Submitted by
David Nicolalde
a Weekend Warrior
from Panama city florida
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2011
Strengths: Everything
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
I weigh 345 lbs had the stock rims and every week had to get them re trued. After the third time the bike shop said I needed better rims because the stock rims suck. Got these and LOVE them slightly heavier but hell I am 340 so I really don't give a crap. Riding the trails I ride there are tons of big roots sticking up everywhere and these rims haven't moved one bit. Love these rims would recommend to anyone heavy or going to put their rims through hell. Also very reasonably priced compared to others.
Submitted by
quietpisces
a Racer
from Dallas, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2009
Strengths: Hands-down the strongest rim I have ever ridden.
Weaknesses: A little heavy, but worth the weight because they're indestructible. Destroy rim brake pads quickly.
Bottom Line:
I have ridden these wheels on nearly every bike I've had that needed to be able to take abuse. Yes, I even ride them on my cross-country rig because I would rather feel absolutely confident on the trail that my wheel will never fail than save a little bit of rolling weight.
I weigh 150 and have taken 20-30 ft drops on these and they've not only survived, they've excelled--didn't even need to be trued afterward.
I'd give them 10 chilis each for value and overall if I could.
(I have seen one break, though: I screwed up big time on a massive drop. In that fall, I broke my Marzocchi Monster T fork, ovaled my head tube, snapped the rear linkage on my Rocky Mountain RM7FR. ANY wheel would have broken under that circumstance.)
One less-than-positive note, though. I rode them on a DJ bike with Magura hydraulic rim brakes for a while, and while the brakes worked well, that anodized finish tore through the incredibly expensive pads like a rotweiller chewing on a newspaper. Would definitely recommend disc brakes w/ these, or at least rim brakes with cheap replacement pads.
Similar Products Used: Sun BFR (BMX version of same rim), DT Swiss, Atomlab, Araya, WTB, bontrager
Bike Setup: Wheel is Sun Mammoth front/rear, DT Swiss spokes, Hadley Ti SS 10 mm thru-axle (converted to run 5 cogs) rear and 20mm thru-axle front; Current bike: Rocky Mountain Vertex w/ Manitou Minute MRD Absolute, XT drive train, WTB Wolverine Race tires... Previous bikes used w/ these rims: Rocky Mountain RM7FR, Evil Imperial, Gack Trail Mod
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Submitted by
Sean Canterbury
a Downhiller
from Tucson, Arizona
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2009
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: Terrible rim. Was tru and one day almost completely tacoed the whole rear rim. Do not recomend. Too heavy too. Just save your pennies and go with dt swiss or something better.
Bike Setup: I have an anthem 2 with fox and rock shox suspension, and I have shimano parts.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
tom g
a Downhiller
from Providence, RI USA
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2008
Strengths: Cheap, Super strong, good looking.
Weaknesses: welded seam would make them a bit better for rim brakes, but they are pretty smooth braking compared to most pinned seam rims i have used. It looks like sun has discontinued them :(.
Bottom Line:
The previous reviewer carlos n. was INCORRECT in his post that these are only for disc brakes. I don't no why his LBS told him that. You can check with Sun-Ringle directly on this. These were on the market before discs bacame the popular brake of choice, and the BMX BFR (same rim without the plastic center strip) were disigned for use with rim brakes. I only wish they made the 26" version in chrome like the BMX ones for good braking (at least for urban/dry conditions chrome sucks for wet riding), But the BMX ones also come in silver and black (both anodized) also so those finishes are fine and work pretty well with rim brakes too. Just make sure you are using a soft compound brake pad. Harder pads are for machined or cermaic rims and won't work as well. Machined wall rims do brake better, but The concave sidewall design of the BFR/Mammoth prevents these from having machined sidewalls, but this design adds to the strength. It's a bit of a trade off, but to be honest, with the correct pads (eagle claw, or cool stop red pads work the best). I have had no problems stopping with these. If you want to carefully grind the sidewalls (just to remove the annodizing) they should brake a bit better. But be careful not to grind too deep and weaken the rim. Get these while you can. It looks like Sun-Ringle has discontinued these for 2008. There are alot of shops and mail orders with good stock of these, probably will be on close-out soon (nashbar already has some 26 hole for $15 each). Disc brakes have taken over, and all of Sun-Ringle's new 2008 DH/FR rims are disc specific now. I hope they keep the Rhynolite XL (my favorite all-around XC/City/SS rim) though.
Strengths: bombproof, look cool, say 'BIG FAT MAMMOTH' on them, bit of plastic keeps mud and water away from the 'H' shaped rim, cheap.
Weaknesses: weight- but i don't really care
Bottom Line:
these are great rims for dh. yers there a little heavy- but for how strong they are that doesn't matter. they are very cheap and reliable. i have not had any problems yet- and i am pretty heavy and i am still learning so i land some drops VERY badly, and theyre still holdin up!!.
