[Closed] Superstar wheels

The Switch hubs I've had have been pretty indestructible. Not used the Teslas.

Whats the difference? Sealed bearings? Or just ones lighter?

Not sure of the difference (think Teslas have more pick up points?).

Have used and abused both with no issues. Bearings fairly simple to change. For the price it's a no-brainer IMHO.

Tesla has a different kind of freehub mechanism, which used to highly unreliableif you believe the internet. The Switch seems a little more reliable/old-fashioned in its design. I've had two sets of Switches and never really had an issue. Bearings and freehub have been replaced as needed.

Have Superstar redesigned or improved the Tesla hub since they first released it? There where many reports of premature failures about 18 months ago.

I used to have a set of wheels with Switch hubs which were fine, bearing life was good and easy to replace, spares are cheap and easy to get hold of.

The free bodies used to crack a lot, they've got new ones that don't - they also have a pretty bullet proof 2 year warranty, a crash replacement policy and free truing for life - it's hard to find a better supplier IMO, their wheels also tend to rate very highly in the mags too.

Got 2 sets of Switch Evo's (3years old) and 1 of Tesla. All been very reliable so far. Tesla are 7months old and are my only wheels on FS.
I've only got 1 set of their rims and they are the Tactics. They have stayed pretty true and the laser etched logos are better than stickers. I have put a number of dents in the rear though (this could be down to low pressure). Still hold tubeless fine though - very easy to inflate tubeless too.

The original Tesla hubs had reliability problems and have been replaced with Tesla-Evo (at the rear anyway), they have loads of pick-up points and are ridiculously easy to swap between axle standards...i like them and have them on my 650b Trance in 142x12 flavour, prior to that i had the same set on my On-One 45650b in 135x10 version...no problems so far.

The rim is SS's own Tactic, they are a reasonable weight at 400g and have a pleasing width for an AM/trail bike (23mm internal/28mm external) and have a nice smooth rounded profile unlike some of the more box section profile rims around (Pacenti for example)...ridden everything from local trails/singletrack to uplift days at BPW and grass roots DH stuff and have yet to damage them.

The whole lot came as a set for £250-ish i seem to remember and were well built, i snapped a spoke on my first ride when a stick went through the front wheel but the LBS put it right for £10....highly recommended.

I also have a set of Pacenti rims on SS's Switch hubs...also bullet proof, there is a pause in pick-up that you'd only notice if coming straight off the Tesla hubs with their instant drive, ridden in isolation the Switch hubs feel great though.
Reliability is legendary....even on here people will grudgingly admit that Switch hubs are good kit, i believe they are rebranded Novatec hubs. Switching between axle standards requires spanners instead of the Tesla's snap on/snap off adaptors and i think SS now offer them with SKF bearings which was their only weak point really.

The Pacenti rim is the TL28 which has a 23mm internal width and easily supports the 2.3 - 2.5 tyres i like to run on my HT, the rims are less than 400g each and take a shed load of abuse on my steel Ragley, they are the ones that have suffered the most from my ham fisted riding on uplift days so far this year!....crashed a few times, done a local DH race, clipped the edges on rocks at BPW and have yet to damage these either....i'm not light at 90kg just in case anyone thinks i'm a 60kg featherweight rider.

Again, they were well built and i'd happily recommend these as a more cost effective set.

I also have a road wheelset with SS's own brand parts and obviously built by them and that has been faultless for the last 2 years.
Superstar are my go to place for wheels now.

Got two sets of Evo + Crest wheels.

Price was pretty amazing. One set has been perfect, but the other set developed play in the rear hub very quickly. New bearings have not fixed it either.

Both Tesla Evo and Switch Ultra have been fine for me. But the Switch seems to be the more bombproof option based on others' experience.

The Tactic rims are alright for XC or mincing but they're more "trail" than "all mountain", contrary to the smart laser etched graphics.

The Tech 4 wheelset with DS25 rims is best for hard riding I reckon, very similar to a Flow EX rim. Maybe the DS23 if you don't need something that burly.

I have tactic rims on tesla hubs, paid 200 as a stop gap while I decide whether to go carbon or not. I have had them on a couple of months and I am really impressed so far, stayed true and pick up is really good. I am hard on wheels and found myself constantly having to sort bearings, spokes etc on the stans/hope combos. I am actually now considering the superstar carbon ones which I would not have thought about until I tried these.

Anyone got a road disk wheelset from them? What combo did you go for?

Also picked up some crests on switch for silly money a while back. Well used and had to replace the rear bearing (got a bit rumbly), front is still fine more than 12 months on.

One bearing change every 12 months for a set of light wheels for much cheapness, totally acceptable.

hmmmm, I've got the same set of wheels as Deviant.

Rear was straight and round, but tension was all over the place, front was better. I've managed to put a couple of big dings into the rear rim. Now, was entirely down to hamfisted riding on my part, smacked the rear on the lip of a stone edged drop-off. But...I've been equally hamfisted forever, and the last set of wheels that I was using, M819 (built by me) never suffered the same sort of damage. Rims have been straightened, are running fine, and went up tubless without any issues. Hubs are fine.

Semi thread hijack.. about to build up a wheel and looking at the T-Ready rims.. Any experience?

EX23, TR21 or DS25 versions?

I'm fairly light so guessing the 23 or 21 versions? 30g difference in weight, but the blurb says the same about both really so next to impossible for me to decide what's best?

What sort of riding? What wheel size?

I have the ds25 and they are very similar to a stans flow ex.

