Together with team riders Fabien Barel, Jerome Clementz and Anne Caro Chausson, Mavic has developed a wheelset including tyres especially for enduro riders. The developers have focussed on the special requirements of the front and rear wheels. According to the manufacturer, grip and stability are particularly important at the front. Above all, the rear wheel should roll easily, accelerate well and still generate sufficient grip on steep climbs and in corners. The French company aims to achieve this goal through the interaction of revised Crossmax wheels and special tyres. The new WTS (Wheel-Tire-System) will be available in 26 and 27.5 inch due to current demand. A 29-inch version is currently not planned.
The front wheel
The front wheel basically consists of a revised Crossmax SX wheel, which has been reworked in detail. 24 single-crossed spokes should combine good stiffness with sufficient comfort. Contrary to the current trend towards wider rims, the width of the front wheel is only 21 millimetres. However, the narrow width should ensure an optimally round shape for the front tyre.
The front tyre is called "Charge" and has been optimised for maximum grip and comfort. It has a two-ply carcass (called Guard2) with a compound called SCC (Super Compact Compound) with a hardness of 40a. Large, supported centre lugs are designed to bite into the ground when braking. The outer lugs are slightly offset from each other. This should make the tyre easier to control in borderline situations. The Charge is tubeless-ready and available in a width of 2.4 inches. The 26 inch version weighs 950 grams, the 27.5 inch version weighs 990 grams.
The rear wheel
Mavic has also optimised an existing model for the rear wheel. The Crossmax ST system was the inspiration here, but with aero spokes and a rim width of 19 millimetres. Just 20 spokes should make the rear wheel sufficiently stiff and yet light. The hubs are mounted on industrial bearings and can be adjusted externally. On the rear wheel, Mavic virtually reverses the wheel gauge and spokes the drive side radially and the brake side double-crossed. In this way, Mavic aims to reduce the high forces exerted by the disc brakes. The rear wheel features the familiar ITS4 freehub system.
The "Roam XL" rear tyre has a relatively flat, almost closed V-shaped structure in the centre, which is primarily intended to reduce rolling resistance. Two sharp edges on the front and rear of the centre knobs are intended to generate a lot of braking grip and high traction, while Mavic aligns the side knobs in a row, in contrast to the front tyre, as this is intended to generate maximum lateral support and make the rear wheel easier to control than the front wheel in borderline situations. At the rear, Mavic relies on a 50a compound called Compact Compound. The 26 inch version comes in a width of 2.3 inches and weighs 850 grams. The width of the 27.5 inch version is 2.2 inches. The tyre weighs 870 grams.
The 26-inch wheels weigh 825 grams at the front and 835 grams at the rear. This leaves the scales at a total of 1660 grams. The complete 26-inch WTS weighs 3460 grams. The price for the 26-inch set is 800 euros. The 27.5-inch wheelset is available for 825 euros. The Crossmax Enduro wheels are always delivered including tyres. The individual price for the tyres is 60 and 57 euros respectively. The new products will be on sale from July.
Further information on www.mavic.com
Stefan Frey
Editor
