What do XC riders think of American Classic MTB Disc Wheelset?

[Oracle]

Hi XC riders,

I'm trying to narrow down my search on a set of XC wheels for racing (most likely second hand), and want them to be as light as possible, but not something that's going to buckle/seize should they see a bit of unexpected rough track.

So has anyone had/have an American Classic MTB 350 Disc Wheelset, or other model wheelsets? If so what are your thoughts for the money? Reason being they seem to appear on eBay every once in a while and the weight sounds good.

And yes, whilst I'd love a pair of Mavic Crossmax or even DT Swiss wheels, I'm a student, so don't think I'll be able to afford a set (even second hand) any time soon, hence my interest in the American Classic MTB 350's for now.

Cheers, Lee

 

[Some Guy]

I've been using the American Classic wheels on my MTB for 18 months, and I'm pretty happy with them. I have the CX-ray spoke upgrade which brings the weight down to 1440gr and is supposed to make the wheels stronger too. All I know is I haven't had to true them once.

They aren't without their weeknesses though, I've had to replace the bearings a few times and a couple of weeks ago the rear axle snapped. The parts to replace it were reasonably priced and readily available though, and given the price and how many Ks the wheels have done - and more to the point the conditions they have done them in - I'm not complaining.

A friend of mine (who is a much bigger guy too) has been using them for about two years without problems.

 

[tjb]

I've had a pair for 2 years. The rear is the problematic end. No worries with the front. The rear hub is the weak link.

First race out I blew a rear axle, I'm onto my 3rd rear axle now. I'm not heavy at 70 kg and I don't break much stuff.

The rims are no worries as has been said. I've got a 2nd pair laced to XT centrelock hubs and they are very trouble free, requiring very little truing.

 

[Oracle]

Thanks for your reply guys.

Would you happen to remember/know a ball park figure on the cost of replacing the rear axel? Just trying to determine the extra maintence costs I may need to factor should I end up getting one of these wheelsets.

Also, I should mention that I have downloaded the Replacement of the Cam Plate.pdf from American Classic should I be unlucky enough to buy a wheelset from that production run - not that this really concerns me too much. I'm more concerned about longevity of the hubs, and wheelset as a whole.

Cheers, Lee

 

[Some Guy]

It cost me about $110 to get the axle and freehub replaced. Axle alone probably would have been about $60. That's including labour.

 

[Rik]

I'm more concerned about longevity of the hubs...

Don't buy AC hubs then
Thankfully I didn't make the mistake myself but I've watched others have all sorts of dramas with rapidly worn bearings. How a company could manage to do what AC have done with hubs I don't know.

 

[stu44]

The new 06,07 hubs are shed loads better than any previous years,

They have new/different/Better bearings, and they have fixed the cam plate issue.

To be sure of getting the new models, the serial number starts with " N ", the old ones to stay away from starts with " S "

Im 100Kgs, and ride a 5 inch travel bike, and love them.

 

[Oracle]

Don't buy AC hubs then
Thankfully I didn't make the mistake myself but I've watched others have all sorts of dramas with rapidly worn bearings. How a company could manage to do what AC have done with hubs I don't know.

Hmmm, definitely something to consider... I guess it's because at the end of the day, as far as lightweight wheelsets go, AC's are much cheaper (especially second hand) than equivalent weighted Mavic CrossMax or DT Swiss wheelsets etc.

My current wheels (Mavic CrossRides) are also secondhand but in excellent condition, as the previous owner wanted to upgrade to CrossMax wheels. So I'd prefer to keep and use the Crossrides as my comuting wheels and simply leave slicks on them. At the moment I'm changing tyres every couple of days and it's starting to give me the shits.

Cheers, Lee

 

[Oracle]

The new 06,07 hubs... ...have new/different/Better bearings, and they have fixed the cam plate issue.

To be sure of getting the new models, the serial number starts with " N "...

Thanks for the new serial number info!

 

[n plus one]

There's a fair bit of opinion on these hubs over on the mtbr forums if you're interested - I've been trolling around the 29er forum - general concensus seems to be that every year they are supposed to be 'fixed now'. However I admit to knowing v little about them - worth searching over there though I recon'.

 

[Grover]

The new 06,07 hubs are shed loads better than any previous years,

They have new/different/Better bearings, and they have fixed the cam plate issue.

To be sure of getting the new models, the serial number starts with " N ", the old ones to stay away from starts with " S "

Im 100Kgs, and ride a 5 inch travel bike, and love them.

'The boy that cried wolf' springs to mind, for the last 5 years that I can remember American Classic rear hubs have had longevity issues, every year they say the problems have been fixed and people buy them again. Then there's problems, the next year they say they've fixed them, people believe them and they keep selling hubs.

Yes, the wheels are light, yes the wheels are cheap and yes, they're very tempting. I got sucked in and regret it. I'm a student aswell and after selling the bike with them on I rode some stock heavy wheels for ages while saving for a light wheelset that would last. It's worth it.

 

[Oracle]

'The boy that cried wolf' springs to mind, for the last 5 years that I can remember American Classic rear hubs have had longevity issues, every year they say the problems have been fixed and people buy them again. Then there's problems, the next year they say they've fixed them, people believe them and they keep selling hubs.

