Bespoke Blog

They're strong wheels and can take a hammering. Mavic's own 40mm tyre is good on a range of trail conditions. Tubeless setup is faultless, they are actually supplied tubeless, and the hubs are endlessly adaptable for different bikes. They also look great on the bike, the chunky aluminium spokes ensure a purposeful stance.

For the past few years, Mavic has been focusing on selling wheels and tyres as a system. We've not always been fans of their road tyres, but I've been impressed with these new Yksion Allroad XL 40mm tyres.

The tightly packed tread pattern sees them rolling fast on the road and hardpack trails, they are blistering quick in the dry with little noise or detectable drag. In really gloopy conditions they can get out of their depth, but for dry gravel and road use, they are very good.

Tubeless tyres aren't impenetrable, but the only incident I've had reaffirmed the absolute necessity of tubeless for off-road riding.

On a very flinty gravel track, the rear tyre was sliced open, sealant spewing out. My spirits sank. I thought there was no way it would seal, I'd have to get messy fitting an inner tube. But almost miraculously, with a little encouragement (holding the hole closed and spinning the tyre) the tyre eventually sealed. And with the lost air replaced, I was able to continue my ride, another 50km of gravel, uninterrupted.

UST is Mavic's own tubeless standard, first introduced on mountain bikes many years ago, and it's now bringing it to the road and gravel market. By producing the rims and tyres it has complete control over the tolerances, and the result is super easy tubeless tyre installation. You can inflate these with a hand pump, no compressor or CO2 needed!

The 22mm internal width rims work well with the wider tyres. The extra rim width provides a broad platform for the tyre, boosting stability at lower tyre pressures and preventing squirm through corners.

The oversized Zircal spokes with 24 laced per wheel mean these wheels are stiff! They inject extra energy and zip into the bike, they hold their line and so far the wheels haven't budged out of true at all.

On the scales, they weigh 1,660g (without tyres) for the set. That's not feathery light, but it's a decent weight for a wheel designed to be tough to stand up to aggressive and punishing riding. You definitely don't want a product failure on a long distance off-road adventure, so weight shouldn't be the sole focus. But we do like light wheels!

I like that the wheels are easily adaptable to suit different bike configurations. Different axle standards are catered for, I used them with 100x12mm and 142x12mm front and rear thru-axles. The rotors attach via Shimano's centre lock standard which cuts down on build time compared to 6-bolt systems. This is a Shimano/SRAM compatible freehub but you could spec an SRAM XD or Campagnolo freehub.

The wheels have stood up to some tough love. Battering along my local gravel tracks, pinning down rooty singletrack, soaking up potholes on the road, they really have shone through with impressive durability.

I've been impressed with the tyres too. Robust as my close encounter with a puncture proved, they are also grippy in a range of conditions at lower pressures (I'm talking 30psi) and fast rolling at higher pressures for road duties.

As a system, Mavic has really got all the details right, and it's a solid option in a category that isn't yet flooded with choice. Aluminium rims provide a good balance of weight, strength and price for a wheelset designed to be ridden in demanding and challenging conditions and terrains.

Like the sound of these wheels? You can them from our online shop right here with free UK delivery.

But what if you want an aerodynamic gravel wheelset? Then you need to take a closer look at Enve's new G Series carbon gravel wheels.