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Home > Product Reviews > Rims > Mavic X517 Reviews

Mavic X517

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Mavic X517
More about Mavic

Average Rating: 4 out of 5
No. of Reviews: 22
RRP: £22

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Description: For 1.5" - 1.95" tires * maxi tire pressure between 6 bars/90 psi(1.5") and 4.5 bars/65 psi (1.95")

REVIEWS

1 to 10 of 22 reviews, to post a review you need to be a member - Join now.Page: 1 2 3

Yoghurt Pot

Posted: 09/02/01

'Why did they break when I needed them?'

Strengths:
Light. Reasonable price. Stayed quite true until the very end.

Weaknesses:
Sidewalls are too thin, hence prodcut life too short. With the cost of mail order wheels this accounts for a disposable attitude to hUbs, which is not eco-friendly.

Overall:
They didn't last as long as the bearings in my XT hubs! Bought X618's as replacements and have my fingers crossed they will last longer. Value rating takes the waste of all of those spokes and hubs into account.

Performance		60%
Reliability		40%
Value		40%

Overall Rating

47%

Robert Stone

Posted: 10/02/01

'Strong enough for light(er) riders'

Strengths:
Low weight while being strong enough for light(er) riders.

Weaknesses:
Strength is very dependant on build, get good hand built ones (or you'll be forever truing them).

Overall:
Low weight, long life or affordable? Pick any two... these choose low weight and affordability. They may not outlast your hubs but they are "race light" while being strong/durable enough for trail riding. Just let your LBS's wheel builder reuse your hubs to make a second/third(?) set.

Performance		60%
Reliability		60%
Value		60%

Overall Rating

60%

mark britchford

Posted: 15/02/01

'Sidewalls too thin but very light.'

Strengths:
These rims build into a strong light wheel suitable for racing and general xc trail riding. They are reasonably cheap and well made.

Weaknesses:
The side walls just don't last if you use rim brakes in grotty conditions. I've had my set for just under a year and i'm already contemplating changing them for something with thicker rim sidewalls.

Overall:
If you want a light, fast wheel set and you are prepared to change the rims fairly frequently then these will do fine. Yorkshire mud has a detrimental effect on most products, but these rims seem to have suffered worse than most. In the future i would go for something heavier and more durable, such as the F519's.

Performance		80%
Reliability		60%
Value		40%

Overall Rating

60%

Matt Bowley

Posted: 15/02/01

'nice light hoops'

Strengths:
Decent rims, no silly features or expensive finishes. Can survive being retrued and rebuilt. light but strong.

Weaknesses:
Not for heavier riders / prolonged DH use. Best when built up by a decent wheelbuilder.

Overall:
I have been running 517s / 217s for ages, i get about 12-18 months out of them , then replace with a new rim added by local wheel builders. Lightweight, but can take the knocks and dings can be bent out of them. Sidewalls wear away, but no quicker than comparable products ie rims with a more race/ lightweight slant. My current pair havnt required retruing yet and they have been on a year.

Performance		80%
Reliability		60%
Value		60%

Overall Rating

67%

jerry atkinson

Posted: 15/02/01

'Use for front disc only'

Strengths:
Light

Weaknesses:
There have been stories of the spokes pulling through. I have not seen that. What has happened to myself and friends is that the side walls , being so incredibly thin, wear through without giving any warning. Stranding you on moors and during Polaris miles from anywhere, with your weekend that you've prepared for in shreds.
I think that the moniker 'Not fit for the purpose sold' is hovering very close on this one. Not the first duff rim that Mavic have made, the 230 was a duffer too

Overall:
I've got one for my front hope disc and that's as far as I trust it. The quality of manufacture is fine, it's the design that is the cause of the problems

Performance		40%
Reliability		20%
Value		40%

Overall Rating

33%

Simon lingard

Posted: 17/03/01

'Brilliant XC hoops, even for abusers:'

Strengths:
Light weight and shiney. Great value

Weaknesses:
None as yet...oh yes: the sticker falls of if you go through bogs a lot.

Overall:
I wouldn't agree with any of the other reviews: I've be beasting mine for two years now with little signs of wearing on the brake surface and not the slightest wobble/dent. I weigh twelve stone and have been known to partake in the ol' DH biz. I don't know what all the fuss is about " dangerously light" etc

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

100%

Paul Smith

Posted: 23/05/01

'Not the strongest rims in the world'

Strengths:
Lightweight
Builds into a reasonably strong wheel - with the pull-through exception below
Easily available and pretty inexpensive

Weaknesses:
Single eyelet design- I've had spokes pull throught the last two 517 built wheels. Shame as they potentially build into strong, light wheels, but you just can't get enough tension without cracking the eyelets. My riding isn't subtle, and takes in rocky Peak District and Welsh trails regularly, but I'd expect a bit more life from a rim than the 6 months I got out of these.

Overall:
Alright for lightweight, smooth riders riding on smooth trails who want to sacrifice strength for weight. If you like hacking round trails like Coed Y Brenin and the Edale area you probably won't see much life from these rims (in my experience). I'd suggest building the X618 rims into strong wheels instead.

Performance		60%
Reliability		20%
Value		40%

Overall Rating

40%

paul trimble

Posted: 13/06/01

'fantastic'

Strengths:
good rim for the lighter rider.

Weaknesses:
bit flexy

Overall:
get thses rims built up by a good whhel builder and they last a life time, i got one of the first sets in the uk and still use them , the braking surface is starting to go but i have done thousands of miles, jumping and dh all on my hardtail and i have never needed to have them re trued, i often ride at aston hill which as anyone who has been there is a brutal dh and the rims survivor well.

Performance		80%
Reliability		100%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

93%

Stephen James

Posted: 22/06/01

'I don't know why everyones having these problems!!'

Strengths:
2 years hard use, hardly flinched, lightweight, easy to build

Weaknesses:
the black paint can stain slightly.

Overall:
I bought the rims at Bike 2000 and built them myself. I know how to build as I am the local bike shops wheel builder. they built up nice and tight, no flex in the back wheel. they have been through a season of XC racing and a season of CYCLO-CROSS!! and still going strong. I love 'em. they have even stood up to trials (my friend decided he was going to backhop his way up and down steps) and the odd downhill (on a full rigid bike).

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

100%

Slow Joe

Posted: 02/07/01

'Perfect then bang.'

Strengths:
Weight. Is there a significantly lighter rim available on the open market?

Strength. Yes I'm light - 10.5 stone, but I've done some fairly big (3-4ft) droppoffs, hit roots and rocks at high speed with tyres that were rather too soft, and (yesterday) had blow-outs doing 35mph down tracks littered with large flints. None of the above have resulted in a buckeled wheel.

Price - at £20 a peice, is replacing them after 12-18 months really such a big deal?

Weaknesses:
They do, quite undeniably, wear out quicker than, say, 618s. They have thinner sidewalls so its enevitalbe. But then 618s are 60g heavier and £8 more expensive. Thats around 40% increase in price.

Overall:
Over the last year and a half I've had 4 517 rims and I've been perfectly happy with them.

Performance is everything I could ask for and durability is really not too bad given the low price.

In terms of VFM, again quite acceptable. The fact that they are cheep is ballanced by the fairly short lifespan.