Submitted by
rvaliant
a Cross Country Rider
from Kennewick, WA, USSA
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2011
Strengths: inexpensive, strong
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I change tires (700X38 Schwalbes) all the time on these rims with plastic levers! You have to be retarded or rich if you can't manage it. Rims are strong and stay round for commuter riding and I'm 250 plus I regularly ride with a load of about 25 lbs.
The wheelset that that came on my 300 dollar
bike was just too cheap to ignore so I went to
REI and picked up the cheapest wheelset they had
which is 100 times better than the no-name set
that came on my bike. they are round and true
after 350 miles of riding around the neighborhood
but I have lost the confidence I had that I could
change a flat tire on the side of the road, away
from home. Changing a tube on the side of the road
with plastic tire levers isn't going to happen with
Sun CR-18 rims. I had to take them to the local bike
to have the tires and tubes mounted after ruining
3 tubes in a row trying to mount them myself the first
time
Bike Setup: Raleigh comfort/hybrid mountain type bike
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jeff D
a Weekend Warrior
from Wisconsin
Date Reviewed: March 11, 2009
Strengths: Cheap, solid, wheels on the bike go round and round
Weaknesses: resemble a tank more than a gazell
Bottom Line:
Got these as a second wheel set with studded ice tires, for easy switching back and forth depending on snow, ice, etc. Got mine used. They're heavy, but they were cheap, and they've stayed round. I've only used wire bead tires with no problem. Get yourself a Kool Stop tire bead jack (about $13) and you can put ANY tire on ANY wheel easy. Good hefty tire levers help too. You get what you pay for and I'm happy.
Submitted by
talkingspoon
a Weekend Warrior
from kitchener, ontario
Date Reviewed: August 3, 2008
Strengths: cheap, light
Weaknesses: bend easy, not very strong
Bottom Line:
good rim for a beginner. DON'T use for dirt jumping. bad idea!!!! bend easy. ok for xc but light xc and small drops like 2' at most. i would not tell anyone to go out and buy this rim unless they were just starting out.
Submitted by
FireTomase
a Weekend Warrior
from Northeast US
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2008
Strengths: Stays true, brakes quietly, they come in simple polished aluminum color, cheap
Weaknesses: nothing
Bottom Line:
I have no idea where this wheel was built (came with my used bike) but it has never been trued and is perfect. I bet it has something to do with the symmetrical lacing but I have ridden on the rim with a flat tire, have recklessly pinch flatted on sharp curbs and have gone off lots of bb scraping rocks. This is my most abused rim and is also the only one I've never trued.
Strengths: Cheap, no pointless features like a welded joint. Did I mention they're cheap?
Weaknesses: Only single eyelets, although these can be an advantage if you use large flange hubs or weird spoking patterns, because they let the spoke nipple orient itself better.
Bottom Line:
Rims have no real strength - it's all in the wheel build. If the spokes are properly tight, the only thing you have to worry about (barring that storm drain that will catch and trash any wheel) is fatigue cracking round the spoke holes. These aren't Mavics, so they shouldn't. Forget 32 spokes on the rear; only 16 of them are really taking the weight. Go for 36 double-butted spokes, get them TIGHT and properly stress-relieved, and you can ride until the sidewalls wear through.
Similar Products Used: Sun Rhyno Lite, various Mavics, DT XR 4.1
Bike Setup: Road use only, 36 spokes rear.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
ERIC WARBURTON
a Weekend Warrior
from MIAMI
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2007
Strengths: INEXPENSIVE, DECENT STRENGTH TO WEIGHT RATIO (FOR THE PRICE).
Weaknesses: NEEDS TO BE STRONGER FOR REAR USE ON A HARDTAIL.
Bottom Line:
In my experience the CR-18 is fine for the front wheel and will take most any abuse. The rear however, not so strong. I destroyed the rear wheel in 2 months or so, while the front lasted me 6 years. I always thought of the cr-18 as an OEM part, comimg on mid level Mtn bikes. The 20 inch version have been standard equipment on many mid level BMX bikes for years, and is often the first part replaced, as they don't tend to hold up very well for this application (the rears, at least). I weigh about 170 pounds and ride mostly cross country type trails, but I do resort to some BMX type jumping and thrashing on occasion.
If you need a stronger wheel and don't mind the extra weight penalty (100 grams or so) I would go with a Rhyno Lite, or if you're extra abusive, a Rhyno lite XL (which I have been abusing for a year or so now with no problems). There are rims out there with better weight to strength ratios, but I'm comparing rims in the same price range. It's easy to get a cheap, light but not so stong wheel. However, a cheap light and strong wheel will cost alot. When bike building on a budget, I go back to my BMX roots and opt for cheap and light on the front, and cheap and strong but slightly heavy on the rear. Unless of couse you are a notorious front wheel tacoer(is that a word?), but I havn't met many of those.
Similar Products Used: SUN RHYNO LITE, SUN RHYNO LITE XL.
