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Fri 27 Nov 2009, 3:03 pm UTC

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Mavic to produce own tyres

By James Costley-White

Mavic dropped into the BikeRadar office today with their latest innovation – a purpose-designed wheel and tyre combo.

Not content with producing some of the best rims and wheelsets out there, they're now going to produce their own rubber too.

The tyres will work with other manufacturers' rims, and vice versa, but are designed to work best as an all-Mavic combination.

The French company have hinted that, in future, they may take the integration even further by developing their own tyre and/or rim standard.

The first product of the new Wheel Tyre System project is the Ksyrium Yksion K10 clincher. Launched to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Ksyrium road wheelset, this limited edition wheel/tyre combo aimed at sportive riders and road racers will hit shop shelves in January.

Claimed weight is 2,100g (including tyres and tubes but not quick-release skewers), and UK RRP is £899. The tyres themselves weigh 225g and replacements will cost you £45 each.

Mavic ksyrium yksion k10 clinchers: mavic ksyrium yksion k10 clinchers

Mavic are planning to produce dedicated tyres for all of their wheelsets, including their mountain bike hoops – although these may not hit the market for several years. Tubular tyres are also in the pipeline.

Mavic's press officer Michel Lethenet told us the company came up with the idea after realising they couldn't push the limits of existing wheel materials much further. He said that, in retrospect, tyres were the obvious next step.

"Instead of being just a provider of a wheel and using tyres that are existing on the market we are going to create tyres to go with the wheel and create a whole system," he said.

Product manager Anthony Diana added: "It has opened many doors for us in terms of improving the weight, performance and aerodynamics of our wheels. What we have here is a tyre that matches the performance of the wheelset."

At the moment, the dual compound tyres are being produced to Mavic's specifications at a factory in Thailand which is used by several other big names in the bike industry.

Mavic ksyrium yksion k10 clincher (rear): mavic ksyrium yksion k10 clincher (rear)

Because the K10 is aimed at long-distance racers, the emphasis is on rolling efficiency, with grip, weight and comfort further down the list, and puncture protection and durability deemed to be of lesser importance. As Mavic produce more tyre and wheel combinations, the way in which these factors are balanced will differ for each set.

Michel said: "This year is going to be the first step. We don't pretend to replace Michelin – those guys are tyre specialists and we are not, at the moment. We have been working on the idea for three years, with feedback from pro riders. [The K10] is our first one and for sure we will have a lot to improve."

The tyre isn't the only special part of the Ksyrium Yksion wheelset. The Maxtal rims feature milling on the sides as well as between the spokes in order to shave weight, and the rear is asymmetric and slightly deeper than the front (25mm compared to 22mm) because of the increased load it has to bear.

Both wheels get Mavic's bladed Zicral alloy spokes, with the rear cross-laced on the non-drive side and radial on the drive side. You also get a carbon front hub for your money. In keeping with the original Ksyriums, the rims, spokes and hubs are anodised black.

It is unclear at this stage how many Yksions will be available, but you can expect to see several more Mavic wheel/tyre combinations appearing over the next year or so.

Mavic ksyrium yksion k10 clincher (rear): mavic ksyrium yksion k10 clincher (rear)

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User Comments

There are 19 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 19 of 19 comments

  • Marketing bull. And a hint of another proprietary standard in the future? Great.

  • 45 quid each per tyre??

    Stick it up yer jacksies.

  • will there be mtb xc/dh/fr tyres by mavic?

  • I wouldn't be surprised if the tires were actually Hutchinsons...

  • Don't see the problem myself - the tyres will be judged by their own merits.

  • Ever ridden an expensive tyre???

    They make a good ride great, and £45 is not that much as it goes.

    Ride fast, take chances.

  • "I wouldn't be surprised if the tires were actually Hutchinsons..." that is exactly what I thought as I was looking at them

  • yet another silly marketing ploy by a tone deaf company

  • I wonder how many ways people will manage to mis-spell Yksion? Kysrium usually ends up as Kysirium on this forum!

  • ..and I've just mis-spelled it. Aaargh!!

  • This is just to please shareholders - What can we do to increase revenue lets sell tyres Michelin do it why cant we. I would of thought the development costs would be very high for tyres, unless they are just putting there brand to some other manufacturers tyre (most likely)

  • If they are made in Thailand, it is most likely by Vittoria. Vittoria also makes the high end clinchers and tubulars for Bontrager, Specialized and Zipp from what I have heard.

    The Mavic tires would be based on the Vittoria Corsa Open CX casing most likely. A decent tire, but nothing you couldnt get from somebody else.

    If they go for a propietary tire/rim I think that idea will sink for them like a lead balloon. I certainly hope so, there is enough propietary stuff out there as it is.

    Kevin

  • Am I the only person who thinks this is a good idea? Integration is usually a good idea, new industry standards are not always a good idea. But UST was a good idea wasn't it?

    Maybe it is just pr guff, but maybe it's an atttempt to push wheel tech forwards? and is that always a bad thing?

  • They could be shooting themselves in the foot if in the future their wheels only work with their tyres and people aren't happy with the quality of the rubber.

    People like choice

  • no more new proprietary standards

    people who buy into new standards will be forced into using one manufacturer (or approved supplier) because they make it impossible for consumers to choose another.

    its uncompetitive.

    companies that bring out new systems eg 11 speed gearing design their systems so that it makes it impossible to service or change anything unless you buy their new chain remover for £40+

    companies should make systems more interchangable giving consumers more choice.

    if sram and shimano were to design their new systems so that they are fully interchangeable with not only with each other but will also work with campag then i feel they can increase their parts market share - no doubt campag will then make a new system which they will promise will transform our lives for the better but will in no way compatable with anything else on the market.

    i'm not a luddite and love new technologies and progress (electronic shifting etc) its the only way that we can move forward but proprietary systems that forces the consumer to buy into a single system and restricting choice is in my opion just wrong

  • Trying to make a better tyre: Good!

    Make your own tyre/rim standard: Bad, very bad!

    Like we don't have enough 'standards' in wheels and tyres, see http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire_sizing.html

  • Who's in charge at Mavic? They really need to change management. They have an epic brand name that they are squandering into the toilet.

    The Tire/Rim "system" is just another in a fairly recent list of very bad ideas.

  • Will the R-Sys tyres fail catastrophically like the the R-Sys wheels?

  • At £90 a pair I won't be entertaining these tyres if puncture protection and durability are as low down on the list of priorities as this press release states.

  • 1

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