This wheel combines the performance and punishment-defying strength of the Zonos with the added control of disc braking. To optimize wheel durability, the rotor-mountable hubs include disc-side Torque-Transfer Flanges, front and rear. For the same reason, both front and rear Disc wheels include asymmetrical rims to improve wheel dish and equalize spoke tension.
Submitted by
Hobo Joe3012
a Racer
from Los Alamos, NM, USA Date Reviewed: June 5, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Technical Steep Clibs
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Super stiff, super responsive, fairly durable.
Weaknesses:
Soft rim walls
Similar Products Used:
Mavic CrossMax SL, XT hub with Mavic 819 rim.
Bike Setup:
Azonic AZ 7, XT group save rear deurailer, cranks, and brakes. Race Face Deus Cranks, & XTR deurailer, and Avid bb7 brakes. Cane Creek zonos ss wheels, with ritchy carbon frame parts.
Bottom Line:
Awesome wheels, They have stood up to two season of racing hard and riding in here in Los Alamos. I have had no wheels climb better or are more agile. These wheels handle the New Mexico staircases well, which is really rough on rims. They will handle the rough the smooth and everything in-between. On the super flowy trails the wheels respond well. I am able to use mechanical disk brakes and only brake with one finger with rarely locking up the wheels. I have become faster and a better rider all around with these wheels.
I am a believer of putting money into the things that are important: wheels, frame, and cranks. If you want some awesome cross country wheels to race with or just pound the dirt, get these. I would not recommend them for really heavy riders, as I have dented the rim a few times.
I beat these wheels up: dented rims a coupe of times, a guy broke is bars on the wheel, and my I snapped a spoke when my derauler was ripped off of the frame into the wheel.
Cane Creek has awesome costumer service, if you have a problem they will hook you up, they stand behind their product 100%.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jhenry4
a Racer
from Edwards, ca Date Reviewed: March 3, 2009
Favorite Trail:
fast and rolling
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
cane creek via ebay
Strengths:
good value in cost for the weight. have stayed true thus far.
Weaknesses:
weight could be lighter...though you'd have to pay significantly more. non standard spokes, nipples, and rim could be a factor in the future
Similar Products Used:
OEM wheelset, and various demo wheels
Bike Setup:
specialized stumpjumper FSR 100mm, fox fork, avid mech discs, and either 2.0(race) or 2.2(trail) tires
Bottom Line:
For the price paid there's absolutly nothing to complain about (hence the 5 chili's for value) overall though these are great wheels.
The offset drilling requires full width rim tape to prevent flats.
Tires from both continental and WTB proved easy to mount, though getting WTB's to seat properly was a chore (even with soap)
Rear hub is ultra quiet, doesn't have the instantaneous engagement of a chris king or other high end rear hub, but it is better than shimano and other hubs at this price point.
Power transfer is direct with no discernable wind up in the rear and the front tracks true and doesn't twang off of obstacles.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
atvkilla
a Cross Country Rider
from CT Date Reviewed: December 14, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Nassahegan
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$225.00
Purchased At:
Cane Creek ebay stor
Strengths:
Feels light when pedaling, feels strong, tracks nice and accelerates quickly
Weaknesses:
I found it a bit hard to mount a tire on the rear wheel ( I think it was a wire bead).
Similar Products Used:
Mavic 517, 317
Bike Setup:
mtb
Bottom Line:
Found these for $200 plus $25 shipping on ebay. What a deal! They are closing out these wheels, so the price was right. So far, I have about 40 miles on them, and even though I didn't think I'd notice a difference, I do. They seem to be much sharper in the turns, and climbing is much easier and quicker. When hopping over rocks and logs, these wheels seem to comply and respond to my rider input much more than other wheels I've ridden. I have not ridden very much with them, but so far, so very good. For the price, these are a steal. And Cane Creek's customer service is second to none. Go get them.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
robriw3
a Cross Country Rider
from Nashville Date Reviewed: August 8, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Hamilton Creek
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
Greenfish Sports
Strengths:
Strong, true, good tracking. Can mount up tubed or tubeless.
