Mavic

Cosmic Pro Carbon SL Disc Wheelset - Clincher

If you were to ask us what wheelset model in Mavic's line up we would pick as a great all-arounder, we'd quickly respond with the Cosmic Pros. The full carbon rim offers a great aero benefit on the flats without being so deep that it’s a handful on windy days. It also provides all the stiffness handy for bragging rights on the group sprints while maintaining a lightweight profile that doesn't trouble you on the climbs. The everyday clincher versatility means you can race and train on the same wheelset, and like all Mavic wheels, this one receives all of the well-researched and meticulously designed features distilled into its rims and hub design. So if you're looking to upgrade your wheels or need to select some rolling stock on that new build, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Cosmic Pro Carbon SL Disc Clincher Wheelset.

We can fondly remember the first time we took Cosmic wheels for a spin and were astonished by the amount of speed it added to the ride. It urged you to go just a little faster and had no trouble maintaining that speed. Suddenly, sitting in a draft got a whole lot easier and the prospect of having an ally in those wheels encouraged attacks and solo breaks. Since then, rim profiles have evolved and although that classic NACA profile was lightning fast at the right yaw angles, it was somewhat plagued in crosswinds, so we're excited to see the newer rim shape integrating under the Cosmic name. It's less sharp at the trailing edge than Mavic's retired models, featuring a dramatically blunted face that represents the most radical departure from a pure NACA airfoil shape from the French firm to date. This shape can better handle the side forces from crosswinds and is also more aerodynamic at a wider range of yaw angles.

Mavic claims that the Cosmic Pro Carbon SL's profile compares quite favorably against other 40-50mm wheels from its competitors and credits it with saving 2.3 watts across yaw angles up to 10 degrees. This means the aerodynamic properties don't disappear as soon as you take the wheels out of the wind tunnel and onto the actual roads.

With all the excitement about the new rims, it'd be easy to overlook the Cosmic Carbon SL's Instant Drive 360 hubs. The hubs represent yet another drastic departure from tradition, as the engagement mechanism replaces the usual pawl system with the dual-ratcheting rings formally found only in designer hubs on custom, hand-built wheels. The design involves two rings that press together laterally. One face of the rings' teeth is sloped, so they ramp off of each other while freewheeling. The other face isn't, so the rings engage with pedal input. The design cuts the engagement angle down to nine degrees, a number we might expect to see on a mountain bike hub and are pleasantly surprised to find on the road.

The Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL Disc Clincher Wheelset includes Mavic's signature Yksion Pro Clincher Tires in a 25mm width, with GripLink up front for increased cornering confidence and PowerLink in back for a smooth, fast rolling ride. Regardless of position, though, both tires receive a nylon breaker for flat protection.