Replacement wheels?

BoarderGreen

After some budget replacement wheels and it's come down to either mavic crossride or superstar wheels. I want something I can fit and just get on and ride without messing around replacing rubbish bearings or re-tensioning the wheel when its brand new, honestly are the superstar hub bearings as bad as everyone makes out and the wheels as loose as a bird off Geordie shore?

cooldad

No.

warpcow

Mine were as bad as I've made them out to be, but only I am me.

I'd buy them again though since the individual parts are good quality and bearings are cheap and easily replced.

BoarderGreen

Cooldad, is no they are not as bad as everyone makes out or no don't either of them?

cooldad

Who makes out they are bad?

BoarderGreen

Multiple threads on here plus other forums have a lot of threads saying the bearings die really quickly, some of the wheels arrive with side to to play and that spoke tension is a bit naff, some people who rate the wheels even agree with this but say so long as you swap out the bearings to decent ones and properly tension and true the wheel that then they are great. Also a lot threads saying the customer service can be really poor and some vet negative feelings about the owner.
All this isn't hidden, it's what I've found by googling for information on different wheel sets in the last couple of days. Not much info on the mavics except for the review on bikeradar.

I always tend to check stuff out via google, don't always trust opinions on forums though, some people just seem to moan for the hell of it.

Chunkers1980

How ironic.

estampida

Hi

My view -

as a wheel builder for 20 years... (only 34)

Mates on a budget would not go second hand for hubs so at the price they wanted, so they bought superstar

Slightly heavy, some of them had off tension, and 1 pair I though were not pre-stressed correctly, but it turns out that it was rim eyelets were falling out (not meant to do that but it is a part supplied by mavic..... hmm)

My missus has cross ride's as she does not use the bike a lot so again, did not need to spend more on a pair of mental wheels

they are slightly flexy, but quite light (but if your sub 10 st...) and there is a few comments that certain mavic wheels go through front bearings (4 years use no bearing prob)

also certain freehubs models can lock at the worst time possible, (older models and really when in france where you are riding downhill for 6 hours a day)

but they both do good warranty's and bearings are a doddle to fit if you have the right tools, so:

How much do you and the bike weigh combined??

what kind of riding??

high weight and hard riding I would go superstar, light weight and xc - mavic,

And remember that mavic wheels use specific spokes so if you crunch it you wil need to speak to a dealer, standard spokes, any shop can help.......

does that help

Twelly

BoarderGreen wrote:

I always tend to check stuff out via google, don't always trust opinions on forums though, some people just seem to moan for the hell of it.

Lol.

cooldad

Quite.
IMO the odd problems are highlighted whilst people without problems tend not to moan. Normally.

Neil from Superstar keeps a bit of an eye on the forum, and generally chips in if there are problems. As a company I don't think there are many complaints - I buy all my pads, grips and other bits and pieces off them and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to others.

estampida

I should maybe point out that superstar wheels that I have seen have been ridden by people who trash and dont stop to check "whats that noise" never seen them out of the box, they just call when it goes all wonkey

while the mavic's are checked by me frequently..... and 1 careful owner

these things are never that clear cut, why not flip a coin

BoarderGreen

strange my last mobile reply didnt post.....

the irony is not lost me............

i normally go by recomendation from people i actual know and ride with but none of them have much experience of current budget wheel sets.

I'm a big guy, we are talking 17st, this year i have rode cannock (the dog and monkey), dalby (the red route with the black sections), Llandegla (red & black bits), Coed y brenin (MBR) and rode the C2C coast to coast route, havent been this year but sometimes hit the peak district round ladybower,

So i gues its mainly trail centres....

the standard wheels on my Hardrock (about the only original parts left on it along with the frame) lasted just over a year and a half, i have had the rear wheel trued but the rim has a few dings in it and is a little out of shape, the bearings are properly on the way out though

supersonic

What is your budget?

SuperstarComponents.com

Hello i noticed this on my lunchbreak. To put some perspective against finding some complaints on google, we sell several thousand pairs of wheels a year at the moment. If they were as bad as some people make out then I would have 10-20 pairs of wheels back in the post a day at this rate, whereas we get a couple a week tops (often just for a service).

Bearings are a wear and tear part, which will die if you jetwash them and cover them in bike cleaners (they are alkali and turn the bearing grease into soap, thus wrecking your bearings). But they are quick, cheap and easy to replace when they need doing.

We offer a free lifetime truing warranty so if you need a tweak on your superstar wheels just return them with a returns form and we do it for free. If you wreck your rims we offer a crash replacement discount, basically you buy the replacement rims and we chop out and rebuild with new spokes+nipples plus the labour and return postage is free. Ask any other brand to do that for you…

As for the accuracy of the wheels, we have invested over £100k in the best CNC wheel assembly equipment. So I know that every wheel which leaves us is within 0.2mm runout and the tension of the spokes is measured and balanced dynamically by the machine. We hand finish them, but ive yet to see a wheel come off the machine which could be improved by a human. If it doesn’t hit the tolerance the machine puts it down the reject channel and then we investigate what the problem is before rebuilding.

