1999 Mavic Mektronic Catalog

So just the other day I found myself at dinner with former French pro Jacky Durand. The sole non-French speaker at the table, I spent a pretty ridiculous amount of time nodding and smiling when I really had no clue what was going on. In between stories I'm pretty sure were about Jacky's mom dropping her friends on rides on the farm and how the sound of a pig being slaughtered can carry for kilometers, I picked up an all-too-familiar story about Mavic Mektronic. Power lines in the distance, Jacky related, were a sure sign that he and anyone else in the peloton stuck riding Mektronic were about to be in for a sufferfest - the system, when encountering interference, would cause the derailleur to reset it self, dumping them in to the smallest cog in the back.

Apocryphal or not, hearing Durand (and watching him act out) the effects of this on his performance were very comical - the guy can tell a story. I never got to play with Mektronic when it was new, given what it cost. I've since acquired a couple of sets, but haven't been able to bring myself to use it - a combination of fragility, obsolescence, and stories involving my already poor climbing abilities suffering in the presence of overhead power lines have killed any curiosity I once had about what it was like to ride.

Should you find yourself in possession of a set, and feel motivated to give it a try, I hope these manual pages come in handy.

It's not all new-tech at Paris-Roubaix

Mavic 571/2 HG hubs laced to Paris-Roubaix SSC rims. These were loaded on to one of the Mavic neutral support vehicles following the peloton in today's (2012) Paris-Roubaix.

I wasn't able to check the date codes on the dust shields, but these wheels are probably 15+ years old. Not too shabby.

The Different Mavic CXP Rims

Do you know the differences between all the Mavic CXP rims? For me, its always felt like a bunch of quasi-aero rims with different characteristics were opaquely lumped together under the CXP designation. Very confusing. If you can keep them all straight, I'm impressed.

Hopefully, my confusion (and yours, should you have any) will end along with 2011. From Mavic's 1999 catalog, here are the CXP catalog pages for the family members that existed at the time, along with profile and extrusion shots for each of them. Let's start with the highest number and work our way down.


The CXP33. 19.4mm wide, 23.6mm high. Welded + machined. "Profiled" eyelets.

The CXP30. 19.4mm wide, 30.5mm high. Welded + machined. "Profiled" eyelets. This rim was available in a tubular AND clincher version.

The CXP23. 19.3mm wide, 23.6mm high. Welded + machined.

The CXP21. 20mm wide, 20mm high. Machined.

The CXP11. 20mm wide, 20mm high.
There are obviously CXP rims that came out after my catalog (and extrusion collection). I don't have extrusions for those, so for the time being, we'll all just have to consult the information available from the Mavic site. Good luck!

'90's Pro Mavic parts you've never seen - or at least never noticed

Photo by velo_denz on Flickr

The picture above comes from the 1992 Tour de France, which saw RMO's Pascal Lino spend 10 days in the Yellow Jersey before yielding to Miguel Indurain, who would go on to win his second Tour de France. Notice anything odd in a Mavic-y way?

The oddity on this bike are the front and rear derailleurs. While they look largely like the "normal" 840 rear and 860 front derailleurs, they exhibit a number of details that aren't normal. Most obvious is the lack of black anodization. The derailleurs on the RMO bike are silver - probably clear anodized. The rear derailleur also features a number of cutouts on both the front AND back of the pulley cages, likely to reduce the weight of a derailleur that was heavier than the comparable offerings from Shimano and Campagnolo at that time.

I mentioned the backside is cutout, right?

And before you go thinking the front is just a standard 810 derailleur, it's not - beside the fact they were no longer available by the late 80's, they also didn't have the Mavic logo etched in them.

These derailleurs came to me via Spain. I believe they were from an Once team bike belonging to pro Anselmo Fuerte. In the early 90's Once was sponsored by, and rode full groups from, Mavic. As far as I know, these derailleurs were never made available to the public. In 1992, Mavic was debuting the Zap system with select pro teams, and I suspect largely considered the 840/841 a product they would be able to phase out when the entire world went to their electric shifting system. That didn't happen, and the mechanical rear derailleurs continued to be available for several years, albeit in their original black anodized/cutout free form. These silver ones disappeared almost immediately from the pro ranks, as teams either switched to Zap, or switched to cobbled together drivetrains - witness Gan's Mavic/Campagnolo drivetrain from 1994.

I've known about these silver derailleurs for a few years now, but this is the first set I've seen. Anyone hiding additional sets in their spares box should feel free to contact me! :)

From the land of misfit Mavic toys...

As far as I know this doesn't really exist.

4 pawl 571 cassette rear hub. It's labeled as a 571, not 571/2. Someone's aftermarket modification? The machining quality is very high, so that seems unlikely. An experiment by Mavic at increasing the number of pawls? Beats me. Anyone seen one before?

More oddball Mavic stuff that doesn't exist coming shortly...

Mavic Technical Manual Update!

Came across a later version of the Mavic technical manual recently, so I figured I owed it to whatever readers I still have to publish the differences. This manual was from 1991 or later, and added 451 brakes, 501/531 hubs, and the 571/577 cassette hubs. You can find scans here. Enjoy!

Mid 90's Mavic Rim Finishes

These days, rims come in every color under the sun. That hasn't always been the case - at least, not in a non-bmx rim. In the mid 90's, Mavic started offering their rims in a pretty wide range of colors.

In order from top, left to right, Mavic called the colors Silver, Flash Brilliant, Titanium (or Titane), Red, Orange, Citron, Cosmic Blue, Steel Grey, Couche Dure (hard anodized) and Black.

