Juego de ruedas Mavic Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc

The Mavic Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc Wheelset is Mavic's top-tier road disc wheelset, built entirely in the company's carbon workshop in Annecy, France — the same facility where Mavic has been producing wheels for nearly a century. The Cosmic name has run through their lineup for decades, and the Cosmic Ultimate represents what that manufacturing depth currently produces at its highest level. At approximately 1,260g for the pair (575g front, 685g rear), the 45 Disc occupies the point where aero depth and weight meet without the compromises that come from going deeper or lighter in isolation.

R2R: Rim-to-Rim Carbon Construction

The Cosmic Ultimate's defining structural characteristic is R2R (rim-to-rim) technology. Rather than conventional spokes laced through hub flanges and tensioned with nipples, each carbon spoke runs continuously from one edge of the rim to the other, passing through the hub body as a single uninterrupted element. Twenty of these bonded spokes per wheel create a monobloc assembly in which rim, spokes, and hub form one integrated structure. The bonding process eliminates the mechanical interfaces that shift or loosen in traditional lacing, and removes tension variation across the spoke bed that comes from nipple-based systems. Each wheel is built by hand in Annecy from over 70 individual carbon components — a process that takes considerably longer than traditional wheel building and results in a structure with fixed geometry and consistent stiffness from rim edge to rim edge. The trade-off is that these wheels require Mavic factory service rather than trailside adjustment, which is a real constraint for training wheels but a reasonable one for race use.

45mm NACA Profile and UD² Finish

The 45mm rim uses a NACA-inspired cross-section — geometry derived from the airfoil profiles developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics for aircraft wing design. Applied to a rim, this shaping manages airflow across the profile at varying yaw angles, maintaining aerodynamic efficiency in conditions that are rarely perfectly headwind. The external surface carries the UD² finish: exposed unidirectional carbon fiber oriented for the surface layer specifically, giving the rim its visual character while preserving the stiffness properties of the underlying layup. At 23mm internal width, the rim is matched to tire widths of 28mm and above — the 28mm minimum is where the rim-to-tire transition delivers the aero benefit that the profile is engineered around. The rim is undrilled: no spoke holes in the rim bed means no rim tape is required. Mount a tubeless tire, add sealant, and the tire seals directly against the carbon surface. Mavic's UST standard, developed in-house, is the same airtight system that has been in the lineup since the late 1990s. Maximum tire pressure runs 51–80 psi depending on tire width.

Instant Drive 360 and QRM Auto Hubs

The carbon/aluminum hybrid hubs use Mavic's QRM Auto sealed bearings, which incorporate an internal preload mechanism that adjusts automatically as bearing surfaces wear — maintaining consistent rolling resistance without requiring periodic manual preload adjustment. The freehub uses Instant Drive 360 engagement, a system in which a large number of drive points are distributed around a full ring rather than spaced pawls. The increased contact points reduce the rotational distance between drive pickup and engagement, minimizing the gap between when power is applied and when the wheel drives forward. A large contactless rubber seal at the freehub body reduces friction between the cassette body and the hub shell. Thru-axle compatibility is 12×100mm front and 12×142mm rear, with Centerlock disc interface. This listing ships in HG11 (Shimano/SRAM 11-speed) freehub configuration; other freehub bodies are available separately for different drivetrain standards. Maximum system weight (rider and bike combined) is 120kg / 264 lbs.

At $5,989, the Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc sits at the top of the road disc wheel market. It's built for riders for whom the construction method — bonded carbon monobloc, UST without tape, French handbuilding — carries as much weight as the final specification sheet. The 45mm depth gives meaningful aero benefit at road race speeds while remaining manageable in most wind conditions, and the R2R structure delivers a ride quality that reflects what Mavic's Annecy facility does when given the latitude to build without compromise.