My 45mm superteam wheels have been great for 4 years and superteam support is great. I paid $400 for them, I'm also a big guy, 225-260 lbs over the last few years. I started breaking spokes recently after a bike shop tried to do a light true as part of a tune up. They sent me free spokes even though my wheels were way out of warranty.
Hi Todd, that's great! The aim of this review was not to damage Superteam in any way. I just felt it important to share my negative experience despite the positive riding characteristics. :)
@@cyclistshub I bought the Classic Series 50mm Rim brake wheels. I'm happy with them but I'd stay clear of Superteam as they offer no support whatsoever. I cross threaded my freehub. While I managed to fix it by using a bigger lock nut I naturally went to their website to order a replacement. After dozens of emails with support, they replied that "Sorry, our warehouse said that this model has been discontinued. I have already refunded you, please check." I bought the wheels at January 2023 and in May 2024 they don't have the most simple part (freehub). Stay clear.
I'm not sure this is a deal breaker. Even high end companies have failures like this. My dt-swiss exp hubs failed after a few months in a nearly identical way. They immediately replaced them and had fantastic service. How they handle issues is really important.
The customers will decide... I think Superteam handled it well, but of course I was disappointed in the first place. Imagine being on a stage of the Tour de France, a couple of hours ahead of the peloton, and then this crash happens that prevents you from riding one of the most important climbs.
As of late 2024 (August), Superteam has addressed the hub issue and openly discussed the problem. With the introduction of the K-Line brake track they also addressed the heat issue and wet braking issue that is common on carbon rim-brake wheels. These are a really good value wheelset, especially at the $500 (US) price point. One hub failure that was quickly taken care of by the manufacturer at no cost to the end user is not a reason to ignore these great wheels. I'm not aware of a better wheel at this price.
I agree. That's why I decided to include them in my roundup of the best Chinese carbon wheels, even though I expected a backlash, which I eventually got. Plus, I recently loaned these wheels to a friend and he couldn't get enough of them either. 😊
I wanted to buy those ! Honestly I think I still want to buy them. since they quickly come with a fix. Unfortunately they haven’t seen Peak Torque with the missing end caps story 🙁
Hi Michael, let me know if you decide to pull the plug and buy these. Yeah, they've been responsive and the fact they had a booth at Eurobike means they are serious about their products. But probably not enough to avoid problems yet. 😅
I have just bought a pair, finally had the dust cap removed at my LBS to replace the Shimano freehub with the xdr freehub. Just installed tyres, moved brakes and cassette. Freehub works fine off the bike, tighten rest axle on my BMC road machine 04 to 10nm and freehub sticks.
To be fair; I had a pair of Vision wheels that had a hub failure within the first year. They were okay then with no warning they failed completely. No drive at all. Luckily I was neat a train station and got home quickly. Took them a few weeks to sort it out.
Hi Andy, thanks for sharing your experience. Sure, even Western brand wheels can fail. I'd be very interested in the failure rate of Chinese vs Western brands. 🤔
Uff, I guess they won't be happy at Superteam. 😅 Thank you. I mean, Chinese manufacturers are often up against themselves. If they kept a better eye on QC, they'd be much more successful. Their products have potential, they're just rushed. 😮💨
@@cyclistshub Interesting to see your review/experience here. Thanks for sharing. I am currently putting together a six month review as we speak, hence assessing other reviews (again). I have been riding the wheels weekly for six months now and have been pleasantly surprised. I also spoke with Grant from GC Performance before taking the project on and he was very complementary. So it seems, while a disappointing situation, possibly not the norm for these wheels. Hopefully! Cheers, Cam
Hi Cam, good to see you here. 🙋♂️ Yeah, I guess I was just unlucky. Ride-wise, I can't say a bad thing about them, as they surprised me too. We will see if there will be negative customer experiences in the future or if Superteam has already managed to resolve everything. Either way, I look forward to your review.
I just picked these up but in the rimbrake version and so far so good had my lbs look at the wheels they gave me the ok before putting em on and been riding on em for over 500 miles so far with no issues hopefully it was just a fluke with the hub but id prob just get the dtswiss hub if this one ever goes
I am glad to hear that you haven't experienced any issues yet. Hopefully, it stays that way! How do you rate their braking performance when wet? Do you have any comparison?
