Ive been looking for a rear wheel and stumbled across the Superstar custom build, they had 25% off so a Flow EX with Sapim spokes came to £116, which seems good.
Question is, are switch hubs crap, and have i taken a massive step back from my Hope 40t, i really wanted a Pro4 Evo but the whole wheel came out over twice as much.

I used some for a bit and rebuilt them onto some Hope rims… They were faultless.

Switch are very good imo. But if you want a faster pick-up, then the tesla evos are the way to go.

V good hub IME. Have had two running for years without any issues

I have both, really like the switch wheels, pick up isn’t quite as quick as the hopes but it only takes me a few seconds to adjust so definitely not a major issue.

I have the AM carbon wheels, build quality wasn’t fantastic, all the spokes on the rear came loose halfway through my second ride on them. But they rebuilt them quickly and they’ve stayed tight and true since then, 6 months of peaks riding with a couple of uplift days thrown in (I am over 100kg too so can be pretty hard on wheels). The rear rim died a couple of weeks ago after an unlucky interface with a pointy rock, I took it in to SS to find out how much it would cost for a rebuild, they offered to replace the rim under warranty, so I’m very impressed with the service!

Ace, thanks for the reply’s.
The wheels gonna need a good shakedown before Morzine next month, I feel like I’m cheating on Hope but £130 buys a lot of Mutzig, I’ve got a 40t Hope on the Original Flow rear but I flat spotted it in Le thuile and I’m going to build it onto some Flow mk3 when I get round to it.
I wonder if it’s worth getting my trusted LBS to, check the new rim?

I wonder if it’s worth getting my trusted LBS to, check the new rim?

Possibly, there have been mixed stories about SS wheel builds. I must be one of the lucky ones as I’ve been running a set of Switch Ultras with their Tactic rim faultlessly for nearly two years. Took them in to get checked by my LBS recently and they were still fine and the bearings are spot on despite riding through all sorts of axle high 5h!t

Sentinel rims on Switch hubs here (second hand) and they’re great. OH has Tactics on Switch which are also jolly good. Both sets of wheels have been through a couple of very gloopy winters!

Might want to consider thread titles before actually gaining any experience of subject matter

I run Tactic on Switch Ultra and they are absolutely fine.

In fact for the money and width they are a damn good weight.

Hubs seem hassle free

Might want to consider thread titles before actually gaining any experience of subject matter

You’ve lost me.

You’ve lost me.

Really? ‘Cos from your thread title I opened this thread expecting that you’d had some horrendous problem with Superstar hubs, not that you were canvasssing opinions about what actually appears to be a really good product.

Yes really, I didn’t get what he was getting at.
I’m essentially asking if the product is any good and if I’ve hastily purchased something that’s nowhere near as good as what I had.
Can’t see what the problem, maybe I wrote the title as I would ask the question, feel free to report me and have the thread removed lol.

Ok.

What finbar said.

Thread title advice taken on board

was the “?” added after then, ‘cos at the risk of being all contrary I read the title as intended, which is why I came in to say my s/star wheels have been faultless in the 1000km that I’ve owned them. re-branded Novatec hubs aren’t they?

The “?” Was there all along.
Thanks for the info, I’ll google Novatec, i can’t shake the feeling I’m being a cheapskate tho.

Novatec 881/882 though I’d just buy them from ss especially @ 25% discount

I too thought this was going to be a SS bashing thread from the title…

Your title is full of implied bias, which is backed up by your comments

are switch hubs crap, and have i taken a massive step back

can’t shake the feeling I’m being a cheapskate tho.

I feel like I’m cheating on Hope

You’ve got a preconceived idea that the Hopes are superior, you could have asked “Are the SS switch hubs any good?” but instead you asked if they were ‘crap’, it may sound like a tiny difference but the bias is clear even if it was subconcious!

I guess that shows what a good job Hope have done with their reputation over the years 😉

FWIW, those Novatec/SS switch hubs are good, they are well proven, robust and spares are cheap and readily available, tbh I’ve not been overly impressed with Hope hubs since the XC/Bulb days, now they’re just another anodized shell with some bearings pressed in and a basic pawl and spring freehub design.

There are better options around the same price, and plenty to rival them for less, what you do get with Hope is the nice feelign of supporting a UK business, and their excellent aftersales support. This may or may not be worth the £ to you.

EDIT – read that back and reaslised it sounds slightly anti-Hope, I didn’t mean ti that way I’ve had ~20 of their hubs personally over the years, and built many many more, I like them, but my comments above are still valid.

I’m very brand loyal, and definitely had the preconception Hope is the better product, I’ve had zero problems over the years, relyability is important and the last thing a want is to carry my bike off a mountain.
The SS hub/wheel was a late night purchase before the discount code ended, the thread was me thinking I’d made a mistake and looking for positive info while rushing to work.
The thread has definitely given me a bit more confidence in my purchase.

Which options do you suggest Amedias? I like the look of the DTs but the very low engagement doesn’t look appealing!

The 3 switch hubs I’ve had have all failed. The freehub is weak & falls to pieces. When it goes, it’s ride over time as well.

emac65 was that with an ally or steel freehub?

I have had two Tesla (Evo) hubs fails, wouldn’t use them again but had no issues with warranty claim, wouldn’t use Hope due to the offensive noise, Switch hubs however I’ve had 3 and no issues other than poor bearings in earlier ones which were cheap to replace when required, pretty sure I had ali freehubs as well. Never really noticed the engagement speed difference between the Switch and Tesla, not skilled enough perhaps..

First two that went were alloy & I replaced one with a steel one which also failed… The ones I had lasted between 12 &24 months. I’m sticking with Hope now, my oldest are from 2007 & apart from two bearings & pawl changes have never missed a beat, & they’ve certainly never left me with a walk back to the car! The last time was at CYB(which is 100 mile from where I live)& the hub/ride lasted about half an hour !