Catschroedinger.

Yes, that may be, but it doesn’t alter the original ethos and feel of the company.

I would (and do) use superstar for brake pads. There is nothing to choose between ‘pukka’ branded pads and superstar. I have had one superstar split on me, and one ‘branded’ one. The charges that ‘brands’ make for generic components are untenable versus retailers like superstar. You could argue that the same applies to (May god forgive me) Hope in terms of replacement bearings.

But on high ticket and more complex stuff like wheels with freehubs etc I would want some fallback if it doesn’t mean an excessive premium on purchase price. My wheels are hand built jobs from Merlin with Hope hubs. I got them at a cracking price, and am reassured that both those companies would treat me well if I had any need to call on them. I haven’t needed them in nearly four years anyway as the build and components are of such quality! Besides knocking in and out a few bearings and getting busy with a spoke key a few times, I haven’t needed any more advanced support.

I wouldn’t trust superstar in this way. Either on the initial quality or the potential after sales. As before, I am happy to use them for smaller ticket items that I am unlikely to need any customer service on, but on larger items I would rather pay an apparent premium for better quality, both in the initial hardware and the after sales service.

Like looking at a car and seeing a Halfords oil filter; you know it’s not been done right.

ummm not really, that sounds like nonense,

No, it’s an opinion. Fair enough if you don’t share it, but you shouldn’t dismiss it.

There is nothing to choose between ‘pukka’ branded pads and superstar

I disagree. Brake pads are very much different. Superstar are bottom of the heap; Brake Authority slightly better; Manufacturer better still. I find Goodridge pads top of the heap. All IMHO, of course.

I got some spare Superstar pads with some Avid XX brakes and they ruined them. With real pads they were good brakes.

Maybe there is a place for Superstar selling headset spacers or other non-moving parts. Anything more complex and it’s worth spending a little more and buying the real deal.

I had a hope pro 2 hub crack. Hope sent me another but the rebuild cost was up to me.
Superstar replaced the first wheel. OP, have you spoken to them about this or do you like to puff your chest out online? I see you only post on here to bad mouth them.

You’ll probably end up getting an Evo hub as a replacement – read somewhere else that someone got that.

The new Evo version has a bigger 17mm axle and 36 points of engagement and an improved ratchet ring.

For balance, SS had an ad recently which showed they’d sold 30k+ hubs and wheel sets since inception. On a statistical basis, you’d expect some failures. Interestingly, the same KT manufactured hub is also branded as Nukeproof and others, and they too had some issues, but it’s only on this site and only towards Superstar that there’s any significant griping.

Anyway, back on track. Send your wheel back with a POLITE letter, asking them to upgrade to an Evo as it will protect both parties from hassle, expense and time cost of another potential failure.

my superstar wheelset is now 2 years old, with no servicing and still going strong. 2 years of 4x, hooning about in the woods and a few trail centres thrown in for good measure.

Maybe I’m lucky?

Maybe you are unlucky?

I got some spare Superstar pads with some Avid XX brakes and they ruined them. With real pads they were good brakes.

How did they ruin them?

I use Superstar pads all the time in my Avids have done for a few years, they’re still working.

Pads ruining brake systems? Sounds like cobblers to me. How exactly?

Unless they boiled the fluid (which still shouldn’t ruin the system) or disintegrated to the point where they did physical damage to the caliper, I really cannot fathom this. Maybe they did not perform well, but that’s hardly ruining brakes.

The basic point is use grey importers for high volume low cost consumables and you should, mostly, get better value for money. If you consider lifetime costs (and the ball ache of bike downtime), then I would choose a ‘quality’ brand for higher ticket items. Merlin combined with Hope have been where the smart money is spent for a long time in my opinion. The reason for this is quality builds with quality components and great customer service. There will be good long term stories about superstar wheels out there, but what percentage of the overall amount of these wheel sets will result in a good long term outcome I cannot say. But I will hazard a guess it is less than the aforementioned combination.

