Mavic E-Crosstrail SL 27.5 Wheelset

Built specifically for the stresses an e-bike puts through a wheel, the Mavic E-Crosstrail SL 27.5 Wheelset is engineered to handle the added torque, weight, and speed that come with a motor rather than simply borrowing a standard mountain wheel design. Mavic built this wheelset around its e-MTB-specific reinforcements, aiming for a wheel that holds up to enduro and trail riding at the higher loads an e-bike generates.

The rim is built from Maxtal, an aluminum alloy exclusive to Mavic that the brand states offers a higher strength-to-weight ratio than conventional 6106 alloy, shaped with Mavic's ISM rim technology to put material where the rim needs strength and trim it everywhere else. Mavic pairs that with its patented FORE and PFP technologies, additional reinforcement aimed specifically at the extra stress e-bike torque and weight put through a rim — the kind of load a standard trail wheel isn't necessarily built to absorb. A Black Shield finish, combining anodizing with a protective coating, roughly doubles the rim's resistance to rock strikes and scratches from trail debris. The rim itself measures 30mm internal width and 22mm in height with an asymmetric profile, built as a hooked, tubeless-ready design compatible with tires from 52mm up to 76mm wide. The rim joint uses Mavic's SUP welding process, where the seam is arc-welded and then milled smooth rather than left as a raw weld.

Mavic's Infinity hub design here is specifically reinforced for e-bike use, built to handle the extra power transfer an e-bike motor adds without sacrificing the contactless spoke lacing that keeps the wheel quiet under load and identical in spoke length front and rear. The wheels lace with straight-pull steel spokes in a three-cross pattern, 28 per wheel, and Mavic's Instant Drive 360 freewheel uses a large contactless rubber seal to keep friction low while sealing out dirt and moisture on the trail. QRM Auto bearing preload keeps the sealed cartridge bearings spinning smoothly without periodic adjustment. Boost spacing puts the front hub at 15x110mm and the rear at 12x148mm, and the hubs accept either a 6-bolt or Center Lock disc brake mount. The stock freehub runs Shimano Microspline or SRAM XD MTB standards, with separate conversion kits available for riders who need to switch to a Shimano HG freehub body.

The complete set weighs 1,843 grams (868 grams front, 975 grams rear) — heavier than a non-motorized trail wheelset by design, since an e-bike's added weight and torque call for more structure rather than less. Mavic rates the E-Crosstrail SL to ASTM Category 4, the classification covering enduro and aggressive trail riding, and to a combined bike-and-rider system weight of 150 kilograms, giving real headroom for the weight of an e-bike itself plus a rider and gear.

Designed and manufactured in Europe, this wheelset is built for e-MTB riders logging real trail and enduro miles rather than casual pavement commuting — someone who needs a wheel that can absorb the extra torque and weight of a motor-assisted bike through rock gardens, root sections, and repeated hard braking without flinching.