Bike Setup: 2000 TREK 6000 CONVERTED TO SINGLE SPEED, TRUVATIV HUSEFELT CRANK WITH ISIS BB AND 34 TOOTH BLACK SPIRE CHAIN RING, EASTON ALUMINUM RISER BARS, GENERIC 45 MM STEM, SURLY 1X1 RIGID FORKS, WOODMAN SS REAR HUB WITH 16T ODYSSEY BMX COG AND SUN RHYNO LITE XL, DEORE FRONT HUB WITH RHYNO LITE RIM, AVID BB7 FRONT DISC BRAKE, GENERIC LX TYPE REAR V BRAKES AND GENERIC LEVERS, GENERIC SEAT AND POST.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Keswick, Ont. Canada
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2007
Strengths: cheap, cheap, cheap.
Weaknesses: Garbage rim that needs contant attention to keep true. Spokes constantly break when hitting even moderate hits on the trail resulting in a rim that waves to the other riders behind you.
Bottom Line:
The OEM rims that came on the bike were alot stronger then these pieces of crap. I only bought them because they were cheap and I really needed a wheel at the time. I should have saved my money and invested in a better rim. i.e Sun Ryno Lite
Submitted by
JF Bérubé
a Cross Country Rider
from Welland, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2007
Strengths: Tough enough for xc if used with suspension, i.e. not to be used as rear wheel on hardtail.
Weaknesses: Not tough enough for hammering rough / rocky xc trails.
Rim diameter too big for tire; removing tire = NIGHTMARE even with the best tools and techniques. Not raceable for sure (punctured tire = might as well finish race on foot, you'll save time!)
Bottom Line:
Overall rating would be different if the rim would be better sized. Otherwise, it's just an OK rim. I will never buy sun rims again. (I also own sun rim rhino lite, same sizing problems but way tougher).
If cr18's come stock, consider investing right away in something different. After all, when it comes to performance, wheels are probably the most important component of your bike.
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Davis,CA,USA
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2006
Strengths: (Set up right,) holds true and durable.
Weaknesses: None encountered.
Bottom Line:
I don't even think about them, which is a good thing. I built them up myself with the reused 14ga spokes and XT hubs and keep them well tensioned (at ~100 or 23-25 on the Park tension meter) and acceptably true. I tour long and hard (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/daviscalf) and it would be great if all my other equipment served me as well. Have yet to break a spoke! (Get yourself a tension meter.)
Submitted by
Peter
a Racer
from Gainesville, Florida
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2005
Strengths: Great all around rim if you are not a idiot and know how to build wheels.
Weaknesses: A little tight when removing/installing tires.
Bottom Line:
I am 6'3" and weigh 195. I ride hard and in the Florida. Not much downhill but with all the hurricanes lately, the trails are filled with some serious log hopping obstacles. Seriously, pay no attention to the one chili posts.
These rims are very good. Build the wheel correctly, keep spoke tension reasonably tight, and they will serve you well. I am currenly buidling a 29er with Sun CR-18s, Chris King Hubs and lightweight spokes and allow nipples. I trust these rims implicitly!
Strengths: price! 75 bucks got me front and rear laced to LX hubs, very good combo, and they look nice
Weaknesses: they are a pain to get tires on and off...umm they left me with lots of money in my pocket?
Bottom Line:
these rims hold up fine, i dont know WHAT you guys are doing to your rims... im 200+ pounds and i ride some rough trails at times, these rims are still darn close to perfectly true. very good deal for the money, and they do seem to brake better than other rims ive used. all in all a good buy!
Similar Products Used: sun xj (i think), and cheap crap rims...
Bike Setup: mongoose a50r, all lx, panaracer fire xc pro, time atac, much more...
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steven
a Cross Country Rider
from Petaluma, CA
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2005
Strengths: Cheap. Strong. Reasonably light. Simple. Comes in both road and mountain sizes, both 36 and 32 hole. Comes in black (though I had to do some searching...).
Weaknesses: None, as far as I'm concerned.
Bottom Line:
I've been running these rims on my fixed/beater bike for over a year now. They were the first set of wheels I ever built, and I've put them through hell. Foul weather, light off-roading, etc. and they keep asking for more. They've only required a minor amount of touch-up truing here and there (more than I can say for a set of machine built wheels...). The only issue has been that the rear rim developed a slight inward dent near the seam (probably from when I was running narrow tires but still riding up/down/off curbs). It has no effect on the ride (since I don't need a rear brake) and the wheel stayed true nonetheless.
Just about a month or so ago I decided to go with these rims in black for my mountain rebuild when my Mavics wore out based on their great record on my fixie. So far they're also holding up fantastically.
Basically, if you need a cheap, no nonsense, do everything, NOT mavic rim, this is a good choice. I wouldn't recommend it for heavy freeriding or downhilling, but you probably could have figured that out on your own.
Similar Products Used: Mavic 238's (or something like that - OE on my '97 Diamondback), Mach 1 CFS (junk OE on my '04 Cannondale R400 that I rode across the US)
Bike Setup: I'm using these rims on both of my bikes: 1. Diamondback Zetec 4.1 w/ rigid fork and Surly Singleator. Big ring and middle ring on a LX crank up front, two cogs in the back, with about 4 links of removable chain (via two Powerlinks) so I can easily switch between a good high gear for pavement and a good medium gear for trails. On One Mungo moustache bars. Avid SD7 brakes. Original LX hubs (rear silent clutch) relaced by me to black CR18's with black Wheelsmith spokes. 2. Takara tourer from the 70s converted to a fixed commuter/beater bike. 700c CR18's laced 3x to a Suzue basic (R) and radially to a vintage Normandy (F) by me with DT's.
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