Review: Mavic XA Elite 29" Wheelset

Introduction

This is going to be a somewhat controversial, but at the same time a comprehensive long-term review of this Mavic trail wheelset. Why, one may ask? Because I have owned 2 sets in 2 years, the 2016 versions and now later the 2019 versions. There are significant differences between the 2, so I will cover both sets separately and compare them to each other.

Mavic market the XA Elite as their enthusiast trail wheelset. It sits in the middle of the XA range, with the aluminum version XA Pro and all the carbon versions topping the range above the Elite. The low-end models XA and XA light below the Elite share the same hubs and all are available in non-Boost 15x100 / 12x142 / QR (Non-boost ship with QR adapters) or Boost 15x110 / 12x148 versions in both 27.5" and 29" versions. Sorry, no love for 26er riders, that wheel size is officially dead to Mavic! All versions are 6-bolt disc brake compatible only with either Shimano or Sram XD freehubs and straight-pull spokes. All versions are tubeless ready and ship pre-taped from the factory and with tubeless valves. There are also e-bike specific versions of some the wheelsets, affectionately dubbed "E-XA".

No, I didn't cut-up this rim just for the sake of this picture. It's my old cracked rear rim waiting to be recycled.

The differences start at the rims. XA Elite has what Mavic call ISM 4D rims, which have gone through extra machining to remove material where it's not required and thus reduce weight and it also gives the rims a unique, modern look. The rim is hookless, as most modern tubeless rims are and asymmetrical to help even out spoke tension. This is Mavic's top-of-the-line aluminum rim technology and when you think about it, makes sense, but does it work? I'll come back to that later. The 24 spokes between the different versions are also different with the base XA getting round spokes, XA Elite aero spokes, XA Pro aluminum hollow spokes and XA Carbon aero or aluminum spokes. Mavic doesn't list the exact material, but simply claim these are series 6000 aluminum. My guess is 6061.

 The XA Elite wheelset retails at around 550EUR and comes with a nice 2-year warranty, which can be extended to 3 years if you register your product through Mavic Care. I highly recommend you do!

Claimed weight for the 29" set is 1770g and I've measured mine at FRONT = 867g and REAR = 981g, so 1848g total, but this included the rim tame (as it's not exactly removable) and valves. Note that the valves are not threaded on the outside, so only pumps which press into place will work!

2016 vs 2018 wheelset

There are numerous differences between the 2016 set and the new 2019 set. How did I come across these differences? Well, the picture of my blown freehub below was the catalyst. What first started as a slight knocking / pinging noise from the rear hub resulted in catastrophic hub and free hub body failure during one ride last summer. The hub body was cracked and the freehub drive ring disintegrated into about a dozen pieces inside. Surprisingly enough there was little to no wear on the parts. They just blew up! This was covered by Mavic under warranty, but the wheel had to be sent off to France for hub replacement, which took about 3 weeks total, including the time to handle my claim. The wheel came back repaired and all was well again, for a while.

As you can see in the picture the 2016 set had the old ITS-4 (Instant Transfer) freehub, which is essentially your standard 4-pawl freehub with 36 points or engagement. Mavic have a full-service video for this freehub on their YouTube channel. Riding the ITS-4 freehub feels like any other semi-slow engaging pawl freehub with the occasional pop or twang as the pawls engage. However, it does roll quite freely with little perceivable drag, once run in for about 200-300km.

The new hub I got is the new Instant Drive 360, which is a similar star-ratchet system as what DT Swiss use, for example. The difference between the new and the old freehub is immediately noticeable. The new ID360 offers 40 POE for 9-degree engagement. The finer POE is not really noticeable, but the way the hub engages is. Where as the ITS-4 is somewhat clunky, the ID360 engages very smoothly, a trait which makes it feel like it has less lag between engagements than it actually does. The other good thing is that all 40 teeth are always in contact, so you have 10x more contact area (assuming 1 tooth equals the area of 1 pawl), making the new freewheel much stronger. The new hub also rotates with noticeably less drag than the ITS-4 system and makes a very distinct "DT Swiss -like" soft buzz, which you can hear in the short video clip below.

New star-ratchet ID360 freehub

  The second problem I ran into was my own doing and the result of a high-speed OTB into a ditch that bent, buckled and cracked my 2016 front wheel. This one I had to replace myself. You can see the rim tape Mavic use in this picture, which is actually not tape but rather feels like some sort of shrink wrap. Nice idea!