OG indeed.

Who wants to see some rim extrusions?

Connie Paraskevin Young Merckx Pista

Someone presumably doing a little serial number research sent me these pics the other day, and I thought I'd share them with all of you. It's owner, Marc St. Martin, wrote me the following about it:

I recently purchased an Eddy Merckx pista and have confirmed with Eddy Merckx cycles (through Gitabike) that it was built in 1987 for Connie Paraskevin Young. I suspect it was used by her in the 1987 UCI Track Worlds in Austria. It was all white and equipped tout Mavic at that time. In 1988, Connie enlisted Keith Anderson (confirmed by Keith) to livery the bike as a Murray. It was then put into service late in 1988 for the Sundance Juice Sparkler series. It is serial #A 4694 A, Columbus SLX, 47cm.

Very cool! Enjoy the pics.

Thanks for sharing, Marc!

Ugh I'm still here....

So I can't PROVE it, but shortly after I started going through all of my old magazines, I came down with a SERIOUSLY brutal cold/eye infection/general disgustingness. Did I, sorta like Howard Carter opening Tutankhamen's Tomb, receive the curse of every mother whose son never threw out a magazine? Perhaps some long dormant mold spore poisoning? Don't know! But I'm just about healthy, and I'll get back to my magazine project. Thanks for being patient!

Winning - June 1991 - Issue 91

Today's reading...

Winning, June 1991. Issue 91.

Summary: Greg Lemond on climbing + descending. Davis Phinney on rites of passage. Chiapucci's Milan-San Remo Victory. 1991 Tour of Flanders/Hooydonck win. Ghent-Wevelgem sans Kemmelberg - Abdujaparov wins. Marc Madiot wins 1991 Paris-Roubaix. 1991 Fléche Wallonne - Moreno Argentin wins. 1991 Liége-Bastogne-Liége - Argentin wins. Colombia RCN Classic. Rishi Grewal Interview. What's in Store: Airwave by Profile (aero bars), Cook Bros. Cranks, Shimano PD-6402 Pedal, Cytomax Drink, Nike Cross-Terrain II shoe, Breezer Lightning MTB, Automaxi Click-On rack, Bell Scotchlite Helmet Covers

My new project - Winning, July 1991 - Issue 92

You may be shocked to learn that I have a pretty serious collection of magazines from the late 80's and early 90's. Its true. My name is Jeremy, and I'm a packrat.

The biggest problem with having a ton of magazines is knowing whats in them. There aren't really any online sources that'll tell you what's in the July 1991 issue of Winning, for instance. So to that end, I'm going to read a magazine a day (or at least, try to) on my travel to and from work, take a picture of the cover, and then post a quicky synopsis here. Then I'll know where to look to find pictures of a 17 year old George Hincapie if I ever need them, and you'll know what issue to bug me about if you want info on the Tour du Pont 1991.

Winning, July 1991. Issue 92

Summary: Greg Lemond on going for Number 4 TdF win. Davis Phinney on sprinting techniques. 1991 Tour of Spain/Vuelta a España. 1991 Tour du Pont. 1991 TdF Contenders. Johan Bruyneel profile. Frans Maassen wins Amstel Gold. ONCE profile. Jim Gentes on the Giro helmet and rider helmet strike. George Hincapie as a Junior profile. US to MTB World Cup. What's In Store: Ciclomaster CM 37, Titan Titanium Gel Saddle, Time Apres-Velo Socks, Blackburn MTN P90+ saddle bag, Trek 8700 Composite ATB, Scott Unishocks, Zefal Double Shot 100 Pump.

I pay attention to modern stuff too!

It's true! I like bikes and cycling of all ilk - even the racing going on in 2010. I've been contributing here and there to Pavé blog, where Whit Yost has been nice enough to let me play armchair directeur sportif on more modern topics than I normally cover here. My most recent post is on Garmin's Transitions, and what a merger with Cervélo might mean to them. Check it out!

Mavic Technical Diagrams Circa 1994/95 - ZMS 800 Era

As promised, and only a day late, the 1994/1995 ish Mavic technical diagrams 4-pager.. Covering the ZMS 800 rear derailleur, 501 and 571/2 hubsets, 610 bottom bracket, 305, 315, 316 and 317 bottom brackets, 860, 862, 870 and 872 front derailleurs, 840 and 841 rear derailleurs, 451 brakeset, 631/2 crankset, 821 shifters and the 357 aero bar extension kit. Enjoy!

Mavic Tech Manuals

I recently came upon a couple of different caches of Mavic literature. Original marketing or technical materials are invaluable resources. Unfortunately, a lot of people agree, and pay absolutely ridiculous prices for them on eBay. That's fine for the collector, but what about the guy who just wants to know how to work on their 851 derailleur?

Or 840/841 derailleur?

Or convert their 631 double crank in to a single? What about that guy?

Don't worry, 305, 315, 316, 317 headsets, 500, 510 and 550 RD hubs, 610 and 616 bottom brackets, 637 crank, 646 pedals, 820 and 821 shifters, 845 and 801 derailleurs, we remember you too.

Here's the 89/90ish technical manual. I'll post the later 1995ish technical diagram update tomorrow - that'll get the 571/2 hubs, 631/2 cranks, and a scad of other items in to the mix as well.

Now go forth and fix your Mavic stuff! If you promise to stop making up random numbers for Mavic components, I might even post more! And if you're sitting on resources that aren't already scanned, scan 'em. If you need help, let me know.