Superteam All-Carbon Ultra 2023 Review: Surprisingly Good Wheels with One Big BUT

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Superteam is a brand known in Western markets mainly because of the cheap carbon wheels sold on Amazon. However, they have more to offer. Since I’ve already tested many Chinese carbon wheels, I didn’t reject their offer to test their new All-Carbon Ultra 2023 wheels. Of course, on the condition that I write the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I rode them in the Swiss, French, and Italian Alps to learn how they behave in various conditions and stand up against the competitors. I also subjected them to testing at home (trueness, spoke tension, rim centering, etc.). I even took a few pictures from the inside of the rim!

Unfortunately, their rear hub has proven to be unreliable. It failed during one of my rides to a Tour de France stage. So, I contacted Superteam with a complaint. Read on to find out more about how it turned out.

My All-Carbon Ultra wheels scoring at a glance:
Crosswind Stability 4/5 | Stiffness 4/5 | Riding Comfort 5/5 | Speed Maintenance 5/5 | Tire On 5/5 | Trueness 5/5 | Spoke Tension 5/5 | Dishing 5/5 | Price 3/5 | OVERALL 4.6/5
More about this road wheels scoring.

Superteam All-Carbon Ultra 2023 Background Info

All-Carbon Ultra 2023 wheels are the latest Superteam wheels. They have a “shark fin PRO” rim pattern, which Superteam claims improves aerodynamics. I honestly think it’s a marketing claim, but here you go.

I believe the wide, bladed carbon spokes have a larger impact on aerodynamics. They are 5.2 mm wide at their widest point, which makes them wider than the spokes of HYPERs, DRIVEs, etc.

Superteam uses in-house 36T ratchet structure hubs and ceramic bearings.

You might also be interested in this objective comparison of steel vs. ceramic bearings.

Who are these wheels for?
The Ultra 2023 wheels are for those who are looking for affordable yet high-spec carbon wheels.

Let’s check their features more in-depth.

Main Features

Here is a quick summary of the features and specs of the Superteam All-Carbon Ultra 2023 wheels.

Unboxing and First Impressions

The Superteam All-Carbon Ultra 2023 wheels came in a branded box. The box didn’t look very clean due to the tape, but the important thing is that the wheels were securely packed and not damaged during transport.

I liked the slogan inside the box: “Start here, make a difference.” Maybe it was inspired by the Lún wheels box?

The box also included a manual/spec sheet, spare spokes, and valve extenders.

After the first look, the wheels impressed me with their quality and unconventional pattern. It’s just a shame that the decals are stickers that can be easily damaged (for example, when installing a tire with tire levers).

In-House Tests

Lateral and Radial Trueness

I put both wheels on a truing stand and double-checked their lateral and radial trueness.

The results positively surprised me because both wheels were almost perfectly true (lateral and radial trueness-wise).

They were on par with YOELEO wheels (known for great build quality). For illustration, the biggest “deviation” was caused by the Superteam stickers.

Spoke Tension

In theory, spoke tension should be relatively consistent, given the radial and lateral trueness results.

And my spokes tension readings confirmed this. They surpassed Farsports Wave, but the original YOELEO SAT PRO were still the best-assembled Chinese wheels yet.

Only one spoke of the front wheel, and two rear wheel spokes were out of the 5% tolerance (but they met the 10% tolerance).

See the following pictures of the readings of spokes tension.

Rim Centering (Dishing)

The dishing (how well-centered the hub is) also ended well. There was basically no gap between the end cups and the dishing tool. Take a look at the front wheel:

And the rear wheel:

A Look Inside

The internal rim structure of the All-Carbon Ultra 2023 wheels looked smooth. I did, however, occasionally come across small remnants of epoxy. Compared to the other wheels, I must say again that this is a “better looking” result.

The Difficulty of Putting the Tire On

These wheels are tubeless-ready, so, as always, I tried to put my Tufo Comtura 4 TR 28mm tires on them. I didn’t have brand-new tires, so I used used ones. Putting them on was easy. I didn’t need tire levers.

Their seating was also easy, thanks to the air compressor. I didn’t try to seat them with a floor pump, though. I want to point out that these wheels come with rim tape pre-installed, so you don’t have to spend the time (and money) installing it.

Riding Experience: From Initial Excitement to Failure

Thanks to the excellent test results at home, I took these wheels on my first-ever ride to the Jeseniky Mountains in the Czech Republic.

We had planned a route of about 130 km with an elevation gain of over 3000 m, steep passages, and fast descents.

The wheels were surprisingly good, so I decided to take them with me on my vacation to the Swiss, French, and Italian Alps.

By the way, I am writing part of this review from Swiss. As you can probably guess, the wheels have served me well so far.

I find them light enough, and on long, gradual climbs, I don’t feel like their weight is holding me back in any way. Simply put, they ride well. However, I would opt for lower and lighter rims (Elitewheels DRIVE) for steep passages (8% or more).

Their stiffness makes them transfer energy well into forward motion. However, I don’t find this stiffness as high as, for example, HYPER wheels. I notice this, among other things, in the ride comfort, which I find much better. I always use the same tires and pressures to be consistent in my tests and opinions.

