has anyone got these as replacement for the standard ones and come across this issue at all?

changed, like for like, with my old ones, no adjustments made, and whenever i go down a rough descent the chain sits on top of the upper (smaller) jockey wheel, i then cant get it to mesh back on without pulling at it or dropping down right into the very smallest cogs out back (which isnt ideal if you have a immediate climb after a descent), which if left means it grinds and sounds awful as its sat on the top of it

i stick the originals back on and never have the issue again? even taken both sets out to test on same descent back to back to make sure it is that, so proved worthwhile test

also tried it on a brand new and chain and old chain and still the same

side by side the superstar and sram ones look identical – theres no rotation markings on the superstar jockeys (so no specific way to fit them), so cant see how they are fitted wrong

cant figure out why or what it could be

annoying as they are much more solid and smoother and quieter too

Same problem here! The top jockey wheel has narrow/wide teeth so the chain has to be aligned correctly just like it does with a narrow/wide chainring. Ive had the chain jump out of position on the top jockey wheel several times (bad shift/twig in mech) and had to stop and sort it. I’ll be swapping them for something else.

Narrow/wide on a Jockey, that’s just a daft design.

bugger!!!! but phew its not just me then, i was half expecting 10 replies saying its just me and setup is wrong

yep exactly the same its not just a one off, its happened a fair few times now which is frustrating as hell, almost means stopping after every single descent thats got any roughness to it

what a shame as they are much nicer and durable than the crap sram ones

let me know if you find any form of non sram alternative

Just seen this in the nick of time, I was about to order a set of Superstar Eagle Jockeys.

if they are thick-thin specific; does the same problem still occur when you’ve married the teeth and chain up correctly?

if they are thick-thin specific; does the same problem still occur when you’ve married the teeth and chain up correctly?

Yes it does.

It’s a nice idea but they’re a bit noisy in normal use and do skip teeth sometimes and sound terrible.

So not such a nice idea then I guess.

You have to have the teeth and chain aligned properly as the chain will ride up and be too close to the cassette teeth and shifting will be bad. It’ll be noisy too. As OW says and I have found, it can go out of position quite easily.

yep bizarre why it would even need them tbh, ive never dropped a chain off the top jockey before these ironically if thats what they are designed for!

once its out of sync if your chain has been sloshing about it wont just get back into sync as you pedal off, thats the issue, you have to manually keep getting it back on track other wise it just rides over the top of the jockey with the worst noise ever!

guess i could carry on using the lower one though seems like thats not a issue, least get some moneys worth out of the cermaic bearings!

Anyone run Uberbike replacement jockeys?

I haven’t tried the uberbike ones but they seem a good alternative although it sounds like the lower jockey wheel on those is narrow/wide, they mention it has a retaining lip, less of an issue I guess.

Same here,I have to take my wheels off to store my bike,every time I put the rear wheel back in,I get my hands dirty making sure the chain is on the jockeys properly,or the noise is terrible,it also happens while riding along,seriously thinking about putting the Sram ones back on.

Rather than bin them I might just get the file out and re-profile the wide teeth on the top jockey wheel.

The upper pulley skipping is a pain, will go back to SRAM for upper and Superstar bottom. The Superstar upper will get used on an 11 speed lower.

Well that’s annoying, I’ve just fitted a pair to my bike. I noticed the above skipping when putting the wheel back on until I reseated the jockey wheel, but I can’t stand that happening on the trails.

Has anyone spoken to superstar about this? I’ve be expecting a refund if the part doesn’t work..

I’ve been liaising with them, tbf theyve been helpful in suggestions

But ultimately sounds like a setup issue is what the outcome is from them

I’ve told them it’s fine when I swap back to sram and that it only ever happens on the upper

I’ve tried new chains and worn chains

I’m not sure what else I could actually do

Interestingly the shimano 12 speed version is now for sale with no narrow wide profile

So would the shimano ones fit? I know it’s a 13t instead of 12t upper but is the bolt likely be the same size on the sram and shimano mech?

Had the same issue and thought it was just me as SRAM rear mechs seem to be tormenting me lately.
Turned the top jockey wheel around thinking they were directional and it worked for a while. Then started again out of the blue when it all must have become misaligned again.