Weaknesses:
Hard to mount on some tires.
Similar Products Used:
Sun, Mavic, WTB's.
Bike Setup:
Giant MCM set up for city commuting.
Bottom Line:
Happy with ride, strength, and good customer support.
Tried to mount Continentals at first, gave up and went to the looser fitting WTB's. I understand Kendas and Ritchey's have a looser fit also.
Not happy with how hard it is to mount. Customer support recommended soaping up tire, inflating to max with an air compressor, and pushing on tire to get to mount evenly along the inside once on. He said it should "Pop" into place. This is fine, but what happens when I have a flat way out in nowhere? Can I get it off with my little plastic tire levers? Does anyone carry soapy water and an air compressor in the woods? A great set of rims/hubs if you don't have to take the tire back off or fix a flat. They are actually Bontrager rims with the Cane Creek logo stickered on.
Buyer consider.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
yz426pilot
a Weekend Warrior
from Central Cal Date Reviewed: July 31, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
Greenfish sports
Strengths:
WOW!!! Smooth, strong, lite.
Weaknesses:
None that I've found, although it looks like it will be difficult to replace broken spokes due to a really tight fitting tubeless rim strip. Probably not an issue.
Similar Products Used:
Various Mavic wheels. Power Tools hubs.
Bottom Line:
After a couple of rides I can't find any real weaknesses with these wheels. I'll update the post if anything goes wrong, but so far I'm sold on the Zonos. The wheelset retails for $700.00. I don't think I'd pay full price, but $350.00 can't be beat.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
kyle
a
from charlottesville, va, usa Date Reviewed: November 27, 2007
Favorite Trail:
rivanna
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At:
cane creek team deal
Strengths:
haven't gone out of true yet, after 15 races and countless rides.
Weaknesses:
lots of side to side play,i had to contact cane creek and still can't fix it myself. odd hub configurment. the skewers need lube often to get them tight enough. the tubeless valve leaks.
Bottom Line:
okay for a race setup. not too lite, not too heavy. the hubs seem the require more mantance than most.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Nashville, TN, USA Date Reviewed: April 30, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Chickasaw Trace
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$490.00
Purchased At:
internet, some place in MN
Strengths:
Nice weight, UST, straight pull spokes, very cool.
full suspension XC race bike, XTR and X.9 components.
Bottom Line:
Very nice wheels, the asymetric design and straight pull spokes allow for high spoke tension which I like. The wheels came true and with uniform tension not requiring any 'tune-up' out of the box. I added a light non-UST tire and Stans and have loved these things from the get-go.
I weigh 190lbs right now and don't see any reason for concern in regard to strength.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Amit Shofar
a Weekend Warrior
from Tel Aviv, Israel Date Reviewed: December 16, 2006
Favorite Trail:
amitshofar@yahoo.com
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$600.00
Strengths:
Rigid, fast and durable; Light weight.
Weaknesses:
Non standard spokes.
Bike Setup:
5-spot
Bottom Line:
High quality; Good value
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Greg
a Weekend Warrior
from Irvine, CA Date Reviewed: September 12, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Whiting Ranch
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$450.00
Purchased At:
aebike
Strengths:
Nice feel, fairly light, and they look good.
Weaknesses:
Fragile, mine have achieved significant wobble within my first 2 hour ride. Unfreakinbelieveable. I weight 195 lbs so it's not like I'm crushing them. My ride was technical XC with some small rock gardens.
Similar Products Used:
WTB SpeedDisc
Bike Setup:
2005 Ironhorse MKIII Comp
Bottom Line:
A whole lot better than my stock WTB SpeedDiscs but they are WAY more fragile. I've used my SpeedDiscs for almost a year and they aren't as wobbly as my new Zonos SS's. I bought these because of the beaming reviews here on MTBR, but ultimately I am severely disappointed.
