Mavic has 26in and 29in Crossmax SLR wheels on the market, but 650B? Although not officially a consumer product, a pair of the mid-size SLRs showed up Friday morning on a custom Moots YBB 650B bike at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show.
Mavic communication manager Zack Vestal said that he couldn’t comment in detail on the 650b design.
“Mavic is always working to satisfy riders’ needs, whether that’s through different sizes and shapes for mountain bikes or road bikes,” Vestal said. “For wheels, the upcoming season is going to be one of the biggest in years for Mavic. So I would hope that something like this in an indication of what’s in the pipeline.”
Mavic expanded its range to include a 29inch CrossMax SLR last year.
As for the 650b SLR, Vestal couldn’t comment on weight, price or availability. That said, Mavic often does product introductions in the summertime.
While not officially in the new line, the wheel looks production-ready
There were also rumors at NAHBS about Mavic getting into mountain bike tires. The French company has in recent years expanded into road tires.
Vestal said he didn’t know anything about Mavic mountain bike tires.
“From a design standpoint we see a lot of opportunity to look at wheels and tires as a complete system,” he said. “The CXR 80 is a great example of how far you can take the integration of a wheel and tire. So I imagine all sorts of things could potentially be in testing.”
The new wheel appears identical to the current Crossmax SLR, save rim diameter and spoke length
At NAHBS, the wheels hung on a custom Moots YBB, which Moots marketing man Jon Cariveau said is a mix between a standard YBB and an RSL.
“All our mountain bikes have have 40mm head tubes these days,” he said. “This has PressFit BB30. And we were lucky enough to get our hands on these Mavic wheels. We believe smaller frames to be the starting point for mid-sized wheels, and eventually we will likely see more long-travel bikes with 650b.”
The Moots YBB, now in 650b