Anyone is free to come down to Superstar and see how little we get in returns on a daily basis. We try our hardest to help people as we ride too

Neil (Superstar)

BoarderGreen

I may take a punt on the superstar..................the bars and stem i got are spot on.

if the mavics are going to be a bit flexy for my weight.....

On the superstar front what are the AM wheelsets like or is it best to go for the Stans option?

Little out of touch on rims..............the last wheen i had built was a Hope Pro 2 on sun rhino lite about 2004/2005.

BoarderGreen

Alright Neil, looking at my post above, with my weight and mainly trail centre riding on red and black runs, which of your wheel sets would you best say suits my requirements? With me being a little out of touch on current rims etc.
If it influences the rim I currently use a 2.1 high roller xc on the front and a 2.35 high roller 60a on the back.

supersonic

Black runs and 17 stone? Go for the Flow rims on the Switch hubs. I'd be tempted to swap the tyres round, or get a larger front too.

tarbot18

SuperstarComponents.com wrote:

Hello i noticed this on my lunchbreak. To put some perspective against finding some complaints on google, we sell several thousand pairs of wheels a year at the moment. If they were as bad as some people make out then I would have 10-20 pairs of wheels back in the post a day at this rate, whereas we get a couple a week tops (often just for a service).

Bearings are a wear and tear part, which will die if you jetwash them and cover them in bike cleaners (they are alkali and turn the bearing grease into soap, thus wrecking your bearings). But they are quick, cheap and easy to replace when they need doing.

We offer a free lifetime truing warranty so if you need a tweak on your superstar wheels just return them with a returns form and we do it for free. If you wreck your rims we offer a crash replacement discount, basically you buy the replacement rims and we chop out and rebuild with new spokes+nipples plus the labour and return postage is free. Ask any other brand to do that for you…

As for the accuracy of the wheels, we have invested over £100k in the best CNC wheel assembly equipment. So I know that every wheel which leaves us is within 0.2mm runout and the tension of the spokes is measured and balanced dynamically by the machine. We hand finish them, but ive yet to see a wheel come off the machine which could be improved by a human. If it doesn’t hit the tolerance the machine puts it down the reject channel and then we investigate what the problem is before rebuilding.

Anyone is free to come down to Superstar and see how little we get in returns on a daily basis. We try our hardest to help people as we ride too

Neil (Superstar)

I like the crash replacement service could be worth its weight in gold to me not that i crash often honest.......... :roll: :roll:

BoarderGreen

Not sure I get the small tyre on the back large on the front idea. Well not when I have a suspension fork on the front but no rear suspension. I haven't noticed any grip problems on the front or had snakebite/pinch punctures. I know a smaller rear would improve the bike rolling but hey.

What's the thinking behind small rear and large front tyre idea, is that just the current fashion? I can't understand the engineering reason behind it.

Twelly

More grip at the front. If your rear lets go, you can hold it, if your front lets go, you crash.

BoarderGreen

That's grip is pretty pointless to me if I have to walk my bike round the corner because of yet another snakebite from the skinny ass rear tyre, people honestly feel they don't get enough grip from a 2.1 on the front? Even with suspension helping?

supersonic

If it works for you then no reason to change it, but more and more bikes are being produced with larger front tyres than rear.

ben11

Great to see companies actually communicating with the community!

I'll be ordering some wheels soon

Twelly

BoarderGreen wrote:

That's grip is pretty pointless to me if I have to walk my bike round the corner because of yet another snakebite from the skinny ass rear tyre, people honestly feel they don't get enough grip from a 2.1 on the front? Even with suspension helping?

I think it's more about which goes first rather than the amount of grip. You may well have enough grip on the front with a 2.1 but if you go past the limit you would want the back to step out first to warn you rather than the front go and make you go down.

I'm not arguing, just trying to explain why people might do it.

I run 2.1's front and back.

BoarderGreen

Hmmmmm, if your ragging the limit all the time maybe.

But then again getting a balanced tyre set up, tyre pressure, choosing the right compound and how you position your self on a bike probably count a lot too.

Bigger tyre normally = more rolling resistance......before you know someone will the massive tyres you with surley bikes on a full sus, masses of grip but wallows like a b*tch and you need legs like a locomotive to get the thing moving.

Jeez I remember when 2.1 was a massive tyre! I had 1.75 onza rip and rails on my bike, they gripped like sh*t to a carpet

supersonic

Some tests have found the larger tyres at lower pressure actually lower rolling resistance over certain terrain ie grass and gravel. But I certainly agree it is all about finding what works for you.

Twelly

supersonic wrote:

Some tests have found the larger tyres at lower pressure actually lower rolling resistance over certain terrain ie grass and gravel. But I certainly agree it is all about finding what works for you.

Definately

Neal_

I've had the Superstar AM wheels since January and you can see my review on their site fron April confirming the service Neil mentions. My bearings do need replacing now after 1,340km but they've been used in grim conditions with regular hose cleaning so replacing them with good quality Japanese bearings for £40ish from fleabay is easy to do and not to expensive plus it would be needed with most bearings with zero maintenance I'd buy again from them and recommend them to anyone.