Yes, the wheels are light, yes the wheels are cheap and yes, they're very tempting. I got sucked in and regret it. I'm a student aswell and after selling the bike with them on I rode some stock heavy wheels for ages while saving for a light wheelset that would last. It's worth it.

Just read a heap of reviews on mtbr.com, and combined with what has been posted in this thread, am fairly convinced I'll stay away from this wheelset.

Pity, as it looks as though I'm back to changing tyres every couple of days considering other brands of sub 1600 gram wheelsets are not within my budget at this stage

Anyhow, thanks to all those who posted

 

[n plus one]

Don't know what your budget is but have you taken a look at Chain Reaction Cycles web site? Well worth a look...

 

[DaGonz]

Don't know what your budget is but have you taken a look at Chain Reaction Cycles web site? Well worth a look...

If you're patient, and have the readies ready there are deals around. Perrin Delacour had 2 sets of CrossMax SL's at the short track in sydney for 550/650ish. probably Used but a bearing kit I'd imagine they'd be as good as new. Other 'bargains' pop up every now and then if you go to the races at the pro tents. etc...

Another option would be to get a nice set of rims... Stans or a DT 4.1/4.2 and lace them to a less than bling set of hubs. Won't be super bling but at least the weight would be in the right place and you can have them rebuilt later if your budget, or whatever allows...

I don't know if wheelcraft still offer discounts for complete wheels, but For $800 the AC wheelset would have cost, I would have thought you could get a pretty nice wheelset with the weight in all the right places

*shrug* just some thoughts...

Cheers
Gonz

 

[n plus one]

Yep, if we are talking $800 you can easily go sub 1600grams...all you'll need is the internet and a credit card...

 

[Oracle]

Don't know what your budget is but have you taken a look at Chain Reaction Cycles web site? Well worth a look...

I bought a few parts from CRC not so long ago, for those hard to find (i.e. full RRP only) items I couldn't afford in Aust.

If you're patient, and have the readies ready there are deals around. Perrin Delacour had 2 sets of CrossMax SL's at the short track in sydney for 550/650ish. probably Used but a bearing kit I'd imagine they'd be as good as new. Other 'bargains' pop up every now and then if you go to the races at the pro tents. etc...

I'm certainly not in any rush to buy, so am prepared to wait for the right deal to come along. Funny you should post the above, as I actually posted a WTB advert in the trading forum earlier today. I'll wait and see if I get any bites with the current advert before thinking about buying new, considering that will cost me a whole lot more.

Yep, if we are talking $800 you can easily go sub 1600grams...all you'll need is the internet and a credit card...

Hopefully I'll be lucky and a get away cheaper. You never know considering I did find some pretty good deals when building my bike - i.e. new Avid Juicy 5 set for AU$266, near new Manitou R7 Supers for AU$350 etc. So yeah, I'm willing to wait and to shop around.

Cheers, Lee

 

[Turner_rider]

I've had a pair for 2 years. The rear is the problematic end. No worries with the front. The rear hub is the weak link.

I'd have to say without doubt the rear hubs are the most hopeless things ever made.

I don't know anyone with a set who hasn't had major problems, even the newest ones.

If you don't mind rebuilding them every week then I wouldn't dare ride in the rain or through a puddle with one.

Avoid them at all cost!

 

[bighitter]

The problem with the bearings in the ac's isnt limited to them wearing really quickly, but the bearings are a really odd size and cannot be gotten aftermarket so you always have to go back to the same shitty bearings. Also as mentioned in this thread aand from what ive seen the cassette body seems to be made of cheese and the axles seem to brake for no apparent reason.
something like a set of hope pro II's on 717's with dt db spokes should come in around 1600-1700 g and be well under 800 and would be a nice wheelset.
If your stuck for cash, Pick up a set of cheap wheels (deore hubs, straight guage spokes and cheap rims) to use for commuting and save up your coin for a pair of 240s hubs, stans/717's/4.2d rims super comp spokes and you should be sitting at between high 1400 - 1600g

 

[n plus one]

OK if we're getting specific my mate just got a set of XT hubs laced to Mavic 717 rims with DT spokes for 200 bucks from CRC's wheel bargain bin, no this is not a typo. Wouldn't be sub 1600gs but pretty light for the $$$ I think its fair to say...

 

[Some Guy]

The problem with the bearings in the ac's isnt limited to them wearing really quickly, but the bearings are a really odd size and cannot be gotten aftermarket

I'm sorry? They are standard 6802 bearings, you should be able to get them from most bearing shops. They aren't the bike parts to use those bearings either (have a look at enduro seals website, they sell them and not just for AmCs.

the cassette body seems to be made of cheese

Cheddar or Parmesan? Maybe you should replace it with swiss to save some weight! On a more serious note, mine was aluminium last I checked, and it doesn't wear any faster than the alu freehub bodies you'll find on pretty much every other lightweight hub. I've replaced mine after 18 months of use, the part was about $50 including engagement mechanism and bearings.

Sure AmCs have their weaknesses - but so does pretty much everything. They're not perfect, but they aren't the spawn of the devil either.