I've only used the switch evo hubs they have been bombproof so have my AM-490 rims I even rode the rear down black rocks with a flat and it survived without any dings. I would go with the Switch Ultralite for the weight saving they still have more pick up points than a hope pro 2.

@Chakaping

Have you had an issue with your tactic rims? I actually haven't found anyone yet who's had an issue yet. There was a guy who raced an entire enduro series and the mega on the xc sentinel rims.

They are well made and good looking, but not as stiff as is needed for all mountain use.

Especially in the 29er version.

I put them on my ht and used then for xc instead, for which they seem pretty good.

Selling now if anyone wants some snazzy blue 29er hoops?

How often do the superstar deals come round on wheels? I remember at christmas they ran a discount on them then.

April was 20% off wheels

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I've just got a set of the trace enduro wheels on the tesla hub, and very impressed with them, set up tubeless dead easy considering I've never done it before.

Got a pair of Pacemti/switch a couple of years ago which were fine. After all the stuff on here about tension I checked them regularly but nothing untoward. Wasn't impressed by the Pacenti rims though.

chakaping - Member

What sort of riding? What wheel size?

I have the ds25 and they are very similar to a stans flow ex.

Trails only - nothing DH and in no way a XC weight weenie or owt. I basically plod along where the trails take me and odd visit to trail centres.

Blue will look horrid on my bike but sent you an email anyway @cha****ng

FOG- The Pacentti rims, why? I was going to wait for these to comeback into stock. It was between those or the Tactic rims.

I got a set of 650b tesla evo tactic rim wheels in the april sale. struggled to set them up tubeless until I changed the rim tape, but so far they have handled everything I have thrown at them. Only thing I cant get used to is the sound of the rear hub (swarm of bees springs to mind). For £200 I think they are more than worth the money.

^you are in a position that I should have been. Tesla+Tactic and a nice discount. Bugga.

They just seemed to dink very easily, very soft. The upside was they were easy to straighten because of said softness!

^ that's a trait of DT rims as well though, the alloy is much softer than the Maxtal stuff Mavic use.

+ve = less likely to actually pinch flt as the rim is softer and takes a fair chunk of the impact out

-ve = you dent your rims a lot

Having seen the state of my friends DT rim last time I rebuilt his wheels, I have to say it kinda works, we counted 11 proper dents, and he'd not once punctured on that rim. When he was running Mavic 819s he was pinchpunture tastic (same/and similar tyres and riding style and locations)

Anecdotal for sure but I'm convinced there's truth to it.

I bought a set of wheels from superstar back in December 2014, went for tesla evo hubs and Dr Swiss m440 rims. They'be been fine so far. I buckled the front in a crash in jan,but I managed to get it vaguely straight again and it's been fine since.

They've been given a fair bit of abuse I've the last 6 months .

Tesla evo rear hub is £120 if building a custom set from them. Seems quite expensive when you consider the switch wheelset with the DS25 rims is only £184.99 complete. Decisions decisions

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/tech-4-tubeless-ready-wheelsetds25.htm

Having seen the state of my friends DT rim last time I rebuilt his wheels, I have to say it kinda works, we counted 11 proper dents, and he'd not once punctured on that rim. When he was running Mavic 819s he was pinchpunture tastic (same/and similar tyres and riding style and locations)

Wonder how Stans compare? I've got the Arch EX and the other one on the other rim- no pinchflats at all and thats at 30-35psi

Yes but you are a bit of a mincer...

Wonder how Stans compare?

In my experience somewhere in between...

This house (me + gf) has a mix of DT (540s 440, 400), Stans (Arch), Mavic (319, 719, 717, 819, 321), Bontrager (RL, RXL) rims and DT definitely the softest, Mavic the hardest.

The 540s pretty much look like a golf ball, covered in dimples and dents, but I run them with reasonably light (650g) 2.3in tubless tyres on a HT and have yet to puncture, on the 819s, even using full UST I semi-regularly put a hole in a sidewall, but I've only ever dented one once. The Stans Arch's have a few minor bumps but nothing major and same story with punctures, a couple, but not a regular thing.

FWIW, I weigh 75Kg and never run rear tyres < 30psi tubed or tubeless, anything under that and I'll puncture for sure at some point unless it's a full on Dual-Ply or I'm on mincing mission, mid to high 20s on the front

I descent down trails like a man wearing a neck scarf falls from a bar stool

Unlike yourself who descends like a mythical stallion of course..

I descent down trails like a man wearing a neck scarf falls from a bar stool

Warm and cozy?

Sudden and dramatic

Just over a week ago I had SS build up a set - DT Swiss M442 rims on 350 hubs. Quite impressed given the battering they've just had round the 7Staines. A few spokes needed re-tensioning on the rear, but other than that (and that's to be expected) no probs - still early days of course.

Spoke too soon.

My Tesla rear imploded today. Purchased mid-2013 but not fitted until August 2014 (part of the Rocket saga...), so non-EVO version.

Without warning today (and obviously at the furthest point away from our start/end point in Edale), totally lost the ability to pedal forward and make any progress - no engagement at all. Stripped it down once I finally got home (thanks Colin...) but can see no obvious damage/wear. Weird.

Have emailed photos to Superstar support to see what they say...

switch hubs are agricultural but they do work

Yeah. No issues with the Switch on my other bike - 3 years old with one bearing change and no issues whatsoever.

Colournoise - my Tesla did exactly that last year. Superstar replaced it with a Tesla Evo hub.

The Tesla Evo has just gone pop. The freehub had stripped loads of the teeth. It's within 2 years so still in warranty.

@dantsw13 - that's slightly comforting to hear. I'll see what they say.