Mavic Crossmax SL S 29 Wheelset

Mavic Crossmax SL S 29 Wheelset is Mavic's answer to riders who want cross-country race performance without paying carbon prices. It's a premium alloy wheelset built specifically to close the gap to carbon in weight and stiffness, and at 1,655 grams for the pair — 765g front, 890g rear — it gets close enough that most riders won't notice the difference on the trail. This is a 29-inch-only wheelset, built for XC and down-country riders who want a genuine performance upgrade without stepping up to a carbon wheelset's price tag.

The rim is made from Mavic's proprietary Maxtal aluminum alloy, which the brand claims offers a better strength-to-weight ratio than standard 6106 alloy, joined with SUP welding for a consistent, durable seam rather than a riveted joint. Mavic's ISM4D machining process removes material from the rim in the areas that see less structural stress, trimming weight without cutting into the strength the rim needs elsewhere — and a Black Shield coating protects the machined surface against scratches and impacts from rock strikes and rough singletrack. The rim carries a 25mm internal width in a hookless profile, tuned for modern XC tubeless tires in the 2.1 to 2.3-inch range, with a tire and pressure range that runs from a 30mm-wide tire at up to 59 psi down to a 64mm-wide tire at 36 psi.

Mavic's Fore technology is the detail that sets this rim apart from a standard tubeless setup. Instead of drilling through the rim bed for spoke access, Fore pushes the lower rim bridge up from the inside and threads it so spokes screw in directly, leaving the upper rim bridge fully sealed. That means no rim tape — which saves roughly 30 grams per wheel — and no risk of a bad tape job compromising your tubeless seal. It also means spokes can be accessed and adjusted from the tire side without pulling the tire and rim strip off completely, a real advantage if you're truing a wheel trailside or in a race pit.

Mavic builds the Crossmax SL S around its new Infinity hub, which the brand redesigned to be lighter while using a revised spoke lacing pattern aimed at improving stiffness and power transfer without adding noise under load. Engagement comes from the Instant Drive 360 freewheel, a double-ratchet system built for a fast, direct response when you're accelerating out of a corner or punching over a ledge. Bearings use Mavic's QRM Auto system, which automatically maintains preload in a sealed cartridge to keep rotation smooth without the periodic adjustment older cup-and-cone hubs required. The rear hub is compatible with Shimano HG9, Microspline, and SRAM XD driver bodies, so it isn't tied to a single drivetrain ecosystem, and the wheelset is available with either 6-bolt or Center Lock rotor mounting.

Axle spacing is Boost throughout — 15x110mm front and 12x148mm rear — which covers the vast majority of current XC and down-country frames, and Mavic offers separate adapter kits to convert down to 9x110 front or 9x141 rear if you're building onto an older frame. The wheelset ships with valves and a couple of replacement spokes, and it's rated to support riders and bikes up to 150kg (about 330 lbs) combined. For a rider chasing a lighter, stiffer wheel for XC racing or fast trail riding but not ready to spend carbon-wheel money, the Crossmax SL S is a well-reasoned place to land.