Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLE Review

Reviewer: Cycling Weekly

28-Jun-2012 | 1 Review

Rating:

£1,100.00 (at time of review)

Pros

Longevity

Cons

Brake squeal when new

See verdict and spec

In the world of competitive cycling, deep-section carbon wheels are ubiquitous. Road races, time trials and the front end of Continental sportives (even the hilliest) are dominated by hoops with a 50mm-plus profile and made from the black stuff

Mavic's Cosmic Carbones have been around for what seems like an eternity, albeit with updates. As well as the FTS freehub and improved bearings, these SLE variants come with Mavic's proprietary Exalith braking surface treatment.

A ridged surface is partnered with an anodising process that hardens the alloy and offers exceptional aesthetics and a claimed increase in lifespan and braking performance.

Once you have got over the outlandishly painful break-in period where the bikes sounds like its being attacked by a flock of macaws, the braking performance is predictable and a substantial improvement over a standard rim in torrential rain. Whether this is worth the £300 up-shift in price is for you to decide.

Braking aside, the wheels have lasted such a long time because they perform in a way that makes you smile every time you ride. If the Cosmics were your first deep-section wheels, they would be everything you would want.

Verdict

They carry speed well, make the requisite noises when accelerating and undoubtedly look the part. These days though, there are better performing wheels in an aerodynamic capacity.

Lab test results>>

Full specification

Weight

1,813.2g

Supplier

www.mavic.com

User reviews

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MICHAEL MARTIN

April 09 06:17

I've just bought a new set of these and can not give you a ride review but I did notice that your review had the weight listed at 1670.2 g while the Reynolds website has the weight at 1565 g. Here is the link to Reynolds - http://www.reynoldscycling.com/index.php?p_resource=items_wheels_item&p_itm_pk=673