I just committed to a set of American Classic MTB 29 Tubeless wheels. Supposedly they have been used for easy XC and then rebuilt with new bearings and hub body lately. Never needed truing.
Would you buy used wheels? These are going to save me 425 grams on my new Tallboy build, but I don't get that brand new feeling. Is this a good move. (I can't afford new so I would have to stick with the Fulcrum Red Power 29 XL's I just bought that weigh 1975 grams. I will sell those now)
These American Classics seem pretty sweet at 1550 grams and a max rider weight of 235 lbs. Have any of you been running these for a couple of years or so now? I would like to get some longer term opinions than I have been able to find.
How much do you weigh? You can get Crests hooked up to Hope Evos for like $350 if you're light enough. The hubs are hand machined in the UK.
Thanks for the replies.
I weigh about 195 with gear. I hope to get to a riding weight of 175 with gear but thats a couple of months off. Those Crests on Wiggle were tempting a while back, but I researched them quite a bit and I am not looking for a race wheel. I want something that will take a pounding ride after ride. These AC's are rated at 235 lbs, and they might work for that considering I won't ever take more than a 2' drop on purpose. I think they are more equivalent to the Stans Arch EX. They are wide also.
I guess as long as they were rebuilt and never dinged up on rough terrain they should be about as good as new?
Are these wheels the XC or AM version? I had the XC version a couple of years ago. No complaints with them. They performed well and stayed true with lots of abuse. However, they were just too narrow (19mm). Felt a little too squirmy with fatter tires on. I was going to get their AM version, but came up on a good deal on Crests. Crests are light and perform well. Next go around, though, I'll be going either Arch EX or Flow EX.
I have one year on AM Classic 29 wheelset that I bought used on ebay, these wheels have been abused all this year, didnīt needed new bearings or free hub body, these are the greatest wheels I ever had.
Are these wheels the XC or AM version? I had the XC version a couple of years ago. No complaints with them. They performed well and stayed true with lots of abuse. However, they were just too narrow (19mm). Felt a little too squirmy with fatter tires on. I was going to get their AM version, but came up on a good deal on Crests. Crests are light and perform well. Next go around, though, I'll be going either Arch EX or Flow EX.
My 2008 AC wheels were pretty good. The front got smashed twice (off-trail excursion, and a blow-off on a DH), and replaced with a S-R EQ23 (cheaper, but equally light). The rear is still going but will likely completely fail this season. I have a back-up Velocity Blunt at the ready.
I too felt that they are a bit narrow for wider tires. I would say 2.1 max width for really dialed-in handling. I'm close to 190# and ride rigid, so no complaints except they won't send you a rim if you break one, and they Loc-Tite the spoke nipples. You return the wheel to the factory for service (~$170 for me), or you rebuild with something else.
I own 2 sets of the AM tubeless 29er wheels (one black, one white) I've had zero problems with these wheels, run em both about 18 months. I'm 180 lbs. Also purchased the 2013 AM race 29er and been running them on my Anthem 29. Those are fast and extremely light, however, I do not believe the sapim spokes will hold my weight. The new race wheels make a ton of noise where the spokes intersect (pinging and such). LBS says they are tensioned correctly but still make me wary and hesitant to hammer down.
To summarize, AC tubeless 29er (good stuff), AC race 29er (prob not for anyone over 160lbs).
Thanks for all the responses. This is encouraging. I will be picking these wheels up this weekend. This is probably my biggest splurge on my Tallboy Al build.
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Originally Posted by SS Hack
