Mavic says it’s shaved around 300g from its pro-level XC wheelset with the new Crossmax Ultimate wheels.
That comprises 50g per wheel from the mountain bike wheel’s rim, another 100g from a swap to 20 two-crossed carbon spokes with titanium nipples per wheel.
Mavic has shaved another 100g from its new, aerodynamic UltraLight alloy hubs. These come with ceramic bearings and weigh 105g for the front and 180g for the rear with a 6-bolt rotor interface and XD driver. There’s a Centerlock option too.
Mavic Crossmax Ultimate details
The rear wheel has a 40-tooth freehub ratchet with a new spring which reduces friction when freewheeling and Mavic says the freehub body is 25% lighter than its standard body.
The hookless rim has a 30mm internal width, 35mm external and 25mm depth and is made of an ‘adaptive layup’ combination of T1000, T700 and 3K carbon fibres, with a UD carbon raw finish.
Needless to say, at 500g for the front and 580g for the rear and a 1080g wheelset weight, Mavic claims the new wheels feel incredibly lively. That’s a reduction from the claimed 1,395g a pair (635g F, 760g R) weight for the previous generation, steel spoked Crossmax SL Ultimate.
The maximum load is 135kg.
Ridden to World Cup top tens
Mavic says the design of the new wheels is based on computer simulations, lab validation, on-trail testing and feedback from its sponsored XC World Cup athletes, who field tested the wheels for nine months prior to launch.
Despite the reduced wheelset weight, Mavic claims that there’s similar stiffness, strength and reliability to its predecessor. The carbon spokes, while stiff, are claimed to damp vibration better, helping to diminish trail chatter.
Mavic says that so far in 2026 the new wheels have been ridden to an U23 XCO victory in Nove Mesto in May by Katrin Embacher, as well as multiple top-10s by the KTM and Mondraker XC Factory Racing teams.
The new Crossmax Ultimate wheels are supplied with tubeless tape installed, plus tubeless valves and Mavic wheel bags. They’re priced at $3,049 / €2,299.
