Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

TECH NEWS

Mavic discovers Mavic-branded fake wheels, buys some, concludes they "will lead to serious injury or death"

Mavic says its investigation, prompted by a cyclist crashing on a set of the fakes, shown a 100% failure rate for the wheels after buying some itself from Asia

Mavic has warned customers against buying fake versions of its products from unregulated sources after its own testing showed serious safety flaws, concluding that “these counterfeit wheels are dangerous and will lead to serious injury or death.”

> Buy a fake, risk death, support slavery – says bike industry

In a press release, Mavic said this: “A road cyclist almost crashed from his bike descending a small hill and reported the incident to his bike shop with Mavic in reference in 2020. Thanks to this customer feedback to our salesman in the North part of France, we discovered an important source of counterfeit Mavic products from Asia, and activated more investigation and legal action.”

From this we can't be sure that the unfortunate cyclist knew if his wheels were fake or not, but we can surmise that the bike shop he went to told him that it was the wheels that failed. When it was reported to Mavic, the brand realised something was amiss and uncovered that the wheels were from a wider batch of fakes from Asia. Mavic's genuine high-end wheels are still made in France, but it also has facilities in Romania and Asia for mass production. 

After this discovery, Mavic then purchased a set of the wheels and subjected them to the same tests that its genuine wheels must pass prior to general sale.

> Mavic saved from receivership 

The first test is described by Mavic as a “basic ISO test of braking efficiency (ISO 4210 norm).” This, Mavic says, is not meant to be a destructive test, but simply to run the braking surface in. The test applies ten braking actions to the rim at a speed of 35km/h and a system weight (rider plus bike) of 130kg. A force of 20daN is applied on the brakes.

Mavic Counterfeit Wheels -4

The result of the first test, Mavic says, was that the rim was destroyed.

Mavic Counterfeit Wheels -3

Test two involved applying 50 braking cycles to the rim, which Mavic says aims to “evaluate the effect of a real braking power test.” Details of the load and braking force were not made clear to us, but the rim was once again destroyed.

Mavic Counterfeit Wheels -2

A third and final “lateral endurance” test was used to measure the fatigue resistance of the spokes and hub flanges. These parts, Mavic claims, should withstand 200km and 300km respectively within the test. Mavic says that the spokes failed “after only 50% of the target distance” while the hub managed 90% of the distance.

Mavic Counterfeit Wheels -1

In conclusion, Mavic said that the wheels are “failing the very basic validation tests that would ensure some safety and reliability to the owner.”

While the visual differences between a genuine and a fake product may be apparent to some, Mavic says that customers should look for telltale signs of a counterfeit when purchasing. Signs in the design of the wheels can include poor quality stickers, a lack of the Mavic logo on the hubs and the use of the wrong Mavic logo.

Structural signs can include the use of J-bend spokes, an incorrect spoke count and differences in the rim height and width when compared to a genuine wheelset.

Mavic isn’t the first to launch legal action over counterfeit products. FSA has done so in the past and like Mavic, FSA said that safety concerns were at the heart of its efforts to stop counterfeits of its products being produced. 

Fancy some proper Mavic wheels? Be sure to check out our bumper guide to the 2021 range here.  

Add new comment

19 comments

Avatar
velochris | 3 years ago
1 like

Tomorrow's headline:

Canyon buys Canyon frames and bars (after waiting months and numerous delays), concludes they "will lead to serious injury or death"

Avatar
MrMoo | 3 years ago
3 likes

Surely Mavic spotted they were fakes as soon as they were able to easily fit a tyre onto the rim?

Avatar
ktache replied to MrMoo | 3 years ago
3 likes

Or that replacement parts were readily available?

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 3 years ago
1 like

Half the wheel related discussions on here are between those of us that would only buy from recognised brands (cough, cough) and those who don't mind buying a set from a factory in China.... 

You can take a risk on some things, but wheels?

Avatar
Karbon Kev | 3 years ago
1 like

Mavic, and indeed all wheel companies, have to be extra vigilant anout this. This could be the start of something on a much larger scale.

Avatar
brooksby replied to Karbon Kev | 3 years ago
0 likes
Avatar
EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
3 likes

This is so much bs it's painful!!!
 

Ever since I've been into cycling the internet has been perfectly clear on this matter - a continent sized country of 1.3 billion people has a single factory to deal with all cycling related goods and it's all the same but with a different sticker.

Everyone who disagrees is a mug!!!

Avatar
Rapha Nadal replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
2 likes

Same!  One factory to rule them all! 

Avatar
Smartstu replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
1 like

"Ever since I've been into cycling the internet" are you Tron on a bicycle?! 😉

Avatar
Dhill replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
0 likes

I am a mug then which explains a lot so thank you, I feel much better knowing that. I will let Bontrager/Trek, He’d and FF know I am on to them. Perhaps not Planet X, I’ll put the made in China sticker back on those.

Avatar
espressodan | 3 years ago
7 likes

Honestly, it's pretty easy to spot fakes.

If you're buying branded wheels mail order direct from China from a site that also sells gadgets, clothes and electronics, they're fake.

Avatar
Steve K | 3 years ago
0 likes

I wonder if Mavic would have released this story if the fake wheels had turned out to be good wheels 🤣

Avatar
CXR94Di2 replied to Steve K | 3 years ago
4 likes

Obviously they failed Mavics rim brake test. They were disc brake rims 😄

Avatar
Dhill replied to CXR94Di2 | 3 years ago
0 likes

No they are not disc break rims, you’re wrong you mug.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Dhill | 3 years ago
4 likes

Dhill wrote:

No they are not disc break rims, you’re wrong you mug.

Whooooosh

Avatar
Dhill replied to hawkinspeter | 3 years ago
1 like

👍🏻

Avatar
mdavidford replied to Dhill | 3 years ago
0 likes

They are rims that would break, though.

Avatar
CXR94Di2 replied to Dhill | 3 years ago
0 likes

Jocularity

🤭

Avatar
Dhill replied to Steve K | 3 years ago
0 likes

No. As the person whom purchased them would not have had any reason to return them. 

Latest Comments