[Closed] Talk to me about Superstar 2009

tea? coffee?

Oh I wouldn't touch their tea: the bags split and its mostly pine needles and compost in there anyway.

the coffee certainly leaves a bitter after taste.

The Pure Race Cobra i900 adjustable seatpost is good - but much cheaper from xxcycle.com than from superstar. 😛

Using sintered pads, I'm not dead...

[b]Now[/b] this feels like the STW of old.

I knew there was something stopping me from truly putting my feet up and relaxing.

I've had a standard Superstar BB fitted to my SS for 12 months now - no problems.....

......then again that may be down to the bike not being for the last 10 months 😉

I'm not getting involved for personal reasons, anything i say here will need to be relayed back to my lawyer, so i'll say nowt but happy new year.

I've got a front hub off them and it's been great so far. only 20.00

Looks almost like a Da Bomb 20mm hub IMO

I'm using Superstar pads on the front, will put some on the rear soon. No complaints although I do check the pads at the start of every ride (although you should anyway!)

The sintered pads are very good. Especially as XT ones are £20. I reckon the SS ones might actually be just very slightly better than Shimano ones

I had a pad fall off the backing recently, thought 'meh, I thought that might happen at some point' posted it back and got a free replacement. They're about calculated risk for me, I'm happy to presume that the front and rear will not fail simultaneously and so will continue to reap the fiscal rewards 😀

Wait 'til Jandem Temery rallies the mleheheherers, then the teacups will get stormy alright............

...one octopus and chips to go please 😆

*waves*

On Saturday I put some SS sintered on my big bike and took it down my local DH course & the old 2nd hand Hope headset exploded. No Octopieziz.

What I will add- I must be honest. I was sceptical but went for it, after all for every 'fuggin sh1te pads etc' there were other customers who said 'their great'. 4 sets for 20quid. Perfect. More and more prices are going up. How long before it starts pricing certain enthusiasts out? They stop going out for rides because its getting too much?

Hats off to Superstar components. We should praise and feedback accordingly. I wonder (before the internet) how many Hope, Shimano etc etc products failed in their early days? The internet can promote but give disproportionate voices..

dismantled a shimano BB the other week, realised quite why they last so long, look like the bastard child of a ACB and a normal beering, still got a superstar one in a frame but not used yet, not too confident seeing as the plastic covers fall off when you install the axel and fit nowhere near as flush as the shimano ones.

What about their Superleggera hubs worth the money for all that noise? Or better off with Pro2 which will require less maintenance?

Hilldodger - I do not rally the Mlehers on this. Only in SSCs tiny mind does any conspiracy against him exist.

Given that I know of 6 failed cranksets and none that worked properly, given the number of people who have had failed brake pads - from the new and improved batch a well as the old batch, given his appalling attitude and his outrageous claims / lies I think it is a public service to warn how dodgy his business ethic and products are. He believes the sale of goods act and distance selling regulations do not apply to him, his guarantee gives less protection than offered under the sale of goods act

Fully informed people can make real choices.

add to that a £100 superlegerra hub which lasted a little over a month 🙁

Steve.. go for the hope i'd say.

I never got past being willing to put that god awful superstar logo on my bike...

I've tried Superstar pads but they just didn't last so in my mind its the old adage 'buy cheap, buy twice' so back to Avid pads now.

Im about to build some SSC hubs into a SS set.

Previously done 20 miles on the rear hub but sent it back as one of the "best spec SKF" bearings was rumbling, had a new free-hub w bearing fitted (under sufference and it came with a free patronising email about there being "nothing wrong but they'd changed it anyway") and this is what the wheel will be built on - will see how it goes.

New products for Spring, according to the website. The lock-on grips look interesting. It's all about being a canny consumer if you ask me, take the wheat leave the chaff.

Pads I bought have so far been very good.

I've only had pads, and pedals off them and they have been very good for the money (the pedals have been excellent) Mind you I didn't fit them with a rock, so that might explain why they have been fault free.

I have had a few SS pads - 50% failure rate, one of which had the (new) pad material fall off, so the pad backing moved out of place and broke the 'pin' in the center of the caliper, so destroying the piston.

"buy cheap, buy twice"

and his attitude stinks. I would far rather pay more for someone I don't begrudge paying money too.

Only ever had pads off him and touch wood haven't had any issues. They might last a tad less miles than shimano ones but at 4 for £20....

On my 6th set of pads, no problems, in fact they seem better than the standard ones. Will try the sintered ones next time.

I've just bought 4 pairs of sintered pads. I'll stick one on the back brake tonight and I'll be interested to compare it to the Formula sintered that's about 3 rides old in the front brake.

I've had Pads, BBs, headset - all reasonable stuff in my opinion.

I've found the sintered pads are worth the extra - very long lasting.

BB could get shagged easily of you aren't careful fitting it - the sealing sleeve between the cups has a sliding seal at one end to accommodate different shell sizes (unlike shimano), so if you put the wrong side in first it won't seal and the bearings will get soaked. However, you just need to look at what you are doing when installing.

I miss the novel approach to customer relations it made me smile and you knew that SSC actually cared if nithing else.
Just bought pads but not got yet ....I think all pads are just a rip off WHY do they cost about the same (actually dearer than the set of 4 for my car) as the ones for my car and last about 0.1% as long? Do cable ones last longer?

MY SuperStar IRB ISIS bottom bracket has lasted longer than any other I've tried & that included a £120 RF Ti unit!

