Mark Adams Fast, durable and reliable – the SUNringlè Duroc is ready for the real world of mountain biking. Built to withstand years of hard-riding, gravity induced trail abuse and is optimised for use with huge volume tyres. With an internal rim width of 36mm, rolling on SUNringle SRX hubs, this tubeless ready wheelset is prepared to dominate the trails, conquer the most demanding peaks and to confidently carve you style into the mountainside on the way back down.
Sun Ringle Duroc 40 Wheelset Review:
Sun Ringle Duroc 40 Spokes:
The Duroc 40 rims are built with 24 spokes that are evenly spaced and aramid reinforcement. Good aramid speaks are hard to come by and it’s nice to know that Sun Ringle have used them here with the Duroc 40. While it does increase the weight, it does seem to improve the overall toughness and ride characteristics.
Sun Ringle Duroc 40 Hubs:
SUN’s SRX hubs are a full featured, high performance hub that offers accessible durability, high performance and reliability. The SRX hubs are equipped with direct bearings, heavy duty cartridge bearings, and have a 8, 9 or 10 speed freehub depending on the model.
The Duroc 40 are fitted with SRX hubs in both the front and rear hubs. Spacious flanges, and a 24 spoke X wide X2 spoke pattern (24/XWX2) with an internal rim width of 36mm make it both tubeless ready and designed for maximum tire volume. This setup is ideal for mountain bikers that want to run lower tire pressures for increased comfort and traction.
Sun Ringle Duroc 40 – Hub Adjustment:
The SRX hubs are amongst the easiest to service, making maintenance a breeze. A tensioner bolt limited to 7.2Nm and 6.4Nm on the front and back respectively simply turn the axle to adjust the spoke tension and also to tighten sockets on the bearings. This method works perfectly, but I do not know if I would trust 7-10Nm while riding. Also the spoke nipples look like they were hand cut with a hacksaw, making me wonder about the weight savings due to the lack of refinement that is apparent.
Sun Ringle Duroc 40 – Rim Construction:
The Duroc 40 rims are built with a 38.1mm center width, 24mm internal width and weigh in at 1,450g. The rim profile is a traditional V-shape with an asymmetric design. This asymmetric profile has the front section of the rim being 2mm wider than the rear giving this rim a desirable braking profile, an what I would describe as a “Sliced bread” shape.
The Duroc 40 have a symmetric spoke hole pattern with two butting holes near the rim bed with the remainder directly above, just inside and then outside of the rim bed. This feature helps to eliminate the tire bed from getting caught between the spoke nipples and knobs. In my testing, I experienced no issues with the tire rubbing or catching within the rim bed.
The final detail on the Duroc 40 rims are slotting down into the rim itself and re-enforceing the rim bed. This helps to strengthen the rim and assists in keeping the performance of the rim uniform throughout the life of the rim.
Sun Ringle Duroc 40 – Tread:
The grip level and durability of the Duroc 40’s is as expected. Out of the box the Duroc 40’s roll smoothly and without issues with no wobble. The pattern is also good with even spacing.
That being said, in my experience of riding the Duroc 40’s, they do not want to display what seems to be ideal trail patterns. They tend to stop the tire from hooking up well and it almost seems like a fight to gain traction. It is as if the tire is slipping on nothing. I have had this same experience with other tires and rims that have a very wide and flat tread like the Maxxis’ Firefly or the Duroc 40’s. This could very well be a personal thing, since some people prefer a flat tire for the additional tire volume, but this tire and rim combo seems to give me a lot of slipping at the tire bed. Try it for your self, you may like it.
Sun Ringle Duroc 40 – Bottom Line:
I will admit that my testing of the Sun Ringle Duroc 40’s was for only a month and a half and I understand that these conditions are far from ideal conditions for any product review. I would like to spend a lot more time on these on a lot more trails with a lot more snow to get a better understanding of this product. On the first month I had these wheels; I was not impressed, but the longer the tires wore down and the more time I spent on them the happier I became with their overall performance.
So I guess it boils down to this. If you value quality above everything else and if you are a weight weenie, there are far more suitable options out there, but if you are looking for a high-end wheelset that is ready to handle the toughest conditions, has a durable rim profile, looks great and is durable, the Sun Ringle Duroc 40’s are ready to perform.
I have a tendency to prefer a higher weight, but when on form, they are a great performing wheel. There are far more suitable options available though. I will continue to use these wheels and test them as I learn more about them on the way and will post any updates for that reason.
