We scoured the Mavic booth at Sea Otter and found an unexpected tech shift. The brand has rethought its approach to spokes, jumping from outdated to forward-thinking.
(Photo: Josh Ross/Velo)
Published April 17, 2026 02:20PM
Welcome to Velo’s Sea Otter Classic coverage, where we share our favorite things we’ve found at the 2026 show. Bikes, components, accessories, and more: if we think it’s cool, you’ll see it. See the rest of our Sea Otter coverage.

Today at Sea Otter 2026, Mavic had an unreleased wheel tucked away in its booth. Printed on the side was Mavic Comete 50. The context here is that Mavic is looking to make a real comeback, and it looks like this could be a major part of the plan.

We have no official info at this moment, but what we can see is intriguing. It’s a new rim profile that features a clear bulge before diving back, shifting the apex slightly toward the tire-rim interface. It was mounted with a 28mm Vittoria Corsa Pro, and the rim-tire transition was incredibly smooth, suggesting the wheel was optimized for a 28mm or 30mm tire.

What initially gave the wheel away, though, was the spokes. Although Mavic has the Cosmic Ultimate wheelset with carbon spokes bonded to the rim and hub, other wheelsets in the lineup do not feature carbon spokes. This wheel was running carbon spokes with recessed nipples and no bonding to the hub. Every part of that spoke design is new compared to the existing Mavic lineup.

Although nothing is official yet, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Mavic website to see when info on this wheelset actually hits. It’s clearly coming soon.


