After much deliberation the desire to save money has won out and I’ve got my eyes on some Superstar wheels. Flow rims on Switch Evo hubs. I then made the mistake of reading some real moaning about Superstar and the poor service if anything goes wrong.

Has anyone got any feedback on the Switch hubs? If I’m going to regret buying them I may save up for something else, but I really don’t fancy the noisy clicking of the de rigeur Hope Pro IIs, which seem the other main option.

superstar hubs will probably click alot aswell? Or are they supposed to be silent?

Duchy Originals Lemon Shortbread and a fresh pot of Lapsang Souchon if anyone’s interested.

I may even have a spot of ginger cake in a cupboard somewhere.

ill have a drop of unmentionable far eastern sea food please

i have silent hubs, is that a good or bad thing?

I can put up with clicking if it saves me a lot of money, but I’d rather a bit of quiet as I’m freewheeling down to the corner shop

Switch hubs are good quality. Some really nice design features like seals on the adapters to help keep crap out of the bearings etc. Fruit on the other hand ……

A mate has had a set for 8 months, he’s had no problems with them. Although the colour is mank.

OK I’ll bite!

I have a pair of Superleggera hubs. I have had them almost a year.

The bearings on the front hub died remarkably quickly but the rear is fine. The front hub, new bearings fitted, is fine.

I am more than happy with the hubs. They aren’t as good as my DT240s but they are priced slightly differently. At yet another price point are the A2Z hubs… silly light and about £145 a pair. No idea how long they will last.

Oh yes, the Superstar hubs click/whizz a lot. it is only good if you like that sort of thing.

I have the cheaper SSC rear hub on my SS – works fine though I noticed recently that it’d got a bit of play in it – not a big problem since it’s cartridge bearing but it hasn’t been ridden all that much in the time I’ve had it so they’re obviously not brilliant bearings as stock.

I had a pair of the switch, bearings lasted about 2 months(at most), rear squeeked like a bugger after a month or so when pedalling, get some 2nd hand hope xc’s or pro 2’s if you need different axle options, buy cheap buy twice.

No Muc-off etc used either, stipped and cleaned/regreased the rear about 3 times during use too…

I had a pair of the switch, bearings lasted about 2 months(at most), rear squeeked like a bugger after a month or so when pedalling,

on the other hand, mine have been fault free.

Indeed I have switch hubs and they have been fine, the pro 2’s I had ate bearings on a tri monthly basis.

I’ve got a set of the stans wheel offer they are selling. Wheels stayed true for about 3 commutes to work. They’ve offered to true them for me, but I think I’ll take them along to my LBS to be on the safe side. Hubs are loud, but it’s good for getting the walkers to notice you coming.

Some seem to be lucky with the wheel builds, others don’t. But then it’s £10 per wheel at the lbs to get them sorted. So they still work out a bargain.

RE: Clicky Pro IIs

Remove freehub, fill with grease and it won’t make a sound.
Did that recently, just for the hell of it, whilst doing a bit of other maintenance and find the lack of clicky a bit weird 😯

find the lack of clicky a bit weird

I’ve got 2 bikes with Hope hubs and 2 with Shimano.

I get far more scared on solo nightrides with the Shimanos as you can hear all the wildlife noise in the trees when you’re coasting singletrack.

Not bothered about different axle options. I just fancy Stan’s Flow rims and Superstar seem to have the best deal on them, with the best price being for Switch hubs

But then it’s £10 per wheel at the lbs to get them sorted. So they still work out a bargain.

So that’s £20, as opposed to Hope who would have taken the wheel back, rebuilt it with new spokes, posted it back, paid for all the postage, done it in under 3 days and then offered you the hand of their first born daughter in marrige as way of compenation for your missed riding time.*

*this may or may not be true, but judging by my past experiences with them it wouldn’t shock me!

Hope paid off my mortgage when I moaned about a broken hub I found in a skip. And it wasnt even a Hope hub.