The third problem came some months later when I discovered my rear rim had cracked at one of the spokes. This was also covered by warranty and this time Mavic sent me a complete new rear wheel! I can't fault their warranty handling, but the product durability could be better. The 2016 rims are anodized and somewhat shiny, where as the 2019 rims are apparently bead blasted and then anodized for a flat finish. I prefer the 2016 finish as it's easier to clean. The yellow Mavic sticker is placed next to the valve, so it makes the valve easier to find. However, the stickers on the 2016 rims seem to stick much better and look more like water transfers, even though they aren't. The 2019 stickers just kind of "stick on" there and don't seem to hold that well, so I may remove them once they get scruffy enough.

The 2016 hubs are 24-hole straight-pull, like the new ones, but not compatible with Torque Caps. The brake mounting holes are split at the middle of the thread, which is a completely idiotic idea! No offence. This only leads to strange creaking and popping when you apply the brake, and the noises can't be fully remedied by locking the brake rotor screws or proper tightening. Luckily Mavic have fixed this in the new 2019 hubs. You can see a comparison of the new and old brake rotor attachments in the picture below.

2019 rear hub on the left, 2016 front hub on the right

The 2019 hubs are also compatible with Rockshox Torque Caps, which are sold separately by Mavic for about 20EUR. These supposedly stiffen the wheel-to-fork connection. To be honest, I'm hard pressed to tell the difference as the rims themselves are quite flexy. Thew new hubs are also completely flat black and don't have the Mavic signature yellow end caps, which is nice as yellow is not my go-to accent color. The machining is quite a bit more refined with the spoke lugs now also 1-piece instead of being split in the middle, like in the 2016 hub pictured above. To me the 2019 hubs just look more refined, so they're definitely a step in the right direction.

Both the front and rear hubs use sealed cartridge bearings, which are preloaded with a wear compensating spring washer to keep the bearing assembly tight and free of play even as some wear-in occurs. I had to replace my 2016 front hub bearings after about 2000km of riding in various conditions, which I think is acceptable for wheel bearings. The 2019 hub I got shipped without any grease under the bearing dust covers, which caused a very annoying rubbing noise on the first ride. I guess quality control in Romania, where the wheels are built, is not that great and I would strongly recommend Mavic to fix this issue.

Riding impressions

Now that we're past all the problems, broken wheels and freehubs and gotten rid of the old, it's time to look into how the wheels perform out on on the trail! I have run these on my enduro bike and trail bike with a combination of different tires, but lately just on the trail bike as my everyday wheelset for about 3000km, so I think I have a fairly good idea how the wheels ride.

I find that the 25mm inner width gives decent support for 2,2-2,4" wide tires, but I wouldn't run anything wider to keep tyre profile in check even though Mavic spec these for 2.3-3.0" widths. I currently have a set of 29x2.35" Maxxis Forekasters on these wheels and the combination of low rolling resistance and good support make this a nice combo for a variety of trails. The rims setup tubeless without any hassle and hold air even without sealant. The hookless profile also works great. I've only burped a tyre once and that was when I buckled my front wheel.

Having only 24 spokes means this is not the stiffest wheelset out there, which makes the wheels compliant and allow them to track the terrain very well. I suppose one could call them compliant, which is desirable from a wheelset. Despite this all of my wheels have remained true, apart from the buckled front wheel and have not required any retensioning. The Mavic nipples are fitted with nylon locks, which probably help keep spoke tension in check. For normal trail riding the compliance is nice, but once you start to push the wheels and roosting corners you can feel the flex and the wheels start feeling non-supportive. If you're a heavier rider or looking for a new set of wheels for enduro or even aggressive trail riding, the XA Elites are not for you. There is a 120kg weight limit too.

The 1800+ gram weight also makes these surprisingly heavy for a set of 24-spoke trail wheels. I have another wheelset built-up with Newmen SL.A.30 rims and Sram 900 hubs, which weigh the same, but are much stiffer and 5mm wider, so putting things into perspective, the 1800g weight is acceptable, but no unusual or especially light.

Conclusion

With all the problems I've had with these wheels I'm sure your expecting me to completely loathe them by now. Part of me wants to, but then on the other hand the new 2019 wheelset is just so much better than the old set I've had the problems with, and Mavic have taken care of my quality claims without any hassle, so at the end of the day I still recommend these. The price level is also very attractive: A bit cheaper than Newmen X.A.25, similar to Stans Arch and a bit more expensive than the new Hunt wheelsets.

Perhaps 28 spokes would make these a bit better and more points of engagement couldn't hurt, but if you're looking for a decent set of wheels to upgrade the anchors your mid-price bike came with, these are a good option. I will be running these as my spare wheels, once my Carbon + i9 setup is complete.