Originally Posted by
KeatonR
Piecing together my next cyclocross/gravel bike and have been giving some thought to the wheels. I want tubeless ready, thru axle possible disc wheels that aren't too heavy. I was initially into the Ritchey WCS OCR Zeta wheels, which shipped with the Ritchey Swiss Cross disc bike, but it looks like they've been discontinued.
Then I came across the Mavic Allroad Pro wheels, and they seem to check all the boxes, plus they look pretty sweet. What does the UST designation end up meaning? That my tire choices are more limited? Or can you mount most tires on those rims?
Ideally I'd have two sets of these (road and offroad), but given the pricing I'd start with one and perhaps add a second used set later.
Originally Posted by
gus6464
UST = tubeless
Mavic UST comes now in 2 generations. Either way, the theory is that UST is tighter tolerance on both rim and tire--such that tires fit on easier but seal easier...so you don't really
"need" sealant. Yea, I finger quoted right there. But outside of the MTB world-UST1 never caught on (because reasons, best left for another time)...and UST2 is brand new, but unlikely to catch a following either. So to get UST tires for road/gravel you're basically limited to Mavic tires....and people sing fewer praises of Mavic tires than they sing of Mavic rims.
That being said....there are better rims with more easily sourced spare wheel parts than anything Mavic. UST aside, that is why I'd buy something "not-Mavic". Also, their new wider format rims (like the new Open Pro) have lower max spoke tensions, and lower max pressures. It all comes down to what your budget is. Lots of nice wheels out there, especially handbuilts.