Mavic is bringing back a classic with a limited edition of their iconic yellow DeeMax DH mountain bike wheels, now updated for a modern generation of gravity riders. Somehow it’s been a quarter of a century since the DeeMax’s debut racing DH and pioneering freeride, so they’re celebrating in flashy yellow in limited numbers.
Mavic DeeMax DH 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Yellow
Calling them an “Unbreakable Legend”, we remember some of downhills biggest names racing those unmistakable yellow wheels. And then soon after of seeing them hucked of the biggest cliffs in the early days of freeride. They are an undeniably iconic wheelset as mountain biking rapidly progressed to riding and racing much more technical terrain. And many of gravity mountain biking’s biggest names rode DeeMaxes.
We’re not entirely sure how Mavic does their 25th Anniversary DeeMax math, as the wheels technically debut on the DH World Cup in 1995 as a prototype tubeless alloy rim wrapped in an aero carbon shroud developed together with Michelin. Mavic says two seasons later though, Nicolas Vouilloz was winning World Cups and a World Championship already on the first yellow DeeMax wheels that then seared themselves into our brains. Still that’s 26 years ago. Maybe a little lull in the Mavic business in recent years justified holding out on giving us new yellow DeeMaxes. But now, we have them. And we’re kinda psyched.
So what’s actually new?
In development for years, the big changes are in the all-new DeeMax DH rim…
It’s still Maxtal S6000 alloy, welded, and still tubeless. Still UST-ready, in fact.
But pretty much everything else has changed.
In the basic numbers, the new 30mm internal width is the first change, up from 28mm in the last yellow iteration updated six years ago. That’s not any wider than we see even with some XC wheels these days, but it’s still a sweet spot to supporting the 2.5″ tires that dominate modern gravity racing (rated for 2-3″ tires).
But there is also a 2x wider well in the middle of the rim cavity to make tire installs easier.
What is really interesting in that profile is the return of hooks, which Mavic assures us is to improve impact protection and reduce sidewall pinch flats. The overall asymmetric rim profile is also now more triangular (rather than a semi-circle curve) to better handle high impact forces. Plus, thicker shoulders at the base of the rim sidewall to minimize local bending on impact.
Tech details
The new DeeMax DH wheels are built with 28 double-butted bladed j-bend spokes and steel nipples laced 3x front & rear for lightweight and durability. Hubs are oversized alloy with 6-bolt disc brake compatibility, with QRM sealed cartridge bearings
DeeMax wheels come in various iterations of DH, Boost & Super Boost spacing. Front wheels can be picked with 15x110mm & 20x110mm thru-axles. While rear wheels come in 12x148mm, 12x150mm & 12x157mm. Then pick from DH-specific 7-speed, Shimano HG, Shimano MicroSpline, or SRAM XD freehub bodies.
The rear hubs feature Instant Drive 360 ratchet internals with 40 teeth for fast 9° engagement.
Complete wheelset weight is claimed at 2020g for a mullet setup. Or up to 2080 for a 29er pair (990g front/1090g rear).
The new DeeMax DH wheels are unsurprisingly rated for ASTM Category 5 for all gravity riding/racing, with a max rider + bike system weight of 150kg/330lb.
Mavic DeeMax DH – Pricing, options & availability
Officially, these new Mavic DeeMax wheels are a limited edition 2024 product. But they are already available this autumn through regular Mavic retail channels worldwide. Mavic is vague about just how ‘limited’ they really are. So, act fast if you feel an uncontrollable urge to be rolling on yellow DeeMaxes.
The 2024 Mavic DeeMax DH 25th Anniversary Limited Edition wheels are available for sale as a wheelset for $755 / 700€. But they come in both 29″ & 27.5″ diameters (likely 27.5 is rear only) and many different hub spacings. So you can pick and choose front ($340) and rear ($415) wheels separately to fit your own downhill, freeride, or simply gravity-oriented mountain bike.
New all-black standard edition versions are also available for a few bucks less. And will actually save you about 10g in paint per wheel.
But you’ll miss out on all that style.
