# Mavic Open Pro vs. Mavic Reflex



## JaeP (Mar 12, 2002)

What is the difference between a Mavic Open Pro and a Mavic Reflex clincher rim? I always thought that the Reflex were a tubular version of the Open Pro. Anyway, I just bought a pair on eBay and the guy absolutely says they are clinchers.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

15-18 years ago, Mavic came out with a rim called Open 4CD. It was the same as the Open Pro's except that it didn't have machined sidewalls and wasn't welded. A few years later they started to machine the sidewalls and weld the joint. They called this rim "Reflex". At the time, they still sold the GL330's and GP4's, so there wasn't any "Reflex" sew up version. After another year ot two, they changed the name of the clincher rim to "Open Pro", and came out with a sew up version called "Reflex", when they stopped making the GL330's.


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> 15-18 years ago, Mavic came out with a rim called Open 4CD. It was the same as the Open Pro's except that it didn't have machined sidewalls and wasn't welded. A few years later they started to machine the sidewalls and weld the joint. They called this rim "Reflex". At the time, they still sold the GL330's and GP4's, so there wasn't any "Reflex" sew up version. After another year ot two, they changed the name of the clincher rim to "Open Pro", and came out with a sew up version called "Reflex", when they stopped making the GL330's.


Actually, the Reflex clincher and Reflex tubular came out at the same time. As you say, the Reflex clincher replaced the Open 4/Open 4CD, but had a welded seam and machined sidewalls. However, Mavic tried to make the Reflex clincher the same weight as the Open 4 it replaced, but unfortunately both welding and machining operations weaken the sidewalls, so they tried to compensate by moving material from the spoke bed to the sidewalls. Unfortunately, this resulted in frequent cracking of the spoke bed. To solve this problem, Mavic introduced the Open Pro, which had a stronger spoke bed, but was heavier than both the Reflex clincher and the Open 4.

The Open Pro is now as strong and reliable as the Open 4 was - only the Open Pro is heavier and costs twice as much. That's progress?


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

JaeP said:


> What is the difference between a Mavic Open Pro and a Mavic Reflex clincher rim? I always thought that the Reflex were a tubular version of the Open Pro. Anyway, I just bought a pair on eBay and the guy absolutely says they are clinchers.


To put your fears at rest, I have a pair of former Subaru-Montgomery team wheels built with Reflex Ceramic rims. Still going strong after all these years. (in fact, they're my daily training wheels)

I'm not planning on replacing them till something breaks.

M


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## JaeP (Mar 12, 2002)

*Thanx all*

Thanx for the info. I plan on building the REFLEX rims on some sweet Nuke Proof hubs. I hope they build up as nice and easy as the Open Pro/4 CD's.


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

JaeP said:


> Thanx for the info. I plan on building the REFLEX rims on some sweet Nuke Proof hubs. I hope they build up as nice and easy as the Open Pro/4 CD's.


They should. I remember hearing something about carbon Nuke Proof hubs that wasn't good... I'd stay away from them. I have some AL centered Nuke Proofs on my mtb that are nice hubs tho.

M


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## JaeP (Mar 12, 2002)

*Puke Nroof Hubs*

Yeah, I posted something about Nuke Proof hubs a while back on RBR and the response was the eariler models had delaminating problems. The later models seemed to be okay. I can't tell which model I have (early/late/road/mtn) but the rear hub is spaced at 130mm so I'm assuming they are the later models (I hope).


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## Gunther (Jul 28, 2004)

FWIW, I have a set of Mavic Reflex clinchers. They are 32hole, hard anodized with machined sidewalls. They were laced onto Phil Wood hubs in 1996 and have been ABSOLUTELY trouble free since then. No cracks around the spoke holes, no problems on the braking surface (pad selection helps). I think one of the labels came off after a particularly wet ride, but otherwise they look almost as good as when I bought them.

GtB


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