A reinvigorated Mavic reveals an army of new wheels for 2021
The difficulties Mavic has faced in the past year are no secret, but thankfully new owners for the company were found in July and so the iconic brand lives on. All that uncertainty doesn’t seem to have slowed Mavic down much, though. We got an introduction in September to some of Mavic’s new wheel range with the Cosmic SLR 45 Disc, but it turns out the complete collection is much, much bigger.
We’ll get to the wheels in a moment, but let’s start with Mavic Care. This is Mavic’s new lifetime warranty cover for structural defects in materials or workmanship on all its carbon wheels. Mavic will offer this coverage free of charge to original owners who register their product within two months of purchase. In addition to this, Mavic now also offer a 50% discount on crash replacements within the first two years of purchase, dropping to 40% for up to five years, and 30% for up to ten years. Lifetime warranties are not a new thing for carbon wheel manufacturers, but this will be welcomed by any future Mavic customers nonetheless.
As for the new wheels, Mavic began the MY21 announcement by reiterating what we heard back in September at the launch of the SLR 45 – in broad strokes, a new simplified range, improved reliability, easier maintenance, tuned ride quality for each practice, and tangible benefits for each wheel.
Mavic’s definition of “simplified” may be a little different, however, as the road and gravel range is still vast with 30 different wheelsets including 16 new offerings for 2021.
Carbon rims require a lot of hand labor, and Mavic’s are no different.
In this attempt to simplify the collection, Mavic has employed a common naming theme throughout its range. Most of the wheels start with the names of Cosmic or Ksyrium, which signify a carbon or alloy rim material, respectively. Mavic uses the letters S, SL, SLR, or the range-topping Ultimate to denote performance level of the wheel. Lastly, Mavic specifies the rim depth of carbon wheels with a number, with “Cosmic SLR 45 Disc” indicating a 45 mm-deep rim, for example.
Carbon road wheels
For 2021, Mavic has introduced a new Cosmic SLR 65 Disc, SL 65 Disc, Ultimate T (tubular) Disc, SLR 45 Disc, SLR 40, SL 45 Disc, SL 40, SLR 32 Disc, and SL 32 Disc wheelsets. Confused much?
The simple news here is the new SLR 65 Disc, SLR 32 Disc, and the SLR 40 (rim-brake) wheels all come from the same family as the SLR 45 disc we heard about back in September with the SLR signifying “racing performance”. All these wheels get the same Fore carbon rim technology with a solid outer rim wall for tape-free (and more reliable) tubeless setup, elliptical stainless steel aero spokes, and Mavic’s new Instant Drive 360 Infinity hub. All of these wheels get a 19 mm internal rim width, except the 32s, which get a 21 mm width. The wheelsets weigh in at 1,570 g for the 65s, 1,470g for the 45s, 1,370g for the 40s (which, again, are rim-brake), and 1,390g for the 32s.
On the plus side for simplification, all these wheels retail at £1,650 / €1,850 regardless of rim depth. Less simple is availability, with the SLR 40 and 32 Disc wheels not being available until January 2021, and the SLR 65 Disc not hitting the market until April.
The new SLR 65 Disc and SL 65 Disc offer a deep aero wheelset option at two price points.
For the new Cosmic SL range, Mavic is offering the same range of rim depths but at a lower price point. The SL wheels utilise the same Infinity hub and also get tubeless-ready carbon rims, but the rims feature a more conventional non-Fore construction and flat bladed stainless steel spokes instead of the SLR’s elliptical ones. Claimed weights for the SL 65 Disc, 45 Disc, 32 Disc, and 40 rim-brake wheels are 1,750 g, 1,575 g, 1,500 g, and 1,600 g, respectively – and interestingly, it is the SL 40 rim-brake wheels that see the biggest weight gain versus the SLR version with a 230 g increase. These changes, and the resulting increase in weight, translate into a £600 / €650 saving at the checkout with a £1,050 / €1,200 price tag for all depths.
The SLR and SL 40 wheels are both rim-brake options in a sea of new disc-brake wheelsets.
Finally, on the carbon range, the Cosmic Ultimate gets the long-awaited disc-brake compatibility. With a full carbon tubular rim, carbon spokes, and carbon hub shells, these wheels are unapologetically about race day performance only. The Ultimate T Disc is essentially the same as the rim brake Ultimate with a 40 mm-deep rim, rim-to-rim unidirectional carbon fibre elliptical spokes, and the Instant Drive 360 freehub design. The disc version weighs in at a scant 1,225g, but will set you back £2,730 / €3,000. The Cosmic Ultimate T Disc will be available later this month. Fans of the Cosmic Ultimate hoping for a tubeless compatible version will have to wait a while longer yet, although this is said to be in the pipeline.
The Ultimates are Mavic’s lightest and stiffest carbon road option, and they’re now available in a disc-brake setup.
Alloy road
Mavic has also announced four new Ksyrium wheelsets, namely the SL and the S, both featuring disc and rim-brake options.
On the higher-end SL range, the new Ksyrium rims feature Fore technology and Inter Spoke Milling 4D (ISM), which machines away excess material in between the spoke holes and supposedly reduces rim weight by 17%. While both the disc and rim-brake options have 19 mm internal and 22 mm external rim widths, the disc option has a 23 mm depth, whereas the rim-brake version is a bit taller at 24 mm. The SLs have elliptical spokes, which are again laced to Mavic’s Infinity hubs. The disc-brake option tips the scales at 1,575g, while the rim-brake wheelset comes in at 1480g. Both versions are priced at £590 / €650.
Ksyrium SL and S models share similar technology and both are available in rim and disc-brake variants.
The more affordable Ksyrium S range gets similar upgrades with the Infinity hubs, Fore rims, and the same rim widths, but that is where the similarities end. The S range misses out on the Inter Spoke Milling and the elliptical spokes, with Mavic opting for the standard flat version instead. Somewhat confusingly, the S disc version gets a 2 mm deeper rim compared to the SL, whereas the rim brake options have a 1 mm shallower rim. The Ksyrium S weigh in slightly heavier than the SL versions at 1,670g for the disc and 1,570g for the rim-brake options, an increase of 95 g and 90 g, respectively. The Ksyrium S is priced at £360 / €400 and is available now.
Allroad
Mavic announced three new wheel options for gravel and/or adventure-minded riders, too: the Allroad SL, Allroad SL Road+, and the Allroad S. These are much the same as the Ksyrium range in that the SL and S ranges get the same rim technology, hub, and spoke specs. However, there are some key differences.
The Allroad is available in 700c in the SL and S range and also in 650b, a model known as the SL Road+. The rim internal width is pushed out to 22 mm on the 700c options and 25 mm on the 650b option, with 25 mm and 28 mm external widths, respectively. The Allroad SLs weigh in at 1,590g for the 700c and 1,555g for the 650b Road+ variants, and cost £590 / €650. In keeping with the rest of the wheelsets announced, the S variant of the Allroad weighs in slightly heavier at 1,765 g, but is also easier on the wallet at £409 / €400. The complete Allroad range is available now.
The Allroad SL and SL Road+ (650b) wheelsets are aimed at adventure and gravel riders, although you could argue that they’re still too narrow as compared to the competition.
The Ksyrium SL keeps the rim-brake genre alive.
A look inside Mavic’s Infinity hub.
A new Cosmic SLR awaiting final assembly.
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