[Tested] Mavic Crossmax Quest

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Mavic have been producing a range of tyres for the last few years that compliment their wheel line up. We thought though it would be good to take a set of their Crossmax Quest trail tyres in 27.5″ x 2.4″ and see how they performed on some neutral, non – Mavic wheels we were running. We rode them on a variety of terrain from wet roots to perfect hero dirt and a bit of rock, nothing too extreme, but in all types of weather conditions, including very wet mud. Find out how we got on below.

Up close the Quest is a fast rolling trail/all mountain tyre.

Specifications

– All condition tyre.
– Front and rear compatible.
– UST Tubeless Ready construction and a Guard+ casing, which is single ply with a soft protection layer to offer lighter weight, protection and grip.
– Crossmax Quest has a dual compound on its tread (X-mix, 55/50). This has a more durable and faster rolling centre tread as well as softer side knobs for unrivalled grip while cornering. 66 TPI casing.
– Sizes : 26×2.4, 27.5×2.4, 27.5×2.25, 29×2.35 and 29×2.25.
– Weight: ~780 grams.
– Price: €59,00

Mounted & ready to go on our test wheels from FSA.

Soft side knobs for extra cornering ability.

The tyre exhibits a fairly round profile.

Some of our hero dirt.  Packed and  fast, with the perfect amount of moisture.

At the recommended pressure of 2.0 bar, tyre deflection was minimal.

On The Trail

With their high volume 2.4″ casing, the Quest is a pretty large tyre. Almost at first glance mistaken as a plus size tyre by some when seen on the bike. The initial large size creates a few pre-conceived ideas in one’s head as surely a tyre like that is going to be heavy.  However, Mavic have worked hard to produce a lightweight tyre that although only single ply,their Guard+ casing ensures that the sidewalls are robust enough to withstand the rigours of tubeless trail use.

The knobs are fairly low profile and evenly spaced in the centre part of the tyre which leaves a very grippy cross section, but with the low profile a fast rolling tyre. When pushing corners and straight-lining, this led to a light and fast feeling from the tyre. The Quest rolls quickly uphill and down hill.

When we had the Quest mounted we developed a new love  for rear braking. The tyre hooks up well and with its low profile gave us excellent control when it came to drifting in corners and leaning the bike out, with no loss of speed. We could really feel the side knobs bite in when we transitioned from centre to side.   It provided a fairly defined & predictable feel to the ride which surprised us. We felt the volume was pretty big as when pushing the limits outwards the large casing absorbed our errors well, with no skittish feeling at a 2.0 bar pressure for our 85 kilo weight.

Wet conditions surprised us, with mud shredding ability being excellent, as the tread threw off mud build up well. Wet cornering on roots and leaves was very safe. We did not feel the wheel slip out in reduced traction moments during off camber, wet conditions.  It was a reassuring ride, especially considering the “trail” use specification that this tyre was designed for. Again the larger casing aided this all rounder feel that we felt we had.

The Quest works well with a wider rim, giving an ideal tyre profile that works exceptionally well for damp dirt. The wear characteristics of our set during testing was good.  Although we need more time on them to see how they fair long term, we can say a set will last pretty well if you go easy on the rear wheel braking. We found our tread remained in good condition during the two month test period.

The rear tyre loves to grip.

This seemed to be our preffered method of cornering on the Quest when we up-ticked the speed around corners.

Conclusion

The Quest is an interesting tyre that surprised us at how well it performed in the variety of trail conditions that we threw at it. There is no doubt that this is a trail tyre, extreme rocky conditions left us wishing for a more heavy duty, lugged pattern up front. We did not feel though that the Quest was lacking for normal trail use. We had fun and learned how to slide even better than we thought was possible in certain circumstances aided by a nice smooth transition to the side knobs of the tyre.

Comparing to our tyre use over the last year we would say that the Quest fitted 80 percent of our trail riding needs, which means it’s a great all round tyre that can be pedaled uphill pretty effortlessly and then thrown downwards with a bit of speed.

The large profile, which is deceptively light, meant we were able to pedal, play and ride fast on fun trails experiencing no punctures or air loss, it was hard to burp even when we dropped the pressure, due to the larger profile. We felt that Mavic have probably balanced well the rolling resistance, grip and weight equation for trail use. Our favourite conditions for this tyre were damp loose soil, the side knobs loved to bite and leave us hanging on as we ripped around the corners with a nice fast smooth exit as we carried our speed through. Pricing follows the market trend so if you like to roll fast the Quest should definitely be on your to buy list.

Ideal fast trail conditions for the Mavic Quest.

Mavic
Test center: Punta Ala