New Mavic Comete 50 &#8211; Now Lighter, Wider, &#038; Finally Feels Current

Again in April, we noticed what regarded like (completely is) a brand new set of Mavic wheels quietly sitting on an exquisite LOOK highway bike. The wheels in query had deep rims, carbon spokes, and (possibly extra importantly) a noticeably wider rim than what we’ve come to anticipate from Mavic over the previous few years. On the time, it felt like a touch that one thing had modified.

(Picture/Jordan Villella)

Now it’s official. The brand new Mavic Comete 50 is right here, and it’s fairly clear this isn’t only a routine replace. It’s extra like Mavic resetting their aero highway wheel. The French wheel powerhouse is pretty conservative when adopting new developments, however this new wheel is on a special tune. Hell, Mavic even has a 32″ carbon mountain bike race wheelset that is able to hit the cabinets. It’s a brand new fashionable Mavic. The brand new Comete 50 brings Mavis nearer to the place the remainder of the market has been heading, and possibly pushing issues a bit additional within the course of.

Mavic Comete 50 pair — (All Studio Photographs/Bergoend-Aymeric Lassak/Out of doors Perspective/Pierre Maullet/3SO)

Extra Than A 50mm Wheel

On paper, the Comete 50 lands proper the place you’d anticipate once we say “fashionable”. The brand new carbon all-arounder is 50mm deep, 23mm inner width, with a 30mm exterior rim width – fairly daring for Mavic.

However the way in which Mavic is hyping it up, the data suggests this isn’t meant to be a distinct segment aero choice. It’s alleged to be the wheel you allow on the bike on a regular basis, effectively, like 85% of the races. We’re seeing this “all-around-aero” wheel changing into a standard function, and it’s a welcome change.

Climbing, rolling terrain, quick group rides, racing, the Comete 50 is making an attempt to cowl all of it. Yeah, there are lighter units within the Mavic household (the Cosmic Final 45 is 1260g), however at 1315 grams for the pair, it’s gentle sufficient that you just’re not making an enormous compromise (about 55g) to get that aero profit.

That steadiness is de facto the story right here. Riders don’t need a storage filled with wheels. Properly, we do, however we’d additionally like a staff mechanic to service them and put them on for the day’s terrain… Again to actuality – one wheelset that does many of the work is an choice that may hold your setup easy. And ease means much less fuss and splitting hairs on tools decisions.

A System – Not Only a Rim

One of many extra fascinating shifts right here is how Mavic approached the wheel as an entire.

Mavic developed the Comete 50 as a system, or extra like an thought. That system contains: rim profile, carbon spokes, hub internals, and even tire pairing. The whole lot is designed to work collectively from the beginning.

Unreleased Mavic Comete 50 rim — (Picture/Jordan Villella)

The 23mm inner width is an enormous a part of that story. It lastly places Mavic consistent with fashionable tire developments (now not enjoying catch-up), with the wheel clearly optimized round 28mm rubber because the baseline. Wider tires sit higher, airflow is cleaner with most fashionable aeroframes, and also you’re not preventing the rim to get real-world velocity. I feel many of the fashionable highway world can agree – wider tires are fairly nice.

It sounds apparent now, however it’s one thing Mavic had been sluggish to totally decide to, till now.

Unreleased Mavic Comete 50 spokes — (Picture/Jordan Villella)

Carbon Spokes With a Very Mavic Method

The spokes are the obvious visible change. The spokes are full carbon, flat-profile, and formed to scale back each frontal and rotational drag. Mavic claims round 18% much less rotational drag than customary carbon-spoke designs.

Extra fascinating is how they’re used. Every wheel runs 21 spokes, break up between 14 crossed and seven radial. It’s a really deliberate structure. Mavic says this particular structure balances energy switch, rigidity stability, and aerodynamics, plus it seems fairly nice.

Unreleased Mavic Comete 50 head — (Picture/Jordan Villella)

As a result of that is Mavic we’re speaking about, there’s additionally a number of consideration on long-term reliability. The brand new “Locked-In Spoke Head” system is designed to stabilize spoke rigidity over time, one thing that issues extra with carbon spokes than most notice.

Aero Positive aspects

Mavic is placing numbers behind the aero claims, however they’re framing them in a method that feels a bit extra grounded. Mavic claims the brand new Comete 50 saves as much as 12 seconds over 50km in comparison with its earlier Cosmic SLR 45, and delivers measurable wattage financial savings as soon as crosswinds come into play.

As a result of wheel producers don’t solely check for straight-line velocity, they spend over 250 hours within the Geneva wind tunnel refining how the wheel behaves as soon as wind angles shift. That’s the place most riders really dwell, not in good headwinds, however in messy, real-world airflow. The result’s a wheel designed to stay steady and environment friendly when issues get unpredictable, which is arguably extra vital than pure tunnel numbers.

Adaptive Layup & Journey Really feel

Mavic can also be leaning into what they name “Adaptive Layup”, mixing totally different carbon fibers (T700, T1000, 3K) to tune stiffness, weight, and vibration.

That’s not distinctive by itself, however paired with the carbon spokes, it offers Mavic a bit extra management over how the wheel really feels on the highway.

Traditionally, Mavic wheels have leaned towards a barely smoother, extra forgiving experience. However with the Comete 50, it seems like they’re including further stiffness with an aero focus.

Hubs: Small Modifications

The hub updates don’t scream for consideration, however they’ll make for a greater experience total. The updates embody;

40-tooth ratchet system

Up to date spring for lowered drag

Ceramic bearings

Lighter hub shells (-22g rear / -5g entrance)

Individually, none of that’s groundbreaking. However collectively, it’s all about lowering friction and enhancing effectivity, particularly when you’re up to the mark. It’s very a lot a marginal features strategy, however one that matches the general course of the wheel.

Constructed For Driving Onerous

What good is a wheel if it solely lasts for a season? Mavic claims the brand new Comete 50 check 50% above UCI requirements for affect resistance and fatigue testing equal to roughly 700,000km of using. Advertising and marketing numbers apart, their intent is evident: the wheel is constructed to be used. It’s not a race-day-only wheel, not like the €4,399.00 Cosmic 45 Ultimates.