Editors Note: This is a further review of the Mavic C29ssmax wheel set. The set has been passed over to my colleague, Captain Bob, for his impressions. It’s his first ever tubeless tire and wheel set up. Please note also that my comments are inserted in italics where I feel supporting comment is warranted from my experiences with these wheels.

It’s all new to me!:
I have never owned, or really ridden, a really nice wheelset before. I have had XT hubs (still do) with Mavic rims, Sun rims, even an older Syncros and now an Alex rim. They all had worked just fine and looked nice enough. But they were nothing that would catch my riding buddies attention. Nothing about the ride characteristics that were outstanding. I am sure you all know what I mean. So, I was excited to try these fancy wheels.

The first thing I noticed was the hubs. They are what I would call fancy. That’s the word I am using to describe the looks of these wheels. Fancy! Okay, but will looking fancy be enough to make me happy on the trail? I hope so. GT already mounted the new Hutchinson Python Tubeless tires for me with Hutchinson’s own Fast Air sealant. I grabbed the front wheel from GT to complete the rotor swap and I immediately noticed the weight difference from my XT/Alex front wheel. I thought it was strange that one wheel could be so much lighter than another. I do not usually weigh bike stuff and when I do it’s more because I am curious, not because I want the lightest stuff. I was excited this time to see what my Salsa Mamasita would weigh in at. So, I quickly swapped out the other rotor and cassette. Mounted the wheels and popped it on the shop scale. Sweet! 22.25 lbs. I dropped 1.25 lbs by swapping wheels and tires. The old weight was 23.5 lbs, which I think is pretty light. (Losing the tubes may have helped a bit too) The tires held air just fine also. There were some remounting issues, but I think I would chalk them up as technique and technique can be taught. You can read more about that in the tire review. (Captain Bob is also reviewing the Hutchinson Python tubeless tires on these wheels)

Okay, so onto the ride already. My first recognizable difference (on the trail) between these wheels and my old ones was how much better the fork is tracking. The front hub and skewer set-up must be way beefier than the XT hub. I felt no fork dropout flex when compared to before. (I also noticed the same thing-Editor)

On to the rear where I did notice some problems. I was feeling some lateral flex. Actually, quite a bit. I did notice some play in the hub also. I was also running too low of pressure in the rear tire too. Once I figured out the pressure settings it helped settle most of that down. I did have the shop tighten the rear hub too, so the play is gone and has stayed gone for 35 miles. Remeber these are pre-production wheels. (These wheels are pre-production and were previously tested before we recieved them)

So, now everything is adjusted correctly. I rode quite a bit of gravel, grassy double track, pavement and even some singletrack. There were a few technical sections, with logs and some small stairs, and a few good steep climbs on the singletrack trails ridden. There were also a few longer gravel and pavement grinders. The front wheel performed better than I was expecting. Light, stiff laterally, quick and best of all, not harsh (must be the spokes?). The rear is where I am still undecided. Keep in mind that I am between 210 and 215 lbs right now. I am not sure if Mavic intended these for bigger folks. I would hope that they kept me in mind when designing these. Two things I am puzzled with. 1) Lateral flex. It’s still there. When I corner with more of my weight on the rear of the saddle is where I notice this and when I sprint or climb out of the saddle. I even noticed it when powering up those long grinder climbs. It just seems like it has more flex than the front. I will post more comments on this after I get more miles. (I also felt the same thing Captain Bob is referring to.- Editor)

2) Braking. When braking I noticed right away that the rear doesn’t just skid. It skids and hops. Like a chattering hop. When seated it is not as bad though. My best explanation is that the aluminum spokes are flexier than metal spokes and when the hub says, “Stop!” ,the spokes don’t stop the tire. Or maybe it’s the spokes springing back and forth. Difficult to describe. Maybe GT can chime in here. (Perhaps the good Captain is getting a bit of spoke wind up here. It’s not an uncommon thing with the extreme stresses that a disc brake can generate. I almost hardly ever use the rear brake, so I never noticed this in my time with the wheel set.- Editor)

Okay. On to the possitive thing about the rear. Quick! Quick is the word. I was able to rocket up hills like never before. I was blown away. Of course this is due to both wheels (and tires) making the total weight less. I was able to carve singletrack corners and get back up to speed quicker than with my old wheels and tires. Really! I didn’t think it would be that noticeable. I believe these wheels (and tires) will make me faster because I will have to put out less effort getting the bike up to speed and getting up those climbs quicker. So, my overall first impression is quite good. I am only concerned about the rear flex and that springy braking thing.

I will post a final review in a few weeks when 29 inches takes these sweeties away from me. Until then, ride what you got and stay tuned so you know what to get next.

Thanks for reading & post you comments or questions.

Captain Bob