I feel safe on them even on fast descents. On one descent here, I almost reached 80 km/h. Honestly, I’m scared to go any faster. But the important thing is that the wheels didn’t catch any vibrations or wobbles at these speeds (which happened to me with the Trifox WT11, for example).

As for the ride on the flat, I find them to be on a similar level to, e.g., the Farsports Ventoux S 45mm. They are fast, but still, their momentum is not as high as the heavier wheels (YOELEO SAT PRO 2022).

I’ve also ridden them in crosswinds. They seem stable and predictable—except for two moments when strong gusts of wind hit me while descending Furka Pass. I would have had a problem with those, even with shallow rims.

I also like their widths of 21.3mm (inner) and 28.7mm (outer). This width makes for a much smoother transition between the 28mm tire and rim, which improves aerodynamics.

So, do these wheels have any disadvantages? One of my YouTube subscribers (by the way, do you already subscribe to my YT channel?) pointed out the hub flange design.

According to him, it looks flimsy and too drilled. I responded by saying that the hub design looks very similar to the Elitewheels DRIVE. This design seems to be very popular, as I came across it quite a lot at Eurobike 2023.

At the same time, there are no side caps to prevent the spokes from popping out of the hub in the event of a fatal failure. I can’t estimate how likely this scenario is. However, the aforementioned Farsports Ventoux S have them.

A few hundred km later, I “finally” hit a deal-breaker. During my vacation, I moved to France, where I visited several stages of the Tour de France. The rear hub failed in one of the steep passages while climbing the Col de la Loze (the last climb of the queen stage 17).

The failure manifested itself in the fact that I couldn’t pedal. I could only soft pedal. It felt like the cassette was skipping.

Once I returned to the accommodation, I inspected the wheels closely but found no visible defects. The issue was likely with the freehub. It was like the star ratchet gears were skipping under pressure.

Unfortunately, this failure prevented me from returning to my accommodation (about 60 km away). Fortunately, I was saved by a group of Italians, to whom I thank once again.

Luckily, I had a spare pair of wheels (Ventoux S) so I could continue my cycling holiday.

I contacted Superteam and described the problem. I appreciate that they have addressed the problem head-on. They apologized and offered to send me a replacement wheel.

The problem with the hub was allegedly caused by the wrong ratchet size in this batch of hubs. According to Superteam, everything has been rectified.

I honestly don’t know the answers to these questions. I can only say that this failure came at the least appropriate moment. For a long time, I have felt no greater disappointment than not being able to continue the Col de la Loze and the subsequent worry about how to get back.

I appreciate Superteam’s approach. A few weeks later, I received the new rear wheel and replacement parts for the old hub. I rode the new wheel for about 500 km without issues.

I also replaced the bearings and the star ratchet gears in the old wheel and gave it another go. So far I’ve ridden about 200 km on them, again with no problems.

To sum up, I was either very unfortunate, and Superteam did great damage control, or it was a more widespread issue that’s not discussed much.

Superteam All-Carbon Ultra 2023 Alternatives

Superteam All-Carbon Ultra 2023 wheels have multiple alternatives:

• Elitewheels DRIVE are lighter, but most other features are similar (use the code CYCLISTSHUB to get 15% OFF). You can read my Elitewheels DRIVE in-depth review for more info.
• Lún HYPER 2023 have a unique rim finish and are more widespread (use the code CYCLISTSHUB to get 10% OFF). Learn more in my Lún HYPER 2023 article.
• YOELEO SAT PRO 2022 are cheaper and have a marble rim finish. I reviewed them here.

You can also check out the wheels in the following table, which shows the individual criteria of all wheels I tested and my rating.

My Verdict

Honestly, because of my previous association of Superteam with cheap wheels, I didn’t have high expectations for the All-Carbon Ultra 2023.

I was pleasantly surprised by their riding quality during the first few hundred kilometers. It seemed they provide an excellent balance between light weight, stiffness, and ride comfort. Plus, they look good too.

Unfortunately, they proved unreliable. Their rear hub failed, and I couldn’t pedal, leaving me stranded at Col de la Loze in France. Therefore, I contacted Superteam with a claim. They addressed it head-on, apologized, and sent a new rear wheel with replacement parts for the old wheel. They also assured me that similar problems should no longer occur due to improved quality control.

I used the new spare parts for the old hub. They solved the issue, and after about 200 km, I have not encountered any issues (yet). I also used the new rear wheel for about 500 km, and so far so good. I will update this review if something bad happens again.

It’s hard for me to recommend these wheels 100%. They are great to ride. The question is, will hub failure happen again? They are not yet widespread enough for us to have more ride data and experience from others.

However, it is clear from Superteam’s presence at Eurobike 2023 and their communication that they take their reputation seriously and are prepared to address any issues.

If you are not discouraged by my negative experience with reliability, you can use the discount coupon below and save some bucks when purchasing these wheels.

Superteam Wheels FAQ

The product for this review was kindly provided by the manufacturer. This did not influence my overall verdict or my opinion about the product. You can learn more about how I approach reviews here.