When Lighter Is Actually Faster: Inside a 1,080 Gram XC Wheelset
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The new Crossmax Ultimate weighs 1,080 grams a pair, three hundred grams less than the wheelset it replaces.
Three hundred grams is a strange number. That is roughly a full water bottle. It sounds trivial until you understand where it was removed from. This is rotating weight at the outside of the bike, the mass you accelerate out of every corner, lift up every pitch, and change direction with a hundred times a lap. Rotating grams cost more than static grams, which is why racers chase them hardest.
But the number is only half the story, and the more interesting half is what did not change.
Light Is Easy. Light and Durable Is the Hard Part
Any wheel company can build a light wheel. Remove material until it is fast, and it will be fast right up until the moment it is not.
The engineering problem is maintaining stiffness, strength, and reliability as you remove material. That constraint drove every decision on this wheelset, and it is also why this wheelset is worth a look even if you have never pinned a number to your jersey.
Here is where the three hundred grams went, and what stayed.
Where the 300 Grams Went
The weight came out in three roughly equal pieces, about 100 grams each. No single breakthrough, three separate ones.
The rim: 100 grams
The rim carries an all-new carbon structure Mavic calls Adaptive Layup, developed through computer simulation, laboratory validation, and on-trail testing across multiple carbon fiber and resin combinations. Rather than reducing material evenly, it optimizes every fiber layer for the load that part of the rim actually sees.
That took 50 grams out of each rim, 100 across the pair, while holding the lateral stiffness required at elite level and keeping enough vertical compliance to stay composed at speed. Dimensions did not change: 25 mm deep, 30 mm internal width, 36 mm external, carbon hookless, built around modern 2.3 and 2.4 inch tires.
The spokes: 100 grams
Carbon spokes replace traditional steel spokes and are paired with titanium nipples in a 20 spoke, two cross pattern on both the front and rear wheels.
Carbon does two things steel cannot. Its stiffness to weight ratio transmits power more directly and sharpens steering accuracy, and it damps vibration naturally while also taking the edge off trail chatter. On a two hour race that second property matters as much as the first, because fatigue costs time in the final laps.
The hubs: 100 grams
New UltraLight hubs weigh 105 grams front and 180 grams rear in the XD six bolt configuration. Inside sits the 40 tooth ID360 Light ratchet with a stiffer spring, which means the wheel engages almost immediately when you put pressure through the pedals, and Mavic Ceramic bearings to cut friction. Even the freehub body was redesigned, saving 25 percent over the standard version.
Who This Wheel Is Actually For
The easy assumption about a 1,080 gram wheelset is that it is a delicate thing built for people whose equipment is maintained by sponsored teams and mechanics. That is not what this is, and our laboratory tests and spec sheet support that.
The Crossmax Ultimate carries an ASTM Level 3 classification and a 135 kg maximum load. Level 3 covers cross country and trail riding, including jumps and drops under roughly 60 centimeters. That is a rating for riding, not for a race day.
Underneath it is a set of decisions aimed squarely at longevity:
- Locked-In Spoke Heads secure the spoke heads and stabilize tension over time, which is the quiet failure point on most light wheels. A wheel that holds its tension stays true.
- 57 different tests on Mavic in-house machines at component level, then a second series validating the assembled wheel. Extreme fatigue cycles and high impact testing are both cleared.
- Hand-built and inspected at the Chavanod test laboratory in the French Alps, with a controlled protocol for tension, balancing, and dynamic validation on every wheel.
- Serviceable by design, with Mavic Ceramic bearings, Center Lock and six bolt brake interfaces, and both XD and MicroSpline freehub compatibility.
- Ready to ride, arriving with tubeless tape already installed, tubeless valves, and wheel bags.
None of that is race day language. It is the language of a wheel meant to be ridden hard for years, which is what most of us actually need. The racing is not the point of the wheel. The racing is the proof.
Mondraker and KTM Factory XC
Proven at World Cups
The Crossmax Ultimate has been under the Mondraker and KTM Factory XC teams since the start of the 2026 World Cup season, after nine months of field testing before it was ever announced.
Katrin Embacher took her first World Cup win on them in the U23 XCO at Nove Mesto in May, and was third in the U23 XCO at Les Gets. Alejandro Garcia Vazquez finished fifth in the U23 Short Track at Les Gets, his best World Cup result, then eighth in the U23 XCO. Between them, the two teams have added multiple Elite top tens.
That is a full season of racing on a wheel most people had not seen yet.
Watch Them Race This Weekend
The 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships run August 26 to 30 at Val di Sole in Trentino, Italy, with 17 rainbow jerseys awarded across five disciplines.
Cross country closes the week. Sunday August 30 is given over entirely to XCO, starting with the Women Under 23 at 09:00 and the Men Under 23 at 11:00, then the Women Elite at 13:00 and the Men Elite at 15:15 to bring the racing to a close. The Short Track races run Thursday evening.
Mondraker and KTM will be there, on the same wheels you can buy.
We think that detail is worth appreciating. The wheelset lining up at the World Championship start line this Sunday is not a prototype, a team exclusive build, or a special version made for the race. It is the same 1,080 gram wheelset you will find in the box, with the same Adaptive Layup rim and carbon spokes, hand-built in the same laboratory, following the same process.
The Mavic Crossmax Ultimate is available now. Ready to purchase at your local Mavic dealer today, or direct from mavic.com online.
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