For those who have been embracing the tubeless tire revolution all along, they can rejoice all the more, now that Mavic has at long last brought tubeless technology to its Comete, Cosmic, Ksyrium and Open Pro range of wheels.
Indeed, Mavic unveiled its latest Road UST technology today, claiming that its new wheel and tire system not only extols the virtues of tubeless technology, but provides cyclists with a safer and easier to use design over the competition.
While manufactures have been touting the benefits of tubeless technology for several years now, it has continued to remain the topic of criticism among enthusiasts for its finicky, if not difficult, application.
Alas, given its lack of precise mounting and the messy use of sealants, many would be adherents have long shied away from going tubeless.
However, Mavic claims its Road UST system eliminates these woes, whereby all of its new tubeless wheel and tire systems can be set-up using a standard floor pump.
Mavic claims to accomplish this, thanks to their new rim and tire bead designs, which posses much tighter tolerances than the competition.
For example, Mavic says the internal diameters of their rims are manufactured to a spec of 621.95mm (+/-0.35), while the tire beads have equally precise tolerances of 619mm (+/-0.2), as compared to the European Tire and Rim Technical Organization’s (ETRTO) standards, which allow for rim variances of +/-0.5mm.
In addition to the tighter tolerances, Mavic’s Road UST wheelsets also feature 5.2mm sidewalls, along with a deep 4.5mm tire channel, making mounting much easier. Moreover, a slight .25mm ridge is used to separate the tire channel from the rim bed, ensuring that a flat tire can’t breakaway from the wheel.
Despite the latest trends to go wider with both wheels and tires, Mavic still believes that rim width should be appropriately matched with tire width.
Therefore, the internal widths for their wheelsets range from 17mm for the Kysrium Pro rim-brake rim, 19mm for the Ksyrium Pro disc, and 22mm for the Allroad Pro, which is designed for gravel tires.
In addition to the Road UST system’s design breakthroughs, Mavic claims there’s empirical data that suggests its tubeless technology out performs a traditional clincher wheel/tire set-up as well.
For example, Mavic claims its new system is 15% faster than a comparable clincher/tube set-up. Furthermore, by reducing air pressure by 15psi, their tubeless system is still 5% faster than its clincher/tube counterpart.
Lastly, Mavic also claims that the Road UST system is about 40g lighter than a traditional clincher/tube set-up as well.
Mavic says many of its new tubeless wheelsets will become available starting next month, while the rest will follow in the fall.
Mavic Road UST Pricing and Weight
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