Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate Tubular Rim Brake Wheelset

Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate Tubular Rim Brake Wheelset was built for road racing, and it still delivers exactly what that demands: low weight, real stiffness, and an aerodynamic profile that doesn't ask you to trade one for the others. The rim, spokes, and hub all use full carbon monobloc construction, and the complete wheelset comes in at roughly 1,185 grams — 520g up front, 665g out back — putting it in genuine climbing-wheel territory despite the aero shaping. For a tubular wheelset at this price point, that combination of low weight and race-proven stiffness is the whole appeal.

The 40mm elliptical rim profile sits at what Mavic considers the sweet spot for road racing — deep enough to cut through the air at speed, shallow enough to stay stable and predictable in crosswinds and technical descents. The tire bed uses a hole-free carbon construction, which lets Mavic keep the rim both lighter and structurally stronger than a drilled design would allow. Carbon spokes tie the rim to the hub, giving the wheelset a direct, responsive feel under hard accelerations — the kind of stiffness that shows up when you stand up to sprint or dig into a climbing effort out of the saddle.

Engagement comes from Mavic's QRM+ hub system, which uses sealed cartridge bearings and precision machining to keep rolling resistance low and maintenance straightforward. The rear hub runs Mavic's FTS-L freehub body, compatible with Shimano and SRAM 11-speed drivetrains (HG11), and is built to deliver crisp, immediate power transfer the moment you put pressure on the pedals. Both wheels use quick-release axles, keeping the wheelset compatible with the rim-brake road bikes it was designed around.

As a tubular wheelset, the Cosmic Carbone Ultimate asks more of the rider than a clincher setup — tires need to be glued or taped to the rim rather than simply mounted — but the payoff is a lighter overall wheel-tire system and a distinctive ride feel that many racers still prefer for its road buzz and rolling character at speed. Mavic includes carbon-specific brake pads with the wheelset, a detail worth knowing since standard alloy-rim pads aren't compatible with the carbon braking surface and can compromise stopping power.

This is a wheelset built for riders who race or ride hard on rim-brake road bikes and want a genuinely competitive, all-around wheel rather than a specialist climbing or aero setup. The Cosmic Carbone Ultimate splits the difference well enough that it's equally at home in a hilly road race, a flat criterium, or a fast weekend group ride, which is exactly the versatility Mavic engineered it for.