Mavic XA Elite 27.5 Boost Wheel

The Mavic XA Elite Wheelset is designed to improve bikes that ride in the vast valley between super-light cross-country rigs and super-tough gravity-minded whips. It is wide, as light as possible for aluminum while still maintaining Mavic’s vaunted smooth ride and legendary durability.

Mavic starts this wheel with a 25mm wide, measured internally, hookless Maxtal aluminum rim. The rim shape is asymmetric to better balance out left-right spoke tensions as both front and rear wheels are dished. The rim bed is then drilled for traditional spoke nipples, and the rim exterior is then machined via Mavic’s ISM 4D process between the spoke  holes to eliminate all unnecessary material. As the rim is designed for tubeless tires, they include Mavic rim tape and valves to seal off the interior.

Next, Mavic chose straight-pull, double-butted, bladed steel spokes to join the rim to the hub. These are light and strong and as the wheels are always moving through air, any little bit of aero adds speed. They then laced the spokes two-cross through 24-spoke straight-pull hubs. Two-cross maximizes lateral stiffness while keeping the spokes as short as possible, minimizing weight.

As everyone has an eye on weight, here’s how these XA Elite measure up. The 650b front weights 780g, rear 915g. The 29er front 815g, rear 955g.

Mavic believes in building wheel systems, so they design tires that match the purpose and style of the wheels they build. That’s why they include tires with the wheels. The tires here are Mavic’s Tubeless Ready Crossmax Quest. The 650b tires weigh 780g apiece and measure 2.4” across. The 29er tire weighs 810g and measures 2.35” across.

The disc brake mounting is six-bolt, and comes with the appropriate bolts. The wheels come standard with a SRAM/Shimano cassette body. If you prefer a SRAM XD driver, you can purchase the body separately, and swap. The front hub is designed for 15mm thru-axles standard, and the rear 142x12mm thru-axles standard. Both can be converted to quick-release hubs with the installation of included adapters and included BR101 quick releases.

The Mavic XA Elite Wheelset adds performance to every trail bike.