Submitted by
old yeller
a Weekend Warrior
from Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2007
Strengths: strength cost
Weaknesses: weight
Bottom Line:
Swapped out the KHS stock rims for the Mammoths pre-mounted with Shimano DeOre hubs, DT spokes & Kenda Nevegal 2.3 tires. Had to replace the stock Tektro LP brakes with longer arm RPB's because the cable wouldn't clear the knobs - this is a big rim. So far, running fine with stock rim brake pads. They seem pretty light to me with the Nevegals and I probably won't ever be able to test out their strength since my old knees won't allow me to re-live my childhood & really beat these up. Got them for reliability, no-hassle, minimal truing & cheap price reasons. Recommened by an old-newbee.
Submitted by
Carlos N
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2007
Strengths: Strength
Weaknesses: Weight
Bottom Line:
I just wanted to note to everyone using Rim Brakes on these rims. The reason you're having to grind them before mounting your brakes, and your pads are chewing through, and the black rim has an anodized surface, is because these rims are Disc Specific. I know they don't look it, but there wide, flared design is strictly for added strength. I know this, because I've asked around. Plus, I bought them at the local bike shop (where I've been going to for years). They made clear, to me, not to use rim brakes on them. They're Disc Specific!
When you buy parts for your bike, don't just assume... find out for sure. Remember, that bike is the only thing keeping your ass alive, on your ride.
Submitted by
austin otto
a Downhiller
from eagle river alaka
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2006
Strengths: this damn thing is DAMN strong
Weaknesses: a little heavy, but who cares!
Bottom Line:
i had the dudes at my bike shop lace this booger extra tight and i have been trying to learn 360s for about a week, casing off dirt jumps and my bike landing sideways and crap like that, and doing a crap load of stuff i wouldnt have ever done on my last rim! it is still as straight as the day i got it, and i have abused this thing soo bad, so if you want a really cheap, really strongass rim, buy this thing, and after about 5 minutes you dont even notice the extra hundred grams, i mean really! having 1 or 2 hundred extra grams is way better than getting a rim trued all the time, and wasting bikin hours.
Strengths: cheap very strong rim, used on rear wheel on a hardtail and still very true. can mount a fairly wide tire
Weaknesses: a bit heavy. the spokes often come loose, but im not sure if thats the rims fault. i probably just need threadlock.
Bottom Line:
i would definitly recomend this rim for people who want a good strong rim and are on a budget. once for some reason i lost control of the bike while manualing very fast and the rear wheel smacked in to a 8 inch tall cement block with a square edge at about 50 km/h. the fact that the rim dosent have even a slight flat spot truly shows the strength and quality of the rim buy this and you will not be dissapointed
Similar Products Used: alex supra n(very week) sun double track(tank)
Bike Setup: i had a devinci hucker but this year a preston fr. pike,husselfelts, deore xt ect- basic freeride build
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Submitted by
Matt
a Downhiller
from Ocala, Fl, USA
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2005
Strengths: Super stong, Cheap
Weaknesses: A little heavy
Bottom Line:
This is a very strong wheelset. I pretzeled and split the seam of the stock WTB wheelset in about 2 weeks, but I have been using the mammoths for dirt jumping and freeride for about 6 months and I havent had to tru it yet.
this is an update from below: ive had this rim as my rear rim for about a year now. was strong as hell. i once cased it off a jump onto a sharp concrete block, right on the corner and the walls didnt even fold - just a tiny dent (and im heavy - 95kgs). plus the spokes and nipples were all rotten - i was snapping one of them at least weekly. yesterday however, off a 6ft north shore drop my rims sadly died. 5 spokes snapped and the thing is bent like a snake now. however i am still very impressed with this rim. it took a hell of a beating over one year, with minimal maintenance - i personally trued it quickly two or three times over the year (not including inserting new spokes or nipples :)). id buy one again but im gonna try something a bit lighter to see how it goes. definitely recommended.
Similar Products Used: D521s, alex rims, rhyno lite xls, ditch witchs etc
Bike Setup: montari, pikes, hussefelts, avid bb7s, e13
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Submitted by
Seb Wier
a Weekend Warrior
from MNinneapolis MN
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2005
Strengths: Likely the strongest rim for rim brake users, inexpensive
Weaknesses: not disc specific, maybe heavier than they need to be
Bottom Line:
These days almost anybody running such a heavy rim has disc brakes, but my bike won't run them on the rear- its that old. Magura HS33's grab HARD on this rim and never seem to fade, so who needs discs? Its a good design, but old and thus maybe not as good as some newer disc specific models. The "plastic thing" keeps mud and dirt from accumulating inside the H shaped cross section. They need to be laced with HIGH tension, because they are really stiff. Mine wouldn't stay tru until I maxed out the tension- my spoke wrench was bending, and the gauge indicates 130+ kgs on the drive side.
Bottom line? If you need a burly rim and are on a tight budget or need rim brakes, they are the way to go. Just make sure the builder knows thier job- half tight spokes won't cut it with these rims.
Submitted by
sam
a Weekend Warrior
from perth, australia
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2004
Strengths: stiff. strong. high walls
Weaknesses: relatively heavy. weird plastic bit
Bottom Line:
bought this as my last rims died after less than 1 week. these ones are super stiff and strong. dont seem to buckle at all and im pretty heavy (95kg - 190 pounds) over street drops of ~1.5m and general street and skate park riding. pretty heavy but worth it for the strength. recommend for street/jumping or maybe downhill..too heavy for xc. takes a while to get used to with a hardtail coz of the stiffness. look real bulky too