Not sure where the best prices are for Hope Hoops, but looking at Merlin I’d be paying £100 more for Stans Flow on Hope Pro IIs, as opposed to Superstar’s Stans Flow on Switch hubs. Superstar throw in some tubeless sealant too. That’s 5 lots of re-truing in the LBS – for both wheels – before the Superstar ones become a false economy. Just wanting to know if anyone has regretted going the Superstar wheel route.

I was going to buy one but managed to source a Pro2 off here pretty cheap. (£25). The way I looked at it, they are cartridge bearings anyway so even if the originals are short lived, I could stick new ones in easily. Plus they offer the different axle options I was after.

How much are the SSC wheels then?

If you use a 15mm front axle then drop me an email, I may be able to help with an economical s/h option.

Sorry, Q/R here. The SSC ones are £229 a pair, which is pretty good value in my opinion.

I got Some of the Stans 29er flows on a Superstar SS Hub
Been very good so far, certainly inpressive for the money

They forgot the lockrings in the package but left a voicemail message and they turned up a couple of days later.

Cant fault them so far but its early days

Yea but it wont be economical when you realise the hubs are **** and buy a set of hopes.

I love their pads and pedals but for hubs, don’t bother.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anybody-using-superstar-wheels-or-hubs

I read posts on here before buying the Switch. There didnt reaaly seem to be issues like some have had with the Superleggera ones, aside from maybe needing a bit more grease.

They make a noise when free wheeling, which I actually like and is a good bell alternative

I love the sound of my hope pro 2

Dan, the bike outlet in york have rear for £160 and front for £95 if that changes anything? But if you get them and they become out of stock before i get a new rear wheel, i’ll hunt you down.

Been running a rear wheel(XC717) with Switch hub for about two months with no problems.

I grabbed the switch enduro wheelset that was on offer last year. Plonked them on my minidh bike, bashed them off everything at high and low speeds and apart form a little bit of rear wheel truing last month, i’ve have had no issues at all. Happily get another set if the price was right.

Cheers Sambob. First come first served 😉

I’ve had the Switch EVO hubs on crests for a few months, hubs are great so far, bear in mind they aren’t made by Superstar but Novatec who make things for lots of companies. Bearings are just bearings and cost a few quid from simplybearings to replace if they do go early, but just stop jet washing your hubs/drenching in muc off etc.

I would have to say the build quality from Superstar isn’t great, both my wheels came with vertical and horizontal wobbles out the box, and the rear detensioned a lot within a few rides with some spokes coming completely loose.

£100 less than Hope hoops though, so if you are able to true your own wheels still worth it imo.

I have a switch 135 qr rear hub going spare if anyone needs a bargain hub. £15 plus post.

yep as bigjim says – made by novatech/joytech – who will make hubs for loads of other brands

in fact i echo everything he says. i have a set of spank spikes on superstar hubs, they needed retensioning within a couple of rides but have been fine since, so not the best wheel build ever. bearings lasted a few months, but not a difficult job to whack some new ones in.

cost me £164. the rims retail at around £50-£60 each! can’t really beat that for value.

Same experience here as peachos and bigjim.

I got the Switch hubs on Stan’s Flows. After a couple of rides I had to take an hour and retension them (especially the rear, which had come completely loose on the non-driveside). since then they’ve been fine. I’ve only had them about 4 months now and the bearings are still looking ok. They’ve been fully submerged in swamp a few times, so I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on them. For the price though, I can’t complain.

Sidenote: Is removing the front hub bearings just a matter of knocking them out from the opposite sides? I just can’t see much in there to get a good purchase on.

Sidenote: Is removing the front hub bearings just a matter of knocking them out from the opposite sides? I just can’t see much in there to get a good purchase on

yep – hammer & long flat head!

I’m use using one of the switch hubs on the rear and I’ve had no issues. It’s been underwater and also taken a fair bit of abuse downhilling with it. Only had it for a few months but still feels smooth and had no issues.

I have switch hubs on my FS since the new year – but have not ridden it that frequently. OK so far. I’ll report back in the autumn if they are still going well or not, as I expect the FS will get more thrashing over the summer and autumn