No, DonP, the difference is just in how the layups are done. The Mavic is a series of canted conical layups that overlap quite significantly -- each wall of the disk is almost 1/8" thick. The Araya is laid up with very narrow overlaps using radial cuts. That overlap is what you see. This is how the Araya is so much lighter but essentially just as stiff. Unfortunately, it's also rather fragile, at least in comparison to the Mavic, and you can't dent or ding it like a Zipp and not worry about the damage.