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Submitted by
Bernie
a Cross Country Rider
from NH
Date Reviewed: January 19, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Weight, eyelets, nice braking walls. Price | | Weaknesses: | Stickers are sort of low quality, lots of shavings inside the rim, purely cosmetic stuff. | | Bottom Line: | These are nice rims, i got them for 30 dollars on ebay brand new, at that price i could not resist. They are pretty light, theres only so light you can go if you ride offroad. One thing i did not like was i found many of these shavings, from drilling the rims no doubt. They were corkscrews, shavings of the metal all inside, i could tip the rim and they would be trapped inside the double wall and you would hear them. The stickers also, my last set of rims it was etched or something on the surface, these are rather cheap looking stickers. THey function fine, keep in mind these are not free ride rims so dont buy if you're into that stuff. 4 stars only because of the little details i listed, they work great and the sidewalls are a nice touch. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
eelpie
a Cross Country Rider
from virginia
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Patapsco/Avalon | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$23.00 | | Purchased At: | sunringle.com | | Strengths: | light, strong, cheap | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Bonty Mustang & Valient | | Bike Setup: | On One Inbredd (SS), RF Turbine cranks and BB, PAUL r. hub, Sun SOB f. hub, DT Swiss 14/15 spokes, King HS, Thomson stem/post, SI Max Flite TA saddle, Answer bar, Time pedals, Avid SD 7 brakes/levers | | Bottom Line: | Built two sets of SS wheels with these rims (my first builds) and they've really held up well. Despite their light weight, they can take a beating, at least as an SS wheel (no dishing required). No complaints. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chris wheelbuilder
a Cross Country Rider
from Richmond,VA
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | pocahantas state park | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | goodlys | | Strengths: | a nice light rim. Strong but not quite as good as 0 degree XC | | Weaknesses: | doesn't quite hold as true as the 0 Degree XC | | Similar Products Used: | see my review of the 0 degree XC | | Bike Setup: | a Full Suspension rig nice XC ride. a kinds of high zoot junk on it- what else am I going to spend my money on? | | Bottom Line: | I like this Rim - Sun makes a great Product! although next time I will probably just stick with the 0 Degree XC. It has a nice ride to it but I was just a little to rough for it. I think it didn't like being a rear Wheel- it got slammed a few to many times. But I thought it was a great value for the money and I have had no problems with it just not quite as durable as the XC, but I guess thats the trade off for the "light". Nice braking surface and good quality all around. buy it if you'd rather have light weight- if you'd rather have better quality get the XC from sun -five flaming brake shoes! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Laramie, WY
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$195.00 | | Strengths: | They're cheap, and pretty decent. | | Weaknesses: | They're small, and a little light weight for me, but they were doing ok until I started really beating on them | | Similar Products Used: | Rhyno-Lites, really sissy alex single wall rim, Mavic 517's | | Bike Setup: | 19" hardtail, 2002 z1 wedge, Shimano XT breaks and drivetrain, FSA V-Drive Extreme Bash cranks(Really cool) | | Bottom Line: | These rims have gotten worked. I bought them for cheap at JensonUSA laced to Hays/Hugi disc hubs. These wheels were built like an XC wheel, with DB 14/15g spokes and alloy nipples. They were assembled by either a machine or a moron, I'm not sure which. No spoke prep was used. I think that the discs are screwing around with alloy nipples, causing about eight spokes so loosen up completely one night while out riding. I got them re-tightened and trued at the shop, and they are better again.
I ride these wheels really hard, kind hoping they break so I can get something stronger laced on my hubs. I have about six or eight dents in the sidewall/rim brake surface. Some were put there riding, others from tire irons, and plastic ones at that. I can't believe how weak the sidewall was, the side walls on my 517's wouldn't have even flexed with the pressure that dent this rim.
This is a good rim for a heaver xc bike, built right and they will rock, just not for big or sharp hits. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
clarence wiens
a Cross Country Rider
from chilliwack, B.C.
