I pringled my front wheel yesterday at lee and I was looking around for a new wheelset.

The ones on superstar seem awesome (The Tech2 Evo AM’s or maybe the stans flows at a push on price) but the complaints seem constant that theres problems with the wheelbuild quality. Anyone on here had any bad experiences?

Thanks!

Had three sets, check spoke tension before and after first ride but I’d do that with any wheels. Never had an issue.

I had Superstar AM490’s on the slick hubs for 18 months, needed a bearing change after about 16 months but that was all. They emailed straight back when I asked them what bearings I needed to order for the hubs. Solid, reliable wheels, sold them to someone on here now as I bought a new bike. No issues at all.

Have some Superleggeras on Vapour rims about four years old, have swapped bearings once or twice, but no reliability issues. I’m Clydesdale Class and they’re pretty strong shape wise.

Had 2 sets of wheels from them, one off the shelf (XC430); fine. One custom build (AM490); fine. Both on the Switch EVO hubs.

Done a lot of miles (3000+) in crap conditions on the XC ones and not had any problems with losing tru or the bearings failing. The AM ones have taken some decent hits and have also stayed tru.

I measured the tensions when I got them and there was some variance but nothing huge.

I had a bad wheel build from superstar, the spoke tension was so tight the spoke eyelets were pulling through the rims, the rim eyelet holes were stretched and the rims were out of shape. Also the rims were scratched when I unpacked them. When I complained they told me to send them back which cost me £13 but superstar would only refund a maximum of £6.50 on postage costs so that left me out of pocket too. threads about superstar are common on STW and most people seem pretty happy but I’d never use them again! There’s plenty of local bike shops that do wheel building that’ll match superstar prices.

Paul

I@ve had a pair of AM490 rims on Switch hubs on my Boardman Hardtail for over a year.
I’m a heavy rider (100kg + when kitted up) and these wheels have taken a few hits but so far, pretty good.
The front one does need trueing up after I got a branch jammed through it, but I can’t really blame Superstar for that!
I’d buy them again.

I’ve got Superleggera on Alpine rims with CXray spokes hand built by Superstar and they’ve been excellent for 2 summers of Dales riding

I was hesitant due to the reported build quality issues .. but ultimately figured worse case scenario was giving the LBS some business trueing! (combined cost still seemed worthwhile).
Needn’t have worried .. I obviously didn’t get a Fri afternoon pair! More than happy to buy again in the future.

Thanks for all of your responses! I think even if I do get a bad pair guess it does mean I give my LBS a bit of business 😉 gonna be sensible and probably go for the tech2’s unless anyone thinks its worth pushing the boat out for the stans flows?

Much appreciated guys!

it’s a bit weird tbh, because I’ve seen some Superstar wheels that are absolutely spot on- as good a build as you could ask for really, just as good as my Wheelpro ones. But I’ve seen a couple that were just plain rotten. And of course Fruit’s customer service is legendary.

I’d buy them, personally, because the prices are fantastic and it seems like the chances are you get a good wheelset… but I’d approach the whole thing with caution.

northwind +1 -I wonder if Superstar has a few wheelbuilders, including one who is quite a bit less good at it than the others!

For me, the pricing is so good I would be willing to take a gamble on the build itself, and then spend more in getting them re-tensioned by a good wheelbuilder if it turned out to be a ‘Friday afternoon’ set. I usually build my own wheels and my mates’, but there is no way I could buy the parts for what SSC sells complete builds for (same usually goes for hope hoops, CRC and Merlin btw, but often ssc seems even more crazily priced for the parts you get)

What Northwind says. I’ve had a pair of Switch hubs / Spank rims for a few years now, and I think they’ve needed truing twice – but I’ve never had a pair of wheels I’ve not had to true, mainly ‘cos I have a habit of blatting down rocky stuff and getting pinch flats. Hubs are great, I don’t think I’ve ever changed the bearings though I did need to tighten them a touch once.

On the flipside, a mate had a set of their DH wheels which were build spectacularly badly. He is a big lad, and he was riding in the Alps, but he’s also a mincer and they started pinging spokes on the first descent.

I’d buy another pair.

I’ve just ordered a set of XCX 29er’s. £130 a pair, hopefully I get a decent set but for that price another £20 for the LBS to sort them they’d still be a bargain.

same experience as some people on here. My rear wheel basically fell to pieces after 5 miles on Wednesday, will be sending them back. Other set lasted 20 miles but just got my LBS to true them up.

The price is so cheap I’m not too pissed off, but really, 5 miles?!

Not had a good week. Cheapo wheel falls apart and expensive XTR Trail brake piston cracks. Just goes to show that the price you pay doesn’t necessarily reflect a good, long lasting product.

Very happy with my Switch/Crest 29er wheels. I’d happily buy again. 😀

Happy with mine (Crests on Switch Evo). They made awful pinging noises when I first rode them but have remained true with no obvious tension problems.

Had mine (Alex Supra 30 on Switch Evo) since Feb, have done about 2.5k on them, including a whole load of enduro races and uplift days.

Still running true and tight, had to do a bearing swap recently but this cost me under a fiver from a bearing supplier, and I expect to swap out cartridges every 9-12 months anyway, especially from new.

Re: the rim choice I would definitely recommend Flow if you plan to give them some hammer. I am 90kg and as talenteless as I am enthusiastic, my flow rims have barely a mark on them after a year

Just a comment on Superleggera hubs. My freehub body died after 18 months. I have changed bearings front and back 2 or 3 times in the same period. That’s all.

I had crests on switch evos, front was OK but back pinged like mad on first ride and several spokes became completely loose. There were a load of similar reviews on their website but they are all gone now…

Thanks for all the responses guys! Really appreciate hearing your thoughts, think I’m gonna go and order me some! Just have to choose how much I want to part with 😆

I bought a set of their Switch AM wheelsets in Jan 2010 and they’ve been used most weeks for everything including DH, AM, XC, DJ and 3 Morzine trips on a range of bikes from 200mm big rigs to 100mm hardtails. I’m a pretty heavy chap as well.
I’ve done no maintenance to them and they’re still spinning perfectly and arrow straight.

Pretty sure Superstar offer free lifetime service on their wheels as well.