Mavic brought us the very first alloy bicycle rim in 1926. In the 1934 Tour de France cyclist Antonin Magne secretly entered the race on the newly developed duraluminum rim that was actually banned by then race rules. The rim had to be painted to resemble a wooden rim. Magne secured the much coveted Yellow Jersey on his svelte 750 gram duraluminum rims and history was made. Well, much has happened since those very early days of Mavic's foray into the world of lightweight rim technology. This year Mavic has brewed up a brand new shape with the new Open Pro. The old version was a stalwart training rim that was well liked for the better part of a decade. The newest iteration gives us a very cool new shape and some subtle changes in rim width and surface treatments.
The re-invisioned Mavic Open Pro with an option for the Exalith treatment.
From the photo you can see that Mavic has given us a very new look and one that has already generated a buzz even before the rims are commercially available. I anticipate seeing these new beauties around June or July. There are three different versions on offer. First off is the 420 gram tubeless compatible rim for regular rim brake callipers. Next is the much more expensive "Exalith" treated version coming in 24, 28, and 32 spoke hole counts. Lastly is the disc specific version that has a rear asymmetric spoke bed for an improved drive side/non drive side spoke tension balance. I applaud Mavic for adding this feature! The disc version is available in either 28 or 32 holes. The rim sports a 19mm internal width with a 23mm external width. Not as wide as some new rims, but wider than the old Open Pro. It appears to have regular eyelets and Mavic says it has a S.U.P welded joint.
I'll keep you posted as to when you might see these available for custom wheel builds. Can't wait!
