Formula Brakes Savage MTB Wheelset Wheelset

3.84/5 (19 Reviews)


Product Description



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Reviews 1 - 15 (19 Reviews Total) | Next 15

User Reviews

Overall Rating:1
Value Rating:1
Submitted by k a Weekend Warrior from boston, ma

Date Reviewed: March 28, 2004

Strengths:    um...they are black? they dont put rat poison in my food?

Weaknesses:    they break, bearings are crap, freehub body is crap, flanges are crap, all around crap

Bottom Line:   
Dont buy these hubs, formula is possibly the worst hubs i have ever used! LBS gave me these laced to rhyno's after the wheelset they built me was sold accidentally (oops) Heres the rundown, they broke on the first ride, well not really the first ride was the ride home from the shop, they waited til I was out on the trail to fail. The freehub became loose and wouldnt catch after a few miles, when I looked down at the hubs, heres what i saw, two of the flanges on the front wheel were cracked and subsequently the spokes were overly loose. The bearings felt like they had rocks in them. I took them back to the shop and they apologized and offered t replace them, no thanks, I'll go with xt discs from now on.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $100.00

Purchased At:   got from friend

Similar Products Used:   hugi hayes, xt disc

Bike Setup:   surly w/ dj3

Overall Rating:1
Value Rating:1
Submitted by Mark M. a Cross Country Rider from SLC, Utah

Date Reviewed: February 5, 2004

Strengths:    The price at first but...

Weaknesses:    they last no longer than 3 weeks.

Bottom Line:   
My issue is with the quality of the hubs. My local bike shop could not service the hubs and I was told I had to send them back to the manufacturer. Axel would not fit properly in the hub without coming loose after each ride.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $150.00

Purchased At:   Local Bike Shop

Similar Products Used:   standard mavic/shimano combo

Bike Setup:   Trek hardtail

Overall Rating:2
Value Rating:3
Submitted by Paul Elkins a Cross Country Rider from Aliso Viejo

Date Reviewed: May 18, 2003

Strengths:    Price. Light weight, stay true, strong rims.

Weaknesses:    cartridge bearings don't last

Bottom Line:   
These wheels were great while they lasted. They have very little side movement compared to my Rolf's. I didn't need to true them but once, and that was after 10 races and many training miles on them.

Unfortunately the bearings are of poor quality. They seized up on one side after a race with some mud sections. You can't service them either. I removed the dust covers. After cleaning the bearings off they look brand new. However, they are seized solid. I can't spin the one side. The wheel only spins for about 2 revolutions with a firm pull. The rear seems to be getting stiction in the bearings also.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   San Juan

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   SuperGo

Similar Products Used:   Rolf Propel, Mavic 517, 221, 138, 317 etc.

Bike Setup:   Hardtail race setup

Overall Rating:2
Value Rating:3
Submitted by Craig a Cross Country Rider from Irvine, CA

Date Reviewed: May 6, 2003

Strengths:    Light and inexpensive.

Weaknesses:    Spokes break frequently.

Bottom Line:   
I am 210lbs and 6'3" and have replaced the spokes on both the drive side and the other over 5 times now. All the problems are with the rear wheel. I ride the bike through town and on trails on a daily basis. The town rides include jumping onto sidewalks and down stairs. The previous Shimano LX rims that came with my bike never had this problem, the the rear hub eventually bent. Looks like you get what you pay for.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   1 Year

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   Supergo


Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:3
Submitted by Rob Sides a Cross Country Rider from K'vegas NC USA

Date Reviewed: April 14, 2003

Strengths:    Light Strong(externally)

Weaknesses:    Crappy pawls in the freehub No customer support

Bottom Line:   
I got about 20 rides out of these before the rear hub turned into a "not so free wheel".(Mid ride, of course!) Upon opening the rear hub up, I discovered the engagement pawls had disintegrated into little pieces. I was not able to find a link to Formula for replacement parts anywhere, and SuperGo said that they didn't even have the phone number or Email address to contact them. Bottom line: You get what you pay for!