It’s a while since I used Superstar pads but they seemed fine compared to the original Avids. However I’ve found that Hope OEM pads last for so much longer than other pads I’ve used (even the organic ones) that the extra cost is cancelled out. I have Superstar grips on one bike and they’re a disappointingly hard compound – a shame because they’re one of the few suppliers that sell refills rather than having to buy the whole grips and clamps.

To Iolo: ‘OP, have you spoken to them about this or do you like to puff your chest out online? I see you only post on here to bad mouth them.’ I generally read STW and other sites, mainly pinkbike… just because I do not post that often on other topics (well never), does not mean I am here just to ‘bad mouth’ SS. If you read the thread, you will see that if they did not want my hassle and misery, then they should have thought about that before sending out another duff hub. I am just sharing my experience with the collective. Please see that how you will. Also I have spent ~£750 (inc these wheels) with SS. I really like their tools because of their price and *dare I say it* quality. I also use their Ultra Mag Pedals with Ti Axle… and I have not had any other issues with them what-so-ever. SO I am sure you can conclude that this is not a single purchase rant.

to Naffa: Cheers, I requested the pickup service from reading the t+c’s and Superstar already sent me the ticket using UPS, so I will send of the wheel tomorrow.

I did find SS pads to be not that good, single ride and wiped out on the pads that were supposed to be for wet/mud conditions (they were bedded in properly). Best pads to date I think are the Enduro/Gravity pads from Nukeproof on CRC. Last a long long long time and the performance is noticeably better than any other pads, even the stock pads supplied by oem’s, imho. The Nukeproof pads are a lot more expensive but I found that they last 4 times as long and I have never had them howling on me.

I doubt they sent you a “duff” hub as you describe it deliberately. Unfortunate but one of those things and definitely not something I’d rank as worth being upset about. Granted I have Vulcan-esque levels of logic and composure though! 😉

Please excuse me, duff as in ‘not worth sending out, because it has an obvious design flaw problem.’

But as everyone has said, lets see what happens!

Don’t get worried about iolo, he likes to bad mouth another company.

dannyh – Member

Pads ruining brake systems? Sounds like cobblers to me. How exactly?

I’d assume just meant ruined the performance. Which is still weird tbh.

<sniggers> at Drac… 🙂

had the exact same tesla free hub issue, the whole thing suddenly jammed up mid ride. Superstar took their time but got the wheel rebuilt with tesla evos, wheels were returned 3 weeks later with the wrong adaptor! one phone call and another 3 days later they were running again?

any one need 135×12 adaptors for a tesla evo £5 inc p&p?

to dangerousdonald: 3 bloody weeks….

Barik – from what’s been said, it’s now much faster on warranty turnaround. Be nice and you’ll get more help – kick off and get bare minimum.

My Superstar freewheel failed. I took it off, posted it back to them and got a new one by return.

The wheelset was cheap (I couldn’t afford Hope etc, at the time) so I took the risk and they kept their end of the bargain.

C

The freehubs sound more reliable that some of the Specialized ones that barely last 2 months.

I neglected a Hope rear hub and the bearings collapsed in the freehub and at the pawls and inner hub…

I’ ve had great experiences with SS pads over last 5 years. Their bearing tools are handy bits of kit and their other cheapoi tools are OK. I would never buy a bottom bracket or hewadset though

So the superstar hubs fail, they pay for return carriage will repair or replace and post them back out within a few days or couple of weeks at worst?

Is this not better and quicker than the turn around of the same hubs via the other manufacturers and resellers, especially as superstar seem to do this way after the first year?

I have used superstar for a number of years and have found their after sales either blindingly fast or rather slow but ultimately they do deal with things to a good resolve and certainly no worse than any of the other box shifters.

I’ve had two tesla’s break, either the pawls stopped engaging completely, or the axle snapped and wrecked the insides, got a trizoid as replacement which seems better, but it eats bearings, how people go 2 years without servicing them is a mystery to me….

http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk/

My Superstar tesla review is if your thinking of buying them, you’ll need to buy two wheel sets as you’ll then have one to play with whilst the others broke and being sorted! I suppose i should touch wood in future but my new tesla evo freehub just destroyed itself!
The pawls in these hubs are not strong enough! The old tesla hub had the same trouble back in november time and here i am again! Come on superstar sort it out!