I have only owned one set of chinees wheels and they are Yoeleo SAT C50 Disc (27 mm wide) and I have owned them since 2019, done around 60 races with them (including 4 crashes) plus lots of training (roughly 8000 km or 5000 miles in total). Broke a spoke once in a crash but could replace it easily as they come with spares. I just tightend the nipple til the wheel was 100 straight and the tone when tapping the spoke was similar to the other spokes. Never had any problems with them. Will do a proper check on them in winter though. Winspace and Farsports seem great too. I am also looking at Superteam at the moment for my training bike. We’ll what wheels it will get but a good chinese carbon setup for sure.
So here's my question for you: I have been shopping for a pair of deep section carbon rim brake rims. Not complete wheels, just good quality rims with a good brake track. I have a wonderful set of white industries T 11 hubs that are laced to an early generation rim set with a smooth brake track which provides for lackluster braking performance to say the least. But the hubs are fantastic. I am accomplished at building wheels; would you be able to advocate for these rim brake rims if they were laced to superior quality hubs?
Hi Sam, I can't comment on the rim brake version because I tested the disc one only, but I believe it will provide a good braking performance thanks to the brachistochrone curve-like drainage channels. Assuming you will deal with the carbon spokes and manage to replace the default hubs, the wheels should perform well. :-) - Petr
I was considering on buying the Superteam wheelset but after watching your video I will keep looking at other brands. Sometimes it's worth it to pay a little extra for peace of mind while riding. Thank you for the information.
Do you mean the hubs? I simply took off the freehub body, which I then knocked the bearings out of and replaced with the ones Superteam sent me. I honestly don't think I followed best practices, so I'd recommend finding some videos online instead.
That’s a great review. You’re clearly a very experienced rider and bike mechanic. I’m a casual road cyclist and I need a new rear wheel for my Colnago C60 with rim caliper brakes. I was looking at Fulcrum 40 and 55 but this morning a friend told me to check out Chinese wheels as they are good and a lot cheaper. Well, this was the first review I saw and already I’m disappointed. Thank you.
Thank you, I appreciate it. :-) Well, as I said in the video, I could be just unlucky, as I received wheels from one of the first batches. It's possible they sorted it out already.
Hi Filip, thank you. :-) I don't have experience with CRW wheels yet. But they seem to be pretty popular recently. Maybe I will be lucky and test them next year. PS: Taky tě zdravím, těší mě, že mám sledující i z ČR. - Petr
@cyclisthub Hi, i love your vids, thanks 4 sharing the informations and your expiriences! Can i ask you for what wheel trueingstand you use? Keep up the god work!
hi, great review, shame about your experience. Ive reached out to Superteam and have been advised these issues are sorted (as I was looking to buy a set). How were they when you were climbing, being full carbon rim and spoke? Responsive? Light? etc thanks....
Yes, the issues were sorted a few weeks/months after my review already. They honestly felt awesome, both lightweight and responsive but still comfortable, and were rolling well. Great balance of most of these features. Of course, everything is based on comparison with other wheelsets I've ridden and feelings. 😊
@@cyclistshub thanks for your response. I'm glad you felt they were awesome. From this information, it sounds these wheels are a great all rounder that are not heavy, which is what I'm looking for (aero and climbing)! On my shortlist for sure. I have an older 2013 TCR SL that may only fit 25mm wheels.
i have similar experience like you, but mine are not ratchet it pawl hub body, use shamal from Campagnolo, it consider as wear out. probably since i already crank that wheel for more than 13k and only service it twice. the pawl fail when do stiff climb i almost in fatal accident because it happen when i do standup pedaling, the pedal from full load it suddenly lose the leg are losing the balance. thanks God my face not hitting the bar but it hit my chest it painful.
Do I understand correctly that this happened to your Campagnolo Shamal wheels? Yeah, this kind of failure can lead to a crash if you lose balance. Luckily, I stayed upright. 😅
@@cyclistshub yes cmp shamal. it pawl slip out lose the grip. it look like ok but when i crank it with power it jinked, it lose make a sound rrrrrtttttt no engagement.
Even name brands suffer from quality control issues. I had a SRAM xo hub fail during a race and I had to pull out as a result. I lost all drive. I have a BMC roadbike which has quality issues with the frame and after some push back I am getting a replacement. Originally BMC declined saying that I would have to accept it.
