Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL Powertap
Mavic Cosmic Carbones were one of the original high-performance deep-section wheelsets to emerge from the famous French brand many moons ago. Now available in various weights and rim combinations, the latest SL version can also be purchased with a Powertap 2.4 wireless rear hub (£1,365 for rear wheel alone) fitted in the factory.
The usual Cosmic features are here: bladed spokes, aluminium braking surfaces and deep-section aero carbon rims, all built to the usual high Mavic standards. The Powertap 2.4 offers a real-time read-out of power output, speed, distance, heart rate and time, plus there’s an optional cadence sensor (sold separately). But the real beauty is that it’s entirely wireless, leaving just a small head unit on the bars with the rest in the rear hub: there’s no cabling to snag, and transfer between bikes is a cinch.
Once you’ve popped the wheel into the frame and clipped the head unit to the bars, it’s a simple matter of ‘pairing’ the two and you’re off, recording everything you need to know about your bike performance. Real-time data, averages and maximums are available for power, speed and heart rate while on the move, and post ride you can download the lot onto your computer for analysis using the software supplied.
During our tests the Powertap system worked without fault, and all the functions were nice and straightforward to use. The only downside is that the Cosmics aren’t what you’d call featherlight by any means, and you could get some seriously light race wheels for the same money. But, if you’re looking for an elegant solution for power measurement during racing and need a ‘go everywhere, do everything’ set-up, they’re definitely worth consideration.
Contact : Mavic www.mavic.com
Matt Baird
Editor of Cycling Plus magazine 
