The Sun Ringle Duroc 35 (32mm inner) is an extremely competitive wheel set option, even going so far as to 'best its peers' along several metrics. The Sun Duroc series of rims do it all; in short they're a Rad rim option for anyone looking to build their own set of MTB wheels. Sun signed up with Stan's NoTubes to use their BST tubeless rim profile design, but was free to come up with their own rim engineering/profiles. Thus, while Stan's MK3's are sort of "tween" spec, Sun hit the nail on the head with the rest of the marketplace at 27, 30, 32, 35, (and more) inner width profiles. That, and Sun went on average another millimeter or more taller with their profiles, helping to boost overall rim strength and durability. Overall, it was a solid approach to creating an extremely competitive rim lineup. Feel free to analyze rim specs yourself, to better understand the exact details. So what's the catch you ask? Duroc's aren't welded like the few top tier rims are. Is that important? You make the call. Do I ask myself a lot of questions? Hard to say. Well, can't you take a guess? Just know that in the grand scheme of things, by percentage, very few MTB rims have a welded joint. As a side note, Duroc rims are use external width nomeclature, (whereas most others name their rims based on the inner rim width). Just to sum it all up, Duroc rims offer a range of widths, are light weight, strong, and they hold up. Is Airwolf the Raddest 1980's TV attack helicopter starring Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, and the guy with the eye patch? Absolutely. Not convinced? Look at where they park the thing! What were we Musing about? If you're into racing (Yeah, That kind of racing), riding hard, or you simply prefer to buy really nice gear, this is your starting and finishing point. Pretty straight forward.
For the purpose of gaining perspective, let's talk MTB rims for a moment. Consider that only a few years ago, top end 26" disc rims for all mountain riding, with a 21-22mm inner width, used to weigh in anywhere between 500 - 575g. These Duroc 35's with a 32mm tubeless ready inner width, in a larger/27.5" diameter, weigh in at 503g, (our scale). That's a radical miracle. But are Duroc rims tough enuff?. They're not going to flex while you're trying to bomb through a rough patch, or fight you in a tight turn. It's a quality rim, offering wheel stiffness without the harsh ride of some carbon options. Given this rim's width and strength, it's an ideal choice for a pretty broad range of riding types. The Duroc 35's are an excellent option for larger volume, lower pressure set ups. If you need traction and you know it, we'd recommend building up a set of these, messing around with your tire pressures to see how low you can go, and you might be able to set new time records for your favorite trail sections, even before you mess around with your shock settings.
You have the choice to build these wheels with Speed Tuned Super 6 2.0 MTB hubs, or go all out with DT Swiss 350 disc hubs featuring the DT Swiss Star Ratchet engagement mechanism. Both are great options. The Speed Tuned Super 6 2.0 hubs feature 36 points of engagement, (10 degrees) via a 4x2 pawl free hub. The drive ring and pawls are overbuilt in terms of diameter, (drive ring), height, (drive ring + pawls), and materials, (quality stainless). Their bearing placement is proper, in terms of overall design meant to promote hub function and durability.
DT Swiss 350 hubs are excellent, they are finished to incredible standards, and include DT Swiss' Star Ratchet engagement system, (same exact drive mechanism as with their DT 240's and 180's). These hubs get the job done, hold up extremely well in an assortment of conditions, and have proven reliable even in the emerging context of high torque drive trains, (29er wheel bikes with 1x12 Eagle drive trains). Essentially, DT 350's offer you the option of buying one of the best performing hubs available anywhere, for only a modest price bump. Given their huge value proposition, they are hands down a great option for any MTB rider that cares about their gear.
In "stock" form, these wheels are built with DT Swiss Competition Double Butted 2.0/1.8/2.0 black spokes in a 32 hole, three cross configuration front and rear. DT Comp spokes offer legendary quality and performance. If you didn't know a thing about spokes, know that your wheels would come with a really top notch spoke product. That being said, we're offering a spoke upgrade option, in the form of Sapim DLight 2.0/1.65/2.0 spokes. There are two great spoke manufacturers in the world, DT Swiss and Sapim, (in alphabetical order). Essentially, you might be able to find a spoke product that approaches their quality, but you'd be hard pressed to find a company that makes a better spoke product than these two. All their spoke products, from straight gauge to their elliptically bladed and butted products, are all the best of the best. Sapim Dlight spokes will perform at the same relative level as DT Competition spokes, but will shave off approximately 75 - 80g from the wheel set.
Sun-Ringle Duroc rims have made a tremendous stride in the right direction. Their predecessor series, the Helix TR rims, were only hinting at what was to come. Now we know. And now we know that you don't need Ninja skills to realize that these Tasty wheels will play your dangerous game. No doubt these wheels represent an unbeatable deal, (coupon codes here). We're not joking around here. If you don't have a lot of time to research all the rim options in the marketplace, if you don't have a lot of money, and if you can find this product page, maybe that's Magic.
Should you buy this wheel set? Entirely your call. Should you watch this short but sweet rock climbing video? Absolutely. One More Fun One.
Wheel Facts:
-Comes with tubeless tape & valves installed.
-The Sun Duroc 35 (sleeved joint), has a 32mm inner width, is 16.5mm tall, 35mm wide, and weighs about 503g, (our scale).
-Recommended for use with 27.5" / 650b x 2.4 - 3.0" tires
-Wheel set weight with Super 6 2.0 15/142 hubs and alloy nipples is approximately 1860g (Comp) or 1785g (Dlight); with DT 350 hubs wheel set weight is approximately 1885g (Comp) or 1810g (Dlight). Wheel set weight will vary with end caps, freehub driver, and nipple selection. Tape + Valves adds approximately 35g for the wheel set, on average.