If i could file the too upper one down smoothly then would be fine

Shame really as they do seem really quite good quality and bearings too, I’m a bit gutted to not be able to use them instead of the sram ones

I wonder if its cos they are almost to rigid, where as the Sram ones have a fair bit play and float so if the chain moves a bit getting thrown around then it doesn’t come of the jockey as jockey moves side to side with the chain throw

With the superstar ones in place they don’t budge at all so the chain has no choice but to come off

Just second guessing really as side by side they are identical sizing bar the play and the narrow wide teeth profile

Mine are working fine once I realised they were narrow /wide. 500 miles and one worn out and one brand new chain later and all is tickity boo.

N/W profile on a jockey wheel is all levels of dumb.

Its not as if the rear mech can throw the chain when its sandwiched between the cage plates.

In fairness the sram jockeys are n/w too, well the lower one anyway. Possibly sram didn’t n/w the top jockey for this very reason? It’s just the bearings that cause some people issues.

Fyi, Uberbike ones are all out of stock.

Personally I’d go for the NX jockeys, around £12 ish and they run on a simple bushing so no bearing to seize up and ruin the mech.

Its not as if the rear mech can throw the chain when its sandwiched between the cage plates.

Hmmm.  Is this not kinda why SRAM changed the design on the lower jockey wheel?  Lack of smiley makes it difficult to tell if serious or not.

no sram changed the lower jockey as it didnt have the lip all the way around so it was bouncing off and chain was jamming between the cage and lower jockey

the lip all the way around solved that problem instantly for me

so tell me this then, how the hell do i line up the chain with narrow wide on the upper jockey??? im actually running a shimano 12 speed chain, but clearly is an issue which ever chain brand you run

but im unsure what you mean by lining up the narrow wide to the chain? i just bung my chain on and always have done, never had to position it in a specific way to fit a jockey wheel?!

Mine were noisy to start off with but my cassette was filthy. I cleaned the cassette, it was still noisy, aligned the drop out still noisy then turned I think the lower wheel by 1 tooth – silence!

I used the Superstar Eagle jockey wheels for a short time on my GX mech, they worked fine, much better than the original Sram ones. I didn’t have the issue of the chain going out of position. The lip also stopped the chain from going in between the jockey wheel and cage which was happening on my original Sram ones.

its not really much use to me sadly – as i take my back wheel off after every ride – so with the chain being exposed and loose im never going to drop on the correct tooth on the upper jockey every time, which means for the first descent at least every single ride its going to do it

are sram 12 speed jockey bolts and shimano 12 speed jockey bolts the same size does any one know? if they are i will just get the 13t shimano jockeys from superstar that have no n/w profile

Just filed the wide teeth down on the top jockey wheel. Pretty simple 30 minute job. Ill let you know how it goes after a ride later.

Good work, try your hardest smash it off the jockey!!

And then if it works send me some pics so can have a go 🙂

will do ☺

well – being liasing with superstar, very helpful checking things, theyve not heard to many reports of this, and sold lots as i can imagine, maybe most folk dont have to keep removing wheels etc like i do so it always manages to stay meshed….

any ways, the new shimano 12speed jockeys are identical in every way (same size bolts, same bearings and same outer caps), however the shimano 12 speed jockeys are 13t/13t and sram eagle are 12t/14t

so firstly that shouldnt cause a issue should it?? can see no reason why 1t will make a differnce! can anyone confirm?

the main fact being the shimano ones are totally flat, have no narrow wide, but should provide the same quality

I can confirm that my filed down jockey wheel worked perfectly. Dodgy shifts on steep climbs, bumpy downhills, no problem. Drive chain feels smoother too.

Great work

What did you use to file it down adn smooth it off?

I take it you did it on regular sections of trails where it was happening before?

I used a medium grade hand file to get each tooth down to close to the profile of the narrow teeth then finished off with a fine needle file.
I used the trails I normally get problems on. I’m out on the mtb every day so it’ll get a thorough test but so far I’d say its a good fix.

Great stuff I’ll get my old man on it see if he can do it for me

Keep me posted if it carries on working or fails as I wont be able get him to do it for a week or so in the current climate

This had been happening on a friends 12s mech with the original sram jockey wheels Over the last few weeks. We ‘fixed’ it trail side by adjusting the b tension screw out slightly. When we looked at the cassette/chain/jockey it looked quite easy for the chain to miss getting on a tooth if it was bumpy, throwing it out of line.

It’s hard to explain but if you back pedal slowly it should be visible what was happening.

Anyway, two hours more riding and no more dropped chains for him so could be worth a try for people

Post it to me and I’ll do it if you like?

yes please! will message you know, if you can do it properly better than mine or my dads hamfisted attempts!