Cane Creek offered to true them free of charge, which is nice, but i'm sure it will be easier and cheaper to have my LBS do it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Egger
a Cross Country Rider
from Central Texas, USA Date Reviewed: February 9, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Off the Lip - Rocky Hill Ranch
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$450.00
Strengths:
Strength, finish, bling-bling
Weaknesses:
None, taking into consideration Cane Creek's fantastic customer support
Similar Products Used:
OEM wheelsets
Bike Setup:
Reign 3, X.0 der/X.9 Triggers, Grimeca 8/SRAM 9 4-piston hyd brakes, Thomson Seatpost/Stem, gigapipe BB, RaceFace OEM Cranks, Crank Bros Candy pedals,Aztec Cables, Cateye computer, Cane Creek integrated headset, Manitou 3-way Air shock, Marzocchi Z1 Drop Off fork, WTB Rocket seat
Bottom Line:
I bought these rims because I was breaking a LOT of spokes on my OEM wheelset. (mostly back wheel) These wheels have been on a couple of bikes (NRS and Reign). I've only had a couple of problems, 1) After nearly a year of riding these wheels I was able to torque the ratchet ring into the hub by pedaling uphill. It felt like the clutch went out. CC was on top of the problem and turned my wheel around to me in just a few days. 2) After receiving the new wheel I put several hundred miles on it without tightening the spokes, as I should have with a newly laced wheel, and broke three spokes due to my negligence. The wheel remained true and CC sent the parts to fix it without any hassle.
These guys are great. I used their AD-10 and Cloud Nine shock on my NRS and was pleased with the quality and performance of their products and customer service when I needed parts or did something dumb (like degreasing the disassembled shock in SuperClean which stripped the slippery coating off the shaft. DOH!)
These are fine wheels and I use them hard. I'd recommend them to anyone who is looking for stronger wheels that will "tighten up" the ride. Like the other review indicates, the trail feel and handling were improved and the attention to detail in the finish is nice. This company has people who really care about the customer.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Al
a Cross Country Rider
from Lynn Haven, Florida Date Reviewed: January 3, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Quicker turning and better handling on very sharp turns. Bike control in turns seems more precise. Better acceleration. Cane Creek Customer Support.
Weaknesses:
None yet
Similar Products Used:
Wheels that came with Stumpjumper FSR. Xt hub/Macic 717 rim front wheel'
Bike Setup:
Fox air Fork, Fox air shock. Typically use 38 psi and weigh about 185.
Bottom Line:
Have done two 18 mile single-track rides so far. I didn't expect all that much difference performance-wise as the Zonos are only 140 g lighter (measured on my postal scale) than my old wheel set. I was going more for hubs/bearings and strength with the slight possibility of better acceleration. I had a few strength issues with my old rear wheel.
I ran over the my old front wheel with the truck. So I replaced that with an XT hub/Mavic 717 rim and put that plus my old rear wheel on my wife's bike as a major upgrade when the Zonos set arrived.
The first impression of the Zonos was one of extreme stiffness. My tires felt like they had 20 lbs more air as I could now feel the small ripples in the trail that were imperceptible before. That's compared to the brand new front wheel that my wife now has and my old rear one. Next was the quicker turning and better handling on very sharp turns. Bike control in turns seems easier and more precise. That very high spoke tension apparently is the big improvement technically.
Acceleration was noticeably quicker. That's likely due to the spoke nipple location on the hub vice the rim and to the moderately lighter Specialized tubes (0.6mm thick rubber vice 0.8mm, 120 gm vs 180 gm). Possibly the Bontrager-made UST rims are lighter too, I don't know.
Overall, I'm much impressed and would have a hard time going back to my old wheels because of the fun factor. The bike was fun before, but now it's even better. I was surprised/gratified as I really didn't know what to expect from expensive wheels. Well worth the big $'s. And then there's the amazingly low friction sealed-bearing hubs with threaded bearing preload adjustment. Far better than anything I've ever spun.
The first set I received had ugly looking rim welds. They looked porous, rough and they stood out from a distance; a long distance. I sent an e-mail to Cane Creek. They responded with a toll-free phone number in a few hours. It was decided that I should send them to Cane Creek and they would asses if they were out of their fit and finish tolerance. Within 7-days I had a new set, postage-paid both ways. A major reason I took the risk of ordering $600-list wheels sight unseen was Cane Creek's customer service reputation.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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