Did Fruit get banned? I haven't seen him for ages - since before the hacking. Or has he finally taken advice to shut up and behave professionally?

I guess he has learnt to ignore the trolls

Sintered pads - excellent.
Got a brand spanking pair of pedals, sealed bearings £15 a few months back from him. Sorted.

Waiting the the new logo to be on a t-shirt. Will buy one.

matt_outandabout - Whilst on a ride someone told me a chemist lad (or something similar) took the pads to his work and analysed the adhesive used. Apperently the Chinese factory was using the incorrect gunk to what they were asked to use and that its all been sorted after it was corrected. Some elements of this may be wrong (chinese whispers etc) but mine have seperated yet so Im happy!

[i]I think it is a public service to warn how dodgy his business ethic and products are. He believes the sale of goods act and distance selling regulations do not apply to him, his guarantee gives less protection than offered under the sale of goods act

Fully informed people can make real choices. [/i]

buqqer informed logical choice, just torch his warehouse (allegedly)....

Hilldodger - not me Gov! I attempted to give him some friendly advice and was told that I threatened him. Spurious threats of legal action from him - all because I disagreed with him and attempted to give him some advice.

He thinks he is above the law and the content of the e mails I received from him are hilarious.

For example he states on his website that with warranty returns for mail order the buyer has to bear the cost of postage - against specific provisions of the Distance Selling regulations. He states no consideration will be given to cosmetic defects - against specific provisions in the Sale of Goods act. He states his pedals are identical with other manufacturers. When pressed it transpired that the body shape was different, he did not know what bearings were in his competitors products no did he know the composition of the alloy in either pedal. Very identical then.

His idea that customer service consists of slagging of his customers was rather amusing.

Anyway - I think people have enough information to decide if cheap parts are worth the risks of excessive failure rates and poor business ethic.

(Yawns at TJ, again)

So TJ of the broken SS parts you've seen personally, how many were fitted with a rock?

Also I didn't realize that you were a qualified solicitor? and/or worked for trading standards. How long much actual personal experience have you got of the practicing the law? (not including posting on forums or chatting in the pub)

I don't give a rat's ass about his business ethic. If the products are cheap and do the job (which they have in my case) then all is good as far as I am concerned.

TJ - I think he's on here, same username as I thought I saw a post about HT2 bearings that he replied to the other day.
richc - The sale of goods act & the distance selling regs are fairly clear as to the responsibilties of the seller & its not written in legal jargon - even I understood it so it must be basic!

I'm not getting involved and neither is my aerospace engineer, crank fitting boyfriend.

So if you install something with unsuitable tools (ie: a rock) and smash the hell out of it, you would expect a replacement/refund under the distance selling act?

Richc - lets get some facts right. It was not me who fitted the crank with a rock. the reason it was bodged was it was the 3rd non fitting crankset the person involved had had. The first two failed and were replaced - the third one arrived just before a race and had mismatched splines - ie a faulty set - we believe made up from other warranty returns. The chap in question needed the bb for a race so misguidedly attempted to bodge a fit.

If it had been mine I would have taken him to court for return of my money.

So this chap had 3 faulty cranksets in a row and got frustrated and tried to bodge one to fit.

As for the law - it is fairly easy to understand as the act and the guidance on it is published by the government and my partner is a professional, legally qualified experienced rights adviser. I am confident my interpretation of the distance selling regs and sale of goods act is correct.

The 'rock fitting' incident is an awkward one, but the item was 'unfit for the purpose supplied' (it was machined incorrectly if I remember right) so yes replacement should have been provided, but after the 'fitting' (there was a certain amount of desperation from the consumer I'd imagine) its questionable but not under the DSA but the good will of the seller for accepting the goods in that condition.

Love the tag - "TJ making it up as he goes along"

What do you think I am am making up?

Enough!

The question is, is it a 33 1/3 or a 45rpm stuck record??

My wife is a qualified barrister, chaged over to be a solicitor and now works for the Police Force, she knows NOTHING about crank fitting.

moar.

Real life experience from me:

SS normal pads compound = dairylea cheese, they lasted about 3 rides in local sand/mud so didn't last long enough for pad to fall off backing - avoid like a one-eyed fat bird at closing time

SS sintered = about the same as shimano sintered and still going strong - no complaints from me and good vfm

SS headset - fine on commuter and has lasted about 1000miles so far - no reason to think it wouldn't cope on a mountainbike

Have met the bloke at SITS last year, he seems ok if a bit ginger, can't really hold that against him as it is an accident of birth (he could wear a hat though), never had to deal with him from a customer service point of view so can't comment on that front.

I blame Fatcha!

I think Fruit seems like an alright bloke to me, The infamous "crankrock" incident was nothing short of ridiculous in my opinion, where did Luke finish in the race again?

yes there's been shitty pads out there but I've heard similar about almost all manufacturers brakepads!

I'd like to try out the hubs, I'm interested to try out the quicker (than pro2's) engagement.

I would like to say that I've got through loads of ss pads because they wear out, but I've only just replaced a set of pads that have been in since April last year. Which seems quite good actually.

Just bought some cheap pedals, will probably try a bb and headset next.

blimey, some real SS haters on here

bought several pads from them now in different batches organic and sintered and they have been allright, 2-3 rides a week, all days, mud, grit races etc, usual abuse, no better or worse than some but cheaper

BB still works too, doubt it will make it past 6 month though just like the previous RF & XT

I've been through 400 sets of SS pads in the last week.

They've all been great and lasted ages.