Hi , I've been offered a pair of wheels with American classic hubs unsure what model but they are in a light weight wheel
I've always used hope or mavic up to now , so never really looked or considered these before
Are they any good ?
Is it easy to get parts ?
Are they easy to service ?
Or should I stay away ?
Thanks
I've had them on 2 bikes for about 3 years, only just had them serviced. Ridden a lot of miles in all conditions,never missed a beat. You do get a couple of warning "clunks" when they're going to need a service (apparently a little spring inside gets weak, no big deal)......so long as you're ok with the,slight, lag on pick-up, I'd go for them every time.
That 'little spring' inside engages the pawls and wears out frequently in my experience. I've now had to buy three new freehubs because of it at £60 each.
They've now completely changed the design on the new wheels, so even they must have realised how crap the design is.
Avoid like the plague IMO.
I saw this thread and wondered how quickly this spring issue would rear its head.
In my experience ( 8 American classic wheelsets - mixed between MTB and road ) I've never had an issue with AM hubs. They're easily serviced and the spring can be adjusted if nessesary.
This weekend I serviced a ten year old rear hub that been used on probably 6 builds including a single speed conversion. They looked prefect but they were cleaned and regreased anyway.
My only negative is that you have to be Carefull if you want to convert older ten speed road to eleven speed. Some hubs can be converted and others not.
Their web site is full on info.
No issues here across multiple wheelsets. Can't say the same for Mavic or Hope hubs I have.
Not that I'm trying to put you off, but if the rims are American Classic too you might find them a tad 'cheese like'.
Compared to the XT wheels I had before them they dented very easily. I paid £350 for mine and apart from them being very light I can't really say anything good about them. Mind you, I seem to be in the minority here so you pays your money, you take your chances.
I've got a few pairs of hubs either on custom wheels or full ac wheels. Either way not had any issues at all.
I like the adjustable bearing preload and the full wheels seem a good weight for the price. Just be aware on road wheels the rims can be very very light so can wear quickly. Helped by Useing the pads they recomend. But the ac are no worse than any other light alloy rims ive used
I've had a pair for about 8 years, for the past 3 or 4 they've been my winter bike wheels for riding round swinleys grinding paste. They've not missed a beat in that whole time.