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New Mavic Open Pro Rims

by Alpine Scrumper
Sat, May 09, 2020 14:37
6

My second pair of Open Pros are coming to the end of their life and whilst they have proved to be a great wheelset when laced to my Hope hubs, I'd like to go tubeless with the next set of rims. This is on my steel commuter/audax/winter bike which runs 28mm tyres. I have a couple of questions and would appreciate input from anyone with experience of the following:

1 - Are the new UST Open Pros only compatible with Mavic tyres? I've heard that they have designed the wheel/tyre system to work in conjunction with each other and other tyres don't seal/seat properly as a result of Mavic's own standards.

2 - If this is the case are Mavic tyres any good now? I'd heard they were now basically re-badged Hutchinsons but the last pair I had (c.5 years ago) that came with a set of Ksyriums were "merde" especially in the wet.

3 - If one does have to use Mavic tyres with Mavic rims and said tyres are awful, does anyone have any recommendation of tubeless ready rims that I can use for similar money to the OPs? I did have a set of H Plus Son Archetype rims once, which looked smart but wore out after about a year which I thought was a poor return for the investment

Thanks!

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6 comments

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Joe Totale | 4 years ago
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I've put several different brands of tubeless tyres onto a set of Mavic Allroad UST wheels and never had an issue with fitting any of them. 

In fact, I'd say they're the easiest tubeless wheels I own when it comes to fitting tubeless tyres. 

However, the Mavic tubeless tyres are mant to be good so don't worry about having to change them until they're worn out.

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Chris Hayes | 4 years ago
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I have a set of Open Pro USTs:  if you want to run them tubeless, they are only compatible with Hutchinson / Mavic tyres.  I run Hutchinson Fusions.  They are great - but it is not like you have a lot of choice.  

I also have some Harry Rowland-built Kinlins, which are the rims that Hunt uses for some of its wheels - and they charge GPB 150 more than Harry! The rim is defintely more robust than the Mavic, which is quite thin (I actually bent one putting on a typre - incorrectly, I might add.  You need to seat the tyre centrally in the V to get it on and then you can do it by hand).  The Kinlin rear is asymetric, which means it is stiffer, but then you need an asymetric valve adapter to seal it for tubeless.  DT Swiss make them - but it is an extra hassle.   The advantage is that you can run any tyre. Mine are on Conti 5000s which somehow feels better than the Hutchinsons.  I'll try Vittoria next...though they have a tendency to cut up on UK roads....

I tried H plus Son and didn't like the coated brake surface on the black rims. It wears off quickly and looks a mess...but they do come in 36, if that is an issue. 

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Alpine Scrumper replied to Chris Hayes | 4 years ago
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Thanks for all of this, I have seen some praise for Hutchinson tyres so sounds like all may not be lost if Mavic is what I go for, though the Kinlins sound interesting. I'm running 32h so shouldn't be an issue hopefully. 

Agree re the black coating wearing off - shame as they looked so good when I first got them 

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Miller replied to Chris Hayes | 4 years ago
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No offence but I don't believe at all that open pro UST will only run hutch or Mavic tyres. There's what the manufacturer says and what you can actually do.

Same goes for tubeless valves in a kinlin asymmetric rim. I have a pair of wheels built with such rims and the valve is fine without any funny adapter.

But at a listed 430g I agree the open pro rim wall is not the strongest.

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Chris Hayes replied to Miller | 4 years ago
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Hi Miller - I tried to fit Contis to the Open Pros and couldn't get them to seal.  Faced with getting some new tyres I had the choice of putting Hutchinsons on, knowing that they would seal, or experimenting with another brand.  At £40 a tyre, I went safe.  

Since I bought my Open Pros, Mavic has brought out an Open Pro Exalith - which has a durable 'ceramic coated' braking surface. I've never had any problem stopping on these rims, even in the wet - but these are supposed to bring braking distances in the wet closer to dry braking distances...

Sounds like we should have a Zoom beer discussing the compatibility of tyres and rims and fitting techiques... I had a terrible day a few weekends ago trying to repair a cut Conti (first ride on them - Norfolk flint), which I then spent about 6 hours trying to reinflate...

 

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Stebbo replied to Chris Hayes | 4 years ago
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I also have Harry Rowland built Kinlin although I don't use tubeless. But they are beautifully built and Harry is a great guy to deal with. 

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