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Tsali

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   SuperGo

Similar Products Used:   White Industries/Mavic 517s

Bike Setup:   Schwinn Home Grown Factory USA RaceFace Marzocchi Z1 Sram 9.0SL

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Dwayne a Racer from Lake Charles, LA, US

Date Reviewed: March 16, 2003

Strengths:    Light, Inexpensive, Fairly Durable

Weaknesses:    None

Bottom Line:   
Great Wheels for twice the price you have to pay for them. Used for several hundred miles on the trails without problems. Only had to true them once after a major crash on the road where I was far worse then the bike.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   Supergo

Similar Products Used:   XT/221

Bike Setup:   FSRxc, XTR, SID SL

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by bendlight a Weekend Warrior from austin, tx, us

Date Reviewed: November 11, 2002

Strengths:    cheap, light, stays true once broken in

Weaknesses:    brass nipples are easy to screw up

Bottom Line:   
I have ridden the rims for about 160 hours now. The rear rim went horribly out of true on first ride. Had a shop true them (supposedly), but ended up doing myself. My tension was not great enough so the rear went off again. Then I upped the tension and it has kept true ever since. The front has always maintain true. I ride really rocky terrain with lots of drops and creeks with water, and since the last truing they have preformed flawlessly. Still run smooth and are staying true.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   supergo

Similar Products Used:   mavic 551 and cross max, rolf dolomite

Bike Setup:   schwinn s-20 with duke sl

Overall Rating:2
Value Rating:3
Submitted by Barry a Cross Country Rider from Las Cruces, NM

Date Reviewed: November 6, 2002

Strengths:    Light and spin smoothly and fast. I like the cartridge hub design.
Nice Rims.
Good value.


Weaknesses:    Cartridge bearings are inferior quality. After four months of cross country ridings, the bearings gave out. Upon inspection, balls were either broken or badly deformed in all the cartridges. I'm a cross country racer, not a downhiller. This should not happen.

Rims went out of true rather quickly and needed constant truing, more than any other set I've used.


Bottom Line:   
Nice rims but cheap, weak hubs, with inferior quality bearings. Supergo might take them back, but then I'd have to get another set in the mean time. Maybe if I replace all the cartridge bearings with high-end bearings, they'll do me well.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $170.00

Purchased At:   Supergo

Similar Products Used:   Spox Spinergy, Ritchey Wheelsets.

Bike Setup:   Litespeed Owl Hollow with full xtr, sid.

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Franz a Weekend Warrior from Sand Looney Nabisco

Date Reviewed: October 12, 2002

Strengths:    Very light, true.

Weaknesses:    None yet

Bottom Line:   
I just had to post a quick review. Over the 20 years I've been riding few things I've changed have made such an immediate difference. It is as if I have an extra gear. The difference in speed and excelleration is very noticable. Impressive. Good looking, too.

If they hold up as well as my 221's, which I got over 3000 miles on, then I will be very happy.

WATCH OUT WHEN BUYING FROM SUPERGO. THE WEB PRICE WAS 175 AND THE MAGAZINE PRICE WAS 159. I WAS CHARGED 175 AND HAD TO WRESTLE THEM FOR A STORE CREDIT. THEY REFUSED TO DO A STRAIGHT REFUND FOR THE AMOUNT THEY OVERCHARGING ME. BUYER BEWARE.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   the bluff

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $160.00

Purchased At:   supergo

Similar Products Used:   Deore LX w/Mavic 221

Bike Setup:   FS, Z2, Fox rx, Lx, Xt, Xtr, etc.

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Bob a Cross Country Rider from Charlotte, NC

Date Reviewed: October 5, 2002

Strengths:    light, smooth, cool looking

Weaknesses:    little flex in the front wheel

Bottom Line:   
I'm 6'2" 210 lbs. I noticed a little flex in the front wheel on some tight single track but nothing that would cause me to be concerned that the wheel was going to taco. It may just be that I’m use to riding a 32 spoke wheel that has to be stiffer. They are fast and look great. As for durability the best I have gotten out of a rim “I have two xt hub sets with trashed rims” is two years and if I can get two years out of these I will be very happy considering the price and the weight.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   fast and tight

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   supergo

Similar Products Used:   xt hub with bontrager mustang, xt with mavic 517, stock gary fisher from 98

Bike Setup:   trek fuel frame, mostly xt parts from old hardtail

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Grant from Macon, GA, USA

Date Reviewed: September 23, 2002

Strengths:    They are extremely light. The hubs have sealed bearings and spin forever. Very strong.

Weaknesses:    I'm a little afraid that the high tension spokes (so few, so much tension!) will be difficult for me to true when the time comes.

