[Closed] Superstar AM Carbon wheels

(For info: these would replace a set of old Hope Pro II's that are on Mavic 317 rims. Going onto an Orange Five. 26" ain't dead... 😆 )

I had a pair, raced EWS on them, over 600km of hard riding yet never replaced a bearing or lost true. I was absolutely amazed by them for the money (I bought in a sale like this). They are backed up by a good warranty so not much to lose if you ask me. Reason I don't ride them now is I sold my bike with them!

Tom Nash, of TVBP fame??? 😮

dmck16 - Member
Tom Nash, of TVBP fame???

Maybe 😉

We had two sets, they are good value for the money. Had to have both sets rebuilt after a seasons use. Even if you factor in a wheel build.
Ours should still be running strong, at least they were when two scrotes were legging it up our lane with the bikes they were attached to

Mate had a pair, he cracked a rim and destroyed freehub on the Mega but SS warranteed do them no questions
Main issue he had was getting tyres on and off was very very tight

Theyre pretty good,ive had a set on tesla evo hubs since last years black friday sale,and theyre still perfect. Theyve been bashed on rocks with tyres with not enough air in them loads of times with no issues whatsoever. Theyve seen use in peaks, bpw,antur stiniog,tenerife,wales, lakes etc. Before these i had some light bicycle carbon am rims which i cracked in a few months.these superstar rims are loads better

Id really recommend them.

I've got some on my Mega.
Picked them up in the sale earlier in the year.
Really good wheel set IMHO - have put up with my ham-fisted riding.
Will echo the tight tyre comment - took 60psi to seat the rear.

Got them on Switch Ultra. Ridden them around since May 2015 on an Alpine and a Five - never held back on them to be honest. I had them trued up at LBS within a month and they've stayed true ever since. They've never let me down once to be fair and I've raced them XC, Enduro and even the one and only DH race I'm ever doing LOL 🙂 They not only survived they excelled.

My only issue is the bead socket is so tight I hope I never ever have to take a tyre off while out on the trail - there would be swearing. That says a lot though... as I've never had to either 🙂

The other tiny niggle is to keep an eye on the rear axle / end cap and have a set of multi-size cone (17mm I think it is) spanners to tighten that up every now and again.

I have Hope Hubs on my other wheels and always thought I'd end up getting the Carbon AM's rebuilt onto the Hope Hubs but they have literally been bombproof.

They're fast. Only 1620g. A real performance boost. Nowadays 24mm isn't wide and my new 26mm Arch MK3s sit the same tyres 2-3mm wider although it's no biggie either. The Carbon AMs have been a real good wheel set.

Still going strong too. They're on my Five. I have the 142 and 135 x 12 axles to switch between bikes.

Such a bargain. Alu Rims like the Stan's Arch MK3 have "caught up" with the Carbon AMs now IMO. I'd not pay £600+ for carbon over Arch Mk3s for 650B but the Carbon AMs were / are so cheap it was worth a punt and they've been fab.

They were put onto my Xmas list on the back of everyone's advice. Cheers folks.

I had a pair as well, Carbon on King. Rear rim manged to destroy itself twice over, so I went back to ally on the rear. Full credit to SS, they warrantied the wheel (s) no issue at all and turned around the replacements within about 48 hours (how do they build them so damn quick).. Now have a DT rim on the back, but Carbon on the front.

The price has gone up now though hasnt it?

Update - Front Carbon is now done in 🙁 not sure the beads are upto much.

I've had two mates break a number of these. they go back, new set comes and then the rim lets go.

I wouldn't bother at all

I was going to buy a pair the last time they were in a sale

Keep seeing images like this though, so wont be

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If you're paying around £300 for any wheel set the Carbon AMs have to be up there on the list especially as 26 inch bikes are rare now it doesn't feel so worth spending big on them anymore. A new build on Stans MK3 rims comes out £400-£450 on Hope Hubs. If you have spare hubs that drops to £300 for new spokes, nipples, the rims and someone to build them.

There's certainly a good feeling of speed when riding the Carbon AMs.

I had my doubts before buying them but they've proved time and time again they can handle pretty much anything and any tyre I've tried from Trail/XC to SuperGravity tyres, they've been fine.

People [on the internet] break wheels all the time. You'll find plenty of ENVE wheels in the same state.

I think it's a matter of luck if you do break a rim or not on a big landing. It can very much depend on if you run the right amount of pressure in your tyres for your weight / style of riding too. Anything depending on tyres not deflating and then smashing the rim is asking for a lot of luck.

SS sent out the wrong axle when I bought might and CC were hopeless considering it was their mistake in the first place so I just bought the right one from the spares section.

When I eventually get a new bike I will be sticking to Hope + Stans MK3s for whatever size wheels from now on but only because performance wise there's not a lot in it really and ease of maintenance is just better.

In the meantime I'm going to continue to enjoy riding the Carbon AM26s around North Wales.

Bought a five with them on last year, never had an issue, 240 hubs, managed to snap an maxle on the hub but rims have been bullet proof.

Not sure I would pay the difference over a good set of alloy, but the bike was a good deal.

Looks like anyone that has ordered them for £245 are going to have a long wait as I've just received a email saying 2 weeks for the hubs to arrive then they will build can't see them arriving before Crimbo now. Don't bother trying to call them it's just a auto response and emails aren't any better. I've sent them a email to see if I can change/upgrade the hubs but no response as yet.

I was going to buy a pair the last time they were in a sale

Keep seeing images like this though, so wont be

If you googled you'd find even more pictures of mashed alloy rims.

 

that image is just how my two mates end up.

Dango that's my rim!

Down to £175 in their Jan sale. Can't pass that opportunity up! *bought*