This review has been a long time coming…
We actually started testing the Sun Ringle Black Flag 26″ wheels in their original, top-of-the-line ceramic bearing’d version almost two years ago. By the time we had enough miles on them to do a full report, that model had been discontinued in favor of the newer and overall better Black Flags being tested here in full.
The new ones license Stan’s rim technology to make them tubeless out of the box, complete with Stan’s rim tape pre-installed. Compared to the old ones, the rims are much, much wider (yay!), but they’ve done away with the ceramic bearings for cost reasons. The good news is, there are still a few of those original hubs in their warehouse, and I’ll tell you why you want them at the end of this review.
First things first: The new Black Flag Pro wheels are phenomenal, and they’re a steal.
Available in both 26″ and 29er, the rims are wide and tires mount easily. They’re tubeless and hold air quickly and easily; we had no leakage issues during the test period, and we used just one small tube of sealant per tire during the initial install…that’s it. We also tested them with tubes (shown in the photo at left).
And by tested, we mean totally abused. This photo was taken during the SRAM 2×10 press camp where I raced the other press folks on the Ashland Super-D course. I was the only one on a 29er and happened to have Maxxis 2.1 Aspen XC tires mounted up. Oh, and I was running the fronts with the 9mm QR for the race, but have since tested with 15mm thru axle, too, on a bigger fork.
Jump past the break for specs, photos and see why these should be on your shortlist for wheel upgrades…
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
The wheels come packed securely and well protected from scratches.
The wheels are available with black rims/gold hubs (tested) or gold rims/black hubs. The gold is bling-tastic, and it matches other gold things (Chris King Headsets, etc.) fairly well.
They come with two tubes of Stan’s sealant, Stan’s valve stems, Chromoly skewers and adapters for both 15mm and 20mm thru axles on the front. Rear wheels come with standard 9mm QR, but end caps to change to 135×12 or 142×12 are available for $20 each. The skewers are decently light and clamp well. They never came loose during testing.
Claimed weight for the set is 1665g. Ours weighed in at 840g front, 920g rear for a total of 1760g. That’s 95g over claimed weight, but it’s still respectable for an XC/Trail wheelset.
TORTURE TESTED
SPEC LIST AND PRICING
- Stan’s NoTubes Rims (w/Rim Tape)
- 24mm Rim Width
- 26?, 29er
- Premium, Cartridge Bearing, Straight-Pull Hubs
- Quick Release, QR15, 20mm Thru-Axle Front Axle Options
- Quick Release, 135×12, 142×12 Rear Axle Options
- Wheelsmith Straight-Pull, Double-Butted Spokes
- Wheelsmith Alloy Nipples
- 24/24 (28 / 28 for 29er) Hole Count
- Cro-moly Skewers
- 26?-1585g , 29er-1665g (claimed)