss, the hubs from Shimano, the rim from Mavic. Until Mavic decided to shake up the wheel market. The French company built a system wheel that consisted solely of components from its own production. The parts were to be harmonised down to the smallest detail in order to achieve better performance with less weight. Wheels like the Mavic "Crossmax SL" with 24 wide aluminium bladed spokes are right on trend.
But do these designs also make technical sense? Do they give bikers an advantage off-road? And: What actually makes a wheel fast? Does good acceleration really depend on aluminium blade spokes?
We put 22 wheels from the cross-country race/all-round and freeride/downhill categories through their paces in the lab - both conventional spoked and system wheels. We show you the fastest, the lightest and the most stable wheels for your bike.
You can find these wheels in the test:
CC-Race/Allround:
Action Sports DT 2405-XR 4.1 D, Bontrager Race X-Lite Disc, DT Swiss 1540, FRM M12 Disc ZTR 335, Fusion Stinger Disc, Magura Disc Wheel XC Pro, Mavic Crossmax SL Disc, Mavic Crossland Disc, Ritchey WCS Girger, Shimano WH-M 765, Tune King + Kong-ZTR 355, Vuelta XRP III Silver, Whizz Wheels DT 340 XR 4.1 D, Xtreme M-23 DSS Free Jack
Freeride/downhill:
Action Sports Saint-DT FR 6.1 D, Alutech MX 3C Disc, Bikeman Armageddon, Fusion Maniac Sisc, Magura Disc Wheel FR, Mavic Dee Maxx, Whizz Wheels DT Hügi FR 6.1 D, Xtreme Free DH Jim Disc
