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Jun 01, 2023

New Mavic Cosmic Ultimate wheelset weighs 1,255g (but will cost you £3,575)

Carbon spokes are four times stronger than the previous R2R design,

Carbon spokes are four times stronger than the previous R2R design, according to French brand

This competition is now closed

By Jack Evans

Published: February 1, 2023 at 2:04 pm

Mavic has introduced the Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc, claiming the 1,255g wheels are the lightest in their class.

The tubeless, disc brake wheels combine aerodynamics and stiffness for rapid acceleration on the flat and climbs, according to Mavic.

Costing £3,575 / €3,900, the Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc is one of the most expensive road bike wheels on the market.

The Mavic Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc front and rear wheels have claimed weights of 575g and 680g respectively.

The carbon rims are 45mm deep. The rim width measures 19mm wide internally and 27mm wide externally. This is optimal for 700x25mm tubeless tyres at a maximum safe pressure of 87psi, according to Mavic. The widest road bike tyre Mavic recommends using is 700x32mm.

Because the mid-section carbon rims are not drilled, Mavic says they do not require rim tape to remain airtight, simplifying tubeless setup.

According to Mavic, the carbon fibre spokes and high, thin carbon hub flanges confer an aerodynamic advantage.

The rim-to-rim technology (R2R) runs 10 spokes from one side of the rim to the other through the hub. This totals 20 contact points on each rim.

Mavic says the R2R design increases stiffness and removes the need to fit the spokes mechanically to the rim.

The Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc's R2R is four times stronger than the previous R2R design, according to Mavic.

Stiff hub axles and oversized cartridge bearings are claimed to ensure the Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc's longevity.

The hubs come with thru-axles (12×100 front and 12×142 rear) and can be converted to quick release. They only work with Center Lock disc brake rotors.

The wheel maker says the Shimano/SRAM freehub can be converted to Campagnolo.

The French branch says each wheel's 71 carbon fibre pieces take 10 workers eight hours to hand build.

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Digital Writer

Jack Evans is a digital writer for BikeRadar.com Jack learnt to ride on rough Cotswold trails before switching to tarmac in his teens. Gravel riding and cyclocross racing (badly) has since taken him back to his roots. Most at home scaling south Wales climbs, Jack more commonly escapes his home in Birmingham via the lanes and bridleways of Worcestershire, riding either his Canyon Ultimate road bike or Canyon Grail gravel bike. He wishes he was as good at riding as he is drinking espresso. But he has completed the 296km Dragon Devil sportive in under 10 hours and finished in the top 100 at the 2022 UK National Hill Climb Championships. Jack is an NCTJ-trained journalist and a former press agency hack with bylines in The Times, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror. He was once electrocuted for a Sun frontpage exclusive and taste-tested camel milk for The Times.

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