Bottom Line:   
I have done close to 70 miles so far on these wheels and they are still perfectly true and the spokes are still as highly tensioned as when I put them on the bike. The price was simply amazing for what you get here. Again, they were cheap (little more than the Mavic 221s which are arguably the worst wheels in the world) and incredibly light and strong. For reference, I weigh 180 lbs. These things are great.
On a technical note, the lightness of the front wheel has resulted in a noticeable ease in making tight turns when compared to the Bontrager Superstocks the replaced. Decrease in rotational weight I guess. Cool side effect, I just thought lighter meant easier to haul up a hill. Give them a shot.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Dauset Trails

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   Supergo

Similar Products Used:   Mavic 221, Bontrager Superstock, Sun Rhyno Lites,

Bike Setup:   Klein Attitude, with mix of Shimano, Bontrager, and Avid parts and controls.

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by eric hoefer a Cross Country Rider from NY

Date Reviewed: September 18, 2002

Strengths:    Light wheels. Lighter than most wheelsets twice the price. Very strong ridden them for 3 monts and they are still true. I weigh 225 and havnt had one problem.

Weaknesses:    Every one wants to ride my bike to try them out.

Bottom Line:   
If you ride mostly tight singltrack XC riding buy these wheels the next time u need some. like i said im a big guy and have had no trouble at all. they are light and easily chopped a pound off of the total weight off of my bike. I give this prodct 5 flamin chilis across the board.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   Hunter mtn

Duration Product Used:   3 months

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   supergo.com

Similar Products Used:   None first invested wheelset

Bike Setup:   KHS alite 3000 with XT LX drivetrain Truvativ Firex xc crank formula wheels titec bars post and stem. specialized seat.

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:4
Submitted by joe a Weekend Warrior from oregon

Date Reviewed: August 30, 2002

Strengths:    light as hell

Bottom Line:   
nice set of wheels, ive beat the CRAP! out of them over root infested single track and have come back only slighty out of true. I dont know what to expect out of a good wheelset, i only wiegh 150lbs and this is my first buy, but they seem to be worth what i paid for them. Heavier riders might want to get something more appropriate but for light guys it should be fine. 4 and 4

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   all trails

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Purchased At:   supergo


Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by DOUG B a Cross Country Rider from RIVERSIDE, CA USA

Date Reviewed: June 26, 2002

Strengths:    LIGHT WEIGHT, CARTRIDGE BEARINGS, LOOKS, STRONG, AND THEY SPIN SUPER SMOOTH.

Weaknesses:    NONE YET

Bottom Line:   
I HAV'NT HAD THEM FOR TOO LONG, BUT FROM WHAT I CAN TELL THEY'RE GONNA BE A GOOD INVESTMENT. THE FIRST THING I NOTICED IS HOW SMOOTH THEY SPIN, THEN HOW LIGHT THEY ARE WHEN I COMPARED THEM TO MY OTHER WHEELSET. THE BLACK ON BLACK IS NICE AND KEPT THE COLOR SCHEME OF MY BIKE TRUE WHICH IS RED AND BLACK. USUALLY ON A NEW WHEELSET I'LL TWEAK THEM A LITTLE HAS THEY INITIALLY BREAK IN, BUT AFTER A FEW RIDES WHERE I SOMEWHAT PURPOSELY BEAT THEM THEY STAYED TRUE. I HAVE NEVER DONE THAT ON A NEW WHEELSET (EXCEPT FOR MY RYNO'S). LAST BUT NOT LEAST THE PRICE. WHAT CAN YOU SAY FOR 175 BUCKS.

Expand full review >>

Favorite Trail:   ANY IN THE DIRT

Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   SUPERGO

Similar Products Used:   MAVICS GARBAGE, ARAYA'S NOT BAD, TIOGA, SUN RYNO'S.

Bike Setup:   SCHWINN MOAB 2 XT, LX MIX, DUKE SL 100MM, EASTON MONKEY LITE BARS, SAVAGE WHEELSET.

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by Mark a Cross Country Rider from Mpls

Date Reviewed: June 23, 2002

Strengths:    Cheap and light they also look wicked cool, all black

Weaknesses:    none

Bottom Line:   
I was the first to respond to these wheels and been very happy with them. I'm six for three and weigh 210, and they are holding up great. I recently converted them to tubeless using stans notubes and richey alpha and omega wcs tires which are not tubeless. All I can say is awesome.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   6 months

Price Paid:    $175.00

Purchased At:   supergo

Similar Products Used:   everything

Bike Setup:   9.9

Reviews 1 - 15 (19 Reviews Total) | Next 15

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