Date Reviewed: June 27, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | sumas mtn. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Pedal Sport | | Strengths: | Light?? | | Weaknesses: | Rim did not stay true. It wore out quickly in harsh wet winter riding, and then failed on a small missed curb, even with a 2.2 tire and full pressure. | | Similar Products Used: | mavic?? | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale killer v 700 | | Bottom Line: | I do a mix of hard cross country, technical downhill, and 3' drops, jumps,and ramps. These rims can obviously not stand up to the increasingly harder wear I was giving them. For easier riding they might be ideal,? I won't use them any more.!!! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff Slade
a Cross Country Rider
from Hudson, IA USA
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Sugar Bottom | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint,supergo(can't recall) | | Strengths: | price | | Weaknesses: | smoked the rear on a week jump. not impressed. front is still true, so far | | Similar Products Used: | mavic 221's | | Bike Setup: | voodoo hardtail, Mars fork, lx,xt,xtr drivetrain, avid/sram brakes. | | Bottom Line: | loved the wheels at first, raced an eight mile, rocky time trial and they did fine. Was out on a light ride and smoked the rear. Could have been the builder, could be me.
Going with a rynolite this time around. 3 hot turds overall, they should have lasted longer than 75 miles. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken
a Cross Country Rider
from Salt Lake City, Utah
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Desolation Lake | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Longevity...the first most important thing you can ask from a rim. Can't argue with the smooth braking either. Both light and durable enough not to get in the way of a good epic ride. They also cost a good deal less than Mavics. | | Weaknesses: | Only marginally heavier than a 517, but probably more than worth it when you want all-around XC versatility. | | Similar Products Used: | Mostly Mavics, I never cared enough for them to memorize which ones since in general they weren't as good. | | Bike Setup: | King hubs, DT spokes, used to be on a Proflex and now they're on a Rocky Mountain Instinct. | | Bottom Line: | Rims are tricky, since everything attached to them factors into their longevity, as does the buildup. I got my rear built up at Canyon Bikes by Mike a few seasons ago. I would guess I've put somewhere around 5000 miles on it, during which time it needed one good retruing early as the spokes were settling in, and a couple very small tweaks since. I'm mostly cross-country with occasional freeride tendencies, and within that sort of usage this rim has not given me any problems. I finally got a King/Sun front wheel to match my rear, and I'm beyond stoked with it. I wouldn't use it for true freeriding/downhilling, but other than that I think the only reason not to use these rims is if you are either a racer or a female or other lightweight rider, where a more lightly constructed rim is necessary and appropriate. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Racer
from Long Island, NY
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Rocky Point Advanced loops | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | mail order | | Strengths: | best rim for the money in this weight class | | Weaknesses: | tend to be sold in machine built wheelsets | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic 517's,221's,222's, zac 19's, Bontrager Asyms | | Bike Setup: | Schwinn Moab -w- xt, Judy race, etc and Specialized S-works FSR | | Bottom Line: | I ride almost every day in the riding season and I am very heavy and powerful. I have two bikes and four wheelsets; I switch them around often.I have tried the lightest rims (517's, sub 4's) and have found that they lack durability. I have tried heavier Mavics, but I have found that they do not last as well as these rims. At 410 grams, these are only 15 grams heavier than racing rims but these hold up great to everyday riding. I have four sets of them now, some on XT hubs and some on LX. My oldest set is almost 2 years old and probably has 1500 trail miles on it. If you choose tires and tubes carefully, they are easily light enough to race on, but they hold up fine. The problems that some riders are having with these rims can probably be attributed to two things: they are either built and tensioned wrong, or the users are using a cross-country rim for big hit riding. I mail-ordered all my sets and got them all for around 100 bucks; a terrific price but they were all built and tensioned badly. The solution? Buy them and buy a spoke wrench. After your first good ride on your new set, go back and "tune" the wheel. Pluck all the spokes on the drive side, then tension them all to hit the same high note.Do the same on the non-drive side, remembering that spokes on this side will not have as much tension. After the whole wheel is tuned, check it for trueness, and if you need to true it, try to keep it in tune while you true it. I have done this to all of my sets and they now perform perfectly. They stay true, take a pretty good beating, and are light enough to race on. That's why I have four sets! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Neill
a Cross Country Rider
from England
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Woburn Sands | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Having trashed many Mavic's and other assorted rims the 0Degree light was recommended to me by a straight talking guy in a local shop. To date I have been nothing but impressed with these rims which are still true and the earlier brake surface problems seem to have been sorted. | | Weaknesses: | Cost more than the more common rims ie Mavic, Araya, Bontrager etc and are harder to find unless you use mail order. | | Similar Products Used: | WTB Speedmaster & Mavic 517. | | Bike Setup: | Marin FRS Pace Forks & Stratus Rear. | | Bottom Line: | The best performing and value rim I have ridden although I am certain that a great deal of difference is made by the quality of the wheelbuilder and spokes/hubs used. They have already shown to be a considerable improvement over any other rims I have ridden.
