Icon Ultra hubs (and other own brands)

londoncommuter

Has anyone got any thoughts/experience with Icon Ultra hubs at Superstar:

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/i ... ar-hub.htm

The pricing on their wheels could mean either (1) these are rubbish, (2) the builds are rushed or (3) their wheels are a bargain!

How do they compare to say Miche Primato or Novatec A482SL for summer use?

A bit more of a long shot but how about these other "own brand" hubs, does anyone know much about them:

http://www.justridingalong.com/wheels/i ... elset.html

http://amphoops.com/products/38mm-clincher/

Many thanks

ugo.santalucia

There are a number of far eastern manufacturers which makes very similar hubs with similar quality. IMO it's down to whether you can source spare parts if you need to: freehub, axle and hub caps... if Superstar stock them, then all is good, if they don't, then I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. Bitex is one of them, Chosen is another... very hard to source spares.

As for the hub shell, check the design, those rear hubs with a very small NDS flange are meant to be built radial on that side, you might struggle to route a spoke otherwise

londoncommuter

Thanks Paolo - don't suppose you've come across any of those specific hubs on any rebuilds?

I'm pondering the usual suspects of:

1) Sensible build - XC279/SL23s rims + Icon Ultra /Just Riding Along / Novatec / Hope hubs

2) Ridiculous build (impractical and purely for looks...) 38mm carbon clinchers + Wheelsmith / amp / Novatec / Hope hubs

I've seen your positive comments about Hope hubs and negative ones about Novatec SL but I'm 55kg and these will be summer wheels so leaning slightly towards the Novatec.

I've seen everyone's comments about the madness of carbon clinchers but can't help myself as I'm a tart and these are to go on a Foil.....

ugo.santalucia

How can you be so light? You must poo like crazy!

londoncommuter

I'd fly up the hills if I didn't have the power output of a small girl.

Does that mean even you'd say I could get away with carbon clinchers......

londoncommuter

Sorry to bump my own post but I wondered if anyone else had any comments on these hubs (or any of the wheels I was pondering). Many thanks.

Anonymous

I have the amp hoops in a 50m variety in stealthy colours (got them cheap through sportspursuit).

They are 'best' only - so not if roads are wet and certainly not in rain. Have standard tubes and Open Corsa CX II tyres. They are very nice and not had any issues. Brake track is a bit squeaky to start with but it goes when the tracks and pads are worn in.

Teeny bit extra care required to get my 105 11sp lockring into place or it goes on squiffy, otherwise I would say they are the business, having done about 300 miles or so on them (regents park and the odd Richmond Park ride)

They are fine in sprints and do feel they hold speed well. Can't comment on hills as they haven't been out of the M25 yet (weather restricting!), but no complaints in Richmond Park.

JonEdwards

The JRA Jawbone wheels are quite tempting - I've been looking at them as JRA are my local WBS. Other than the hubs, the spec on the "race day" version is exactly what I'm after, but as soon as you swap the hubs for anything more bling (White/King/Hope etc), you're adding £200+ and in many cases a chunk of weight.

The hubs appear to be Bitex RAF & RAR 12s, so the higher end, but not silly light versions. T'interweb reviews seem to be fairly minimal... Any of the experts care to comment?

I'd certainly trust JRA's build skills - I've had a couple of sets of MTB wheels from them, and despite proper abuse, they've stayed straightish. (mid weight rims + 6" travel bike + Peaks rockgardens at full chat tend to give wheels a pretty good work out!)

SuperstarComponents.com

Our superstar Icon ultra hubs are made by nova tech but we upgrade a few bits and fit mega expensive SKF bearings. So quality is up there with the big brands, we hold tonnes of spares as we sell 10,000+ wheels a year.

As for builds we have the best wheelbuilding line in Europe and we do it all in house in Lincoln, UK. Mix in only selling direct we can do great prices on complete wheelsets

Any questions key me know, superstar

ugo.santalucia

SuperstarComponents.com wrote:

Our superstar Icon ultra hubs are made by nova tech but we upgrade a few bits and fit mega expensive SKF bearings. So quality is up there with the big brands, we hold tonnes of spares as we sell 10,000+ wheels a year.

As for builds we have the best wheelbuilding line in Europe and we do it all in house in Lincoln, UK. Mix in only selling direct we can do great prices on complete wheelsets

Any questions key me know, superstar

They are basically 291/482 Novatec with upgraded bearings if I get it right.. which makes sense as the rear bearings of the 482 are notoriously bad and the hub is otherwise fine. Are the bearings inside the free hub also SKF or only the two in the shell?

ugo.santalucia

... and the answer is? :roll:

ugo.santalucia

... still waiting... :roll:

Is it just me that gets annoyed when businesses come here to claim how great their stuff is and then they disappear when you ask them a question? Almost makes me want to give them a ban... :?

FransJacques

bump...still waiting for a response too...

I just took delivery if these Supra RA30s from Merlin: http://www.merlincycles.com/supra-ra30- ... 57767.html The hubs looks very minimal, I'll see how a winter of London roads treats them.

There is a surprising amount of offerings at this price point. Differentiating yourself from the competition needs to be done in a very specific, measureable way.

SuperstarComponents.com

Sorry for the slow reply. I only have time to look at forums once a month or so, just too much other stuff happening! If you have a question message me and I'll know your asking!

When we say SKF bearings we mean ALL bearings are SKF, bit pointless to just put one or two in? So a pair of hubs has 6 bearings which actually retail aftermarket for about the same price as the pair of hubs!!!

How do we do this great value then ? Simple we buy £120,000 of bearings direct from SKF and fit them in batches of several thousand hubs per order. Then build them up hundreds of pairs a month in house and sell them direct to the customer. Simple, transparent and great quality, that's why nobody can match us as they are just shipping in parts from overseas and selling boxes.

One day we will get round to doing a factory tour video, too busy building and shipping wheels at the mo!

Any questions let me know (pm me if I don't notice!) Superstarcomponents