SunRingle has been on a roll lately, as they have revamped their entire line of wheels. Beginning last year with a revamp of their XC, Trail, and AM lines of wheels, they’ve just completed the full rework with their DJ and DH wheels.

I was talking with Scott, the production manager from SunRingle, a while ago, and he mentioned that they were working on these new wheels, but couldn’t give me the details. With the release of the new ADD I finally had a chance to try them out!

Specs

What exactly is new here? Well, nearly everything. Like the new Charger Pro wheels, these hoops feature SunRingle’s new 28-hole straight-pull spoked hub. With a 20mm only front hub but a rear hub with all four configurations using adapters (135×12, 142×12, 150×12, and 157×12), these will surely fit your gravity ride.

Along with the redesign of the hub to accept the straight pull spokes, you get premium sealed cartridge bearings which keep things spinning smoothly. As an added feature to help keep the weight down, SunRingle decided to run double-butted Wheelsmith spokes and alloy nipples to shave a few grams without compromising strength too much. The new 30mm hoops utilize Stan’s no tube technology and come installed with Stan’s rim strips. Included, but not installed, are the Stan’s valves and bottles of sealant to get you started if you’re going tubeless right away. Outwardly fresh graphics and your choice of hub color finishes off the wheels.

These wheels come in at 2,000 grams ± a few (depending on axle configuration), making these pretty competitive as far as weight is concerned.

Installation

Installing a set of Schwalbe Muddy Mary UST tires was a snap (literally)–all that was needed to seat the beads on the rim was a quality floor pump. I have heard people complain about the troubles of setting tires on rims before, but if you just follow what Stans says on the website, it is foolproof. After the initial set-up of shaking the Stan’s sealant in the tires, I was ready to go. I set the tires to 26 PSI, installed an 11-25 cassette, and set off.  Nearly all the testing was done at the Dagmar test site, with both myself and Bob_the_Builder taking turns punishing these wheels.

Testing

As a standalone test, not thinking about any other specific wheel sets I have tested before, I could tell these wheels were a bit different. Not so much in performance, but in sound. The ADD wheels feature a slightly deeper tone to the cassette body compared to other wheels. Along with the sound, the cassette engagement is a bit coarser than other brands, meaning it takes more crank rotation to engage the cassette–about 10-12 degrees compared to about 6 degrees on others. It’s not much of a difference, but I noticed it nevertheless.

As far as rolling speed with tires, these keep up with the best of them! The ADD wheels roll very fast, and even when we tossed the bike hard into berms, we felt very little flex. What both I and Bob_the_Builder loved was the durability and solid feel of the wheels while taking off and landing. Even if we had the wheel slightly sideways coming in for a landing, we noticed very little flex, where with other wheels you hear pinging spokes. Sailing off rock gardens as fast as I was willing to send it, these wheels took the abuse without a ding, which is a good testament to the design of the rim profile. Not once did I burp or flat a tire during all that jumping and abuse.

But perhaps the best thing about the ADD wheels: they sell for about $750, a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than their competitors.

I would like to thank the folks at SunRingle for sending down the ADD wheels for a review. Stay tuned for a head-to-head comparison of these and other wheels in the coming months.

SUNringlé has done it again, updating and improving the STR8 Track wheel set for those who like to spend time flying through the air as part of their regular riding routine. The STR8 Track wheel set (MSRP $560.00) is just as at home on tight rocky singletrack as it is landing 7 foot+ drops. Having been tested by extreme riders like Cedric Graica you can be sure these wheels can take on anything your trails can deliver. The STR8 Track wheels are not to be confused with a freeride wheel set which would be a little beefier, but for what these have been designed for (all-mountain, heavy trail use), they fit the bill nicely with room to play.

I decided to install these wheels on my 5.5 rig with a Manitou Minute 20mm front fork, and after torquing new disks and installing tires and a fresh cassette, I was off to the trails. For the test ride I stuck with my usual tires (Eskar S-works 2.3) since I already know how the tires behave and I can concentrate on the wheel itself. At 1984 grams per set these are just a touch lighter than the Mavic Crossline (2045g) wheel set I tested last month, however the STR8 Track wheels are 2mm wider and feel more rigid than the Mavic Set. The rigid feeling on these wheels is due to the 32 Wheelsmith DB14 double butted steel spokes plus a much welcomed wider and deeper rim.  Once you  get moving it’s hard to want to stop (even the camera man had a hard time catching me). These wheel are just too much fun!

A great thing I noticed while testing the STR8 Track wheels on the trail is the smoothness of the wheel set – they roll great and do not flex laterally even when tossed into a high G bank turn. Another welcomed attribute is the relatively quiet but positive engagement of the freehub. I have found these wheels light and responsive enough and they work well traveling over skinnies and obstacles without hesitating to change direction quickly. The lacing of the spokes results in great control while the optimized spoke tension helps take the edge off impact when take big hits.

Overall I have to say the SUNringlé STR8 Track wheels are worth every penny – hit your local bike shop and take a look at these, especially if you’re on the north side of 200lbs. Being at that weight myself, (with full gear and water) I know that finding a set of wheels that will withstand serious trail abuse can be difficult. But look no further, these fit the bill and at their cost you can afford a new set of your favorite rubber as well!

Now the Official information from SUNringlé:

Use: All Mountain / Disc
Front Hub: 32 Hole Sunringlé Jumping Flea (Black)
Rear Hub: 32 Hole Sunringlé Dirty Flea (Black)
Rim: Black anodized welded Equalizer, Width: 31mm Disk brake only
Spokes: Wheelsmith DB 14 double butted spokes – black finish
Nipples: Wheelsmith alloy black
Lacing: 3 Cross (Fr/ Rr)
Weight: 1984g

Cheers folks – and remember to keep the rubber side down! Avoid the big trees – they don’t move!