They are not as light as some but for the weight/durability ratio I think they are unbeatable. Probably not really suited to the XC racer who is concious of every gram saved but for everyday XC use they are spot on. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Downhiller
from England
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | Wafer thin braking surface. | | Similar Products Used: | Ritchey rock comp | | Bike Setup: | 98 K2 Beast | | Bottom Line: | Very dissapointed, i have only covered 350 miles on these rims and already the rear is cracked all the way round the braking surface. After about 200 miles my rear brake started to grab. Then a craking noise developed while riding. Finally i took it in where the damage was discovered. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Allen Macaulay
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Light, Strong, and (relatively) cheap
| | Weaknesses: | There are metal slivers left in the spoke eyelets. Caused a couple flats before I figured it out. | | Similar Products Used: | See my 1st review | | Bike Setup: | Oryx 4000s (hard tail), Full XT
Manitou SX-R 80mm travel
Wheel built with XT hubs and DT Revolution spokes (3-cross lacing) | | Bottom Line: | After almost 2 years of abusing these rims, I can still recommend them. I did manage to flat-spot one pretty bad, but it was my fault. I completely messed up a bunnyhop and didn't make it UP a set of stairs, smashing the back wheel into the top step at high speed. Other than that, they've barely needed any truing, even when I did a DH course at night. I should point out my riding is closer to "free riding" than XC.
I found I could run very high spoke tensions on the rims, which is probably why my wheels are pretty stiff and strong. For anyone buying this rim, check the spoke eyelets for metal slivers, and remove them before you get the wheel built. This will save you from some inconvenient flats. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sorni
a Cross-Country Rider
from San Diego, CA USA
Date Reviewed: November 3, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Still Noble Canyon!!! | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
Low price
Light weight
Cool color
STAYS TRUE!!! | | Weaknesses: |
None found as yet | | Similar Products Used: |
Sun XC0 (Regular, not Lite)
Mavic 517 (taco shell) | | Bike Setup: |
'99 Catamount, SID's, XTR/XT mix, etc... | | Bottom Line: | Have a set of XC0's on my hardtail -- GREAT rims! So went ahead and bought a pair of XC0 Lites on sale at Airbomb for *$15* each -- figured what the hell! Only had one wheel built -- my rear 517 had warped all to heck -- and used 14G spokes for strength (with blue nipples for chi-chi :). I've been on maybe 10 rides so far -- rough stuff, too -- and the wheel is perfect! Nary a wobble. It feels very light, yet rock solid. TRY THESE RIMS -- Sun shines brightly! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Racer
from Washington
Date Reviewed: August 8, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Light and Strong | | Similar Products Used: |
Mavic 517, Mavic 217 | | Bottom Line: | These wheels along with the Sun Sub4 are great wheels. Had the Sub4 built with DT Revolution spokes to XTR hubs and they fly by my Mavic 517s. They are lighter than 517s. As with all rims, it's important to built them right in the first place and you will have no problems. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Allen Macaulay
a Cross-Country Rider
from Toronto, ON
Date Reviewed: July 28, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Light & Pretty Strong
Machined sidewalls on this year's version
Good Price | | Weaknesses: |
Metal slivers in spoke eyelets | | Similar Products Used: |
Mavic 230, 231 & 517
Ritchey Vantage WCS, Rock 395 & 415E | | Bike Setup: |
Oryx 4000s
Full XT, Judy XC 80mm travel | | Bottom Line: | This is one nice rim. It's pretty light, only 15 grams more than the Mavic 517 (which seems to be some kind of standard or something). However, it stays true better and takes a lot more abuse than the Mavics and Ritcheys I've had. Of course, you can't do Downhill or Dual Slalom with it, but it will survive repeated drops and jumps if you can land somewhat straight. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fast Freddy
a Cross-Country Rider
from Springfield, OH
Date Reviewed: May 23, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
The COOL Mountain Dew Color!!!! Low Weight. | | Weaknesses: |
none yet | | Similar Products Used: |
Mavic Crosslands
Sun CR18 Rims | | Bike Setup: |
Cannondale Super V - all XT - Raceface - King - | | Bottom Line: | These rims are very cool. The wheels (with King hubs) were very easy to build. I weigh in at 215 lbs and haven't had any trouble yet with them - it's been 3 weeks so far. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
matt
a racer
from utah
Date Reviewed: January 6, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
these rims replaced my custom velocity rims. thr velocities were too damn heavy for me. they would, however make good n.shore,downhill,dual slalom,or trialsrims. anywho, suns are tough. they only have 1 drawback if you are a racer, they make changing tires a pain. this can be good in that they hold kevlar tires better at low pressure. all in all 5 chilis | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
trey
a racer
from salem va
Date Reviewed: December 7, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
i hope these rims are cool i just bought a pair and they look cool if you get them red andonized like i did(well heres 7 more words for you to read) | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a cross-country rider
from NJ
Date Reviewed: October 19, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
i just want to say that QC people at SUN should inspect their products little bit better. i got ) lite just because i heard good things and wanted to be different.