@@cyclistshub It is just that a lot of the "Western" brrands are chinese with a western pricetag !! The western brand support can be not so good sometimes as I have found with BMC.
Thanks for the review! Good job! So I have a question, how they works on lateral winds and how it works in on lateral winds compared to the elite Drive? Thanks!
Hi Dani, Thank you! My DRIVE wheels are 45mm, so it's not 1:1 comparison as the Superteams have 50mm, but I would say both wheelsets are similarly stable in crosswinds. Much more stable than HYPERs, for example.
@@cyclistshub Thank for answer. Where do you think you would have more apreciable beneffits, in the lightness of the drives, or in the speed in the superteams? I'm taking consideration the difference between profiles. I know that could be more difficult to tell.
Yes. I know the Peak Torque, for example, has also had problems with other wheels. It's unfortunate, but the more we talk about it, the more pressure on the Chinese manufacturers, and the more hopeful I am for the better future. 🤞
I have been riding seriously now for 56 years, pro racing and now recreational rider. Tires and wheels (rims/spokes) have been an EXTREME problem all my life. I don't understand why wheels have to be all, ALL of them, near racing weights. My wheels only last 5000K and then all the spokes need replaced. I have used the best wheel builders and highest quality components when racing, but now as a recreational rider using cheaper stuff hasn't made any difference, same 5000k to failure. When I first started training for racing, sprint training, I was destroying wheels in these sprints and became too dangerous to do, and then switched to a tubular rim, which solved the sprint problem, but still the 5000K failure continued. After my racing career, I began body building and now at 195 pounds, stopped using road bikes. I began converting mountain bikes to the road, the 26 inch wheel with a wide width and 14 gage spokes was making a nice strong wheel with a combination of: SunRhino/DT14s/Deore hub. Using a Schwalbe 26x2 Marathon Plus tire has finally solved the up to 3 flats per 500K problem. The big tire is all I need for comfort, now the rim can be stiff and strong, and 12 gage spokes too, but nothing out there for us. No heavy duty wheel that can go at least 25,000K. I have looked at the magnesium one piece spoke/rim but don't trust the hubs. I have an entire room stocked with spare wheels because wheel building is still a 1000 years old technology. Carbon rims and spokes are not going to extend the life of a wheel, and carbon is a process that very few people are experts in, carbon with its catastrophic failure possibility due to brittleness is something I am not going to invest in. Plus, carbon amplifies road noise, and I can NOT hear automobiles coming up from behind. Why it takes the bicycle industry a 100 years to fix a problem is ludicrous. Recreational riders need dependability and longevity, NOT light weight. Index shifting has been on the market for 40 years but they still can't get the cassette gear ratios correct. Ludicrous!!! Now 1x cranks for even worse gearing. 11, 12, 13 speed cassettes, why? It seems bicycle technology is just making bikes worse every year. Here is a perfect recreational rider gearing for 90% of all terrain and riders: 22-32-42 crank /// 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 23, 27, 32. A 10 speed drive train, where we no longer need all the parts matching of 8 to 13 cog drivetrains anymore. A standard. An option for very strong riders 30-40-50 or 26-36-48 chainrings. Mountain bike conversion = conventional disc brake 29er mountain bike with lock-out fork. Bar ends and aero-bars, strong 26 inch wheels, with 26x2 Marathon Plus tires. SPD pedals, and custom seat.
Thank you for your extensive comment. I have to say that I have never heard of the problems with carbon rims or spokes that you describe. If there are any problems with the wheels, it's usually with their hubs. 🤷♂️
@@cyclistshub Using the Deore hub means no problems, in racing days used Campagnolo Super Record. Today I am a very heavy rider after 30 years of bodybuilding post racing, this weight combined with the skill to make power in 300 degrees of the pedal stroke is a stress on any wheel. Wheels for bicycles over the last half century never improved in strength, I find this VERY disappointing to have rebuild a wheel every 3 months (3000 miles). Identical intervals of rebuilds I was doing 40 years ago, nothing changed, 14 gage 36 spokes are not near enough for strength.
I can't compare to wheels made 20-30 years ago, but I've tested more than 10 carbon wheels in the last 2 years or so and it seems to me that the wheels are maturing, which means there won't be any huge leaps, just slight improvements. They usually have weight limits as well. Maybe you've gone over the limit and are putting too much stress on the wheels?