I found that rim was wider were is bonded, and brake pads were grabing in this spot. i fixed it with taking some material off. in future i may buy Mavis 517 because of machined sides.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Clint CHase
a cross-country rider
from Monroe, CT
Date Reviewed: July 19, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I ride ~5x week, hard with the ringle hub-revolution spoke-sun 0 degree lite wheelset that comes ready made. When true, these wheels are amazing. However, if you ride aften and hard they will not stay true. I true them 1-2x per week!!!! Take my advice, race with these but don't ride recreationally with these! Every time you jump on you here that terrible scraping of the rim on brake pad sound. We all know what that means! 5 stars for racing, 1 star for hard recreational mountain biking. If anyone wants to buy these email me. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a cross-country rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: July 13, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have mixed feelings about the Sun 0 degree Lite. The definitely are light but after three months my rear on started developing horizontal cracks in the sidewall about 3 to 4 inches long. Both sides were affected. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come with these rims in the interest of saving weight. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
raff
a weekend warrior
from NorthShore BC CANADA
Date Reviewed: July 4, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
although I love the rhino lites kick ass, and I only buy sun rims, this one sucks for any thing but racing, I only way 130 but on the shore, Araya rims lasted longer than these pieces of crap. Even in races these things don't stay true, I guess for what they weigh, they do a great job but why would I care what they weigh, I ride the shore... so having said that I give them one chilie. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Val
a cross-country rider
from Pittsburgh, PA
Date Reviewed: April 22, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
These rims rule, the brake surface is great, they are super light and strong, and they cost a good bit less than Mavics, and most important they are MADE IN THE USA!!!! I have them built on White Ind. FX hubs which are also a great deal for the price and also MADE IN THE USA!! I have beaten this wheelset over some very rocky trails and have not had a problem. The whole set built only cost $240.00 not much more than a XT/Mavic set but much lighter. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JONATHAN
a racer
from CANADA
Date Reviewed: March 23, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
THESE RIMS ARE INCREDIBLE... I HAVE THE NEW R.P.M WHEELSET FROM RINGLE AND I WOULDN'T TRADE THEM FOR ANYTHING. I NOW RACE AND MY RIMS FOLLOW ME WHERE I WANT TO GO. THEY DON'T BEND THEY JUST RIDE HARD. I LOVE THESE RIMS AND NOBODY WOULD TRADE THEM FOR 1 000 000$. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean Stodelle
a racer
from Yucaipa, CA
Date Reviewed: February 22, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I got the rims when Sun first came out with them. I laced them to a set of Nuke Proof Bombshells with DT spokes and an XT cassette. All I can say is that I love them. These are my babies. They have yet needed to be trued. They are light, and I have noticed a definate decrease in rotational weight. Combined with the Nuke hubs (see reviews on those), These wills are a racing blessing. Believe it or not, they are on par (weight wise) with the new Mavic Crossmax wheels. And I've got all 32 spokes for added strength. If you can find them, get them. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob Dalton
a cross-country rider
from Orlando FL
Date Reviewed: February 19, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I really like these rims. I've been very happy with them. I've got about 400 miles on these wheels via lots of rough terrain I haven't had to true them up yet. I've got the non-anodized wheels with LX hubs. I'll send an update inn another few months. Very nice. I'll give'm 5 peppers! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dale
a cross-country rider
from Burlington, VT
Date Reviewed: February 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Man these rims are really cool. I got the black anodized with XT hubs. They are light and
strong. I havent had to true them and have gone through some rough terrain. I am glad I
bought them. Has any one else tried out these rims ? They are about as good as the Mavic
217 IMO. | | Overall Rating: |
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