American Classic Aluminum Wheelset wheelsets - clincher
4.1
/5
REVIEWS
4.1
QIKRATE
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WEB
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DESCRIPTION
USER REVIEWS
OVERALL RATING |
3 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
3 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Light weight, Slight Aerodynamic advantage
Low durability, Noise also echos through them (an ugly crashing sound)
Despite the light weight and depth of the rim these wheels leave me unimpressed. They are not as stiff as a pair of race wheels need to be and haven't been as responsive as I would have liked. I will admit that they are race wheels and I am not exactly kind to my gear but their strength leaves a bit to be desired as I have had to get them trued several times in a bit more than 6 months (race use only not more than 10 or 15 races). They also tend to ride quite harshly. I will say though tha they are a definite improvement for TTs but sprints will find them wanting (and bending).
OVERALL RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Very light for clincher wheels. Can take some abuse but don't go overboard. The price is good also.
I broke my free hub body in a training crit. They fixed it fast and for free. Pot holes can take there toll. Can be knocked out of true easily if you hit debris, pot holes, etc.
I got them through a sponsorship deal through my team Olympus Bikes. I would not recomend them for anyone over 180lbs.
Similar Products Used:
Lots
OVERALL RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Light weight. Price.
Narrow breaking surface, hard to adjust break pads.
This review is for the 350's. I haven't had them long. They seem to be holding up pretty well. Man are they light. Almost spooky light. They will make you fast or faster. Dropped an entire pound switching to these wheels. If they hold up I'll go for the carbon bad boys next.
Similar Products Used:
Mavic
OVERALL RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Light, areodynamic, great feel, quiet. A good choice for racing.
Somewhat expensive, but what the heck. The decals are lame.
I've got the 420's laced 18/24 with bladed spokes. I'm a big rider at 195lbs. These wheels are light, quick, and responsive. I've taken these wheels over my share of railroad tracks and pot holes with little adverse affect on trueness. After 500-1000 miles the rear wheel needed very slight truing. I improved my time trialing using these wheels by about 5%. Stiffened up the ride on my steel frame quite a bit. A great racing wheelset, even for big riders.
Similar Products Used:
Mavic Open Pros
OVERALL RATING |
2 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
2 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
Light weight and light hubs.
Strength and narrow braking surface.
The 420's seemed like a good buy but from my observation were far from acceptable. The light weight was impressive but everytime I hit a bump I had to go and true the darn things again. Also the braking suraface is a bit narrow. The wheels came to me from the manufacture without proper ground zero trueness. For some reason they collect more water than any other rims I've owned. I guess if your under 165 you might not have this problem. It's definitely not a sprinters wheel.
OVERALL RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Strength! Service-free Looks Light-weight
Rear wheel spoke creak(solved by a drop of lube at the junctions and nipples)
I have the CR420's installed on my Giant TCR Composite. I have the 18 front/24 rear DT Revolution spoke configuration on a #15.5 bike. I weigh #170. I have put over 5300 miles on these wheel including 1000 miles of lightweight "credit card" touring. They are the best wheels I have ever used. Not once have they required trueing or service of any kind. They are superlight(1420 grams for the pair) and very aero. For the money I don't think you can find a wheelset that comes close. The hubs are super frictionless and silent. As an added bonus people comment all the time that they look fantastic!
Similar Products Used:
Lots
OVERALL RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Lightness, Price
possibly strength, but as I said the lock tighting worked great !!!!!!
353g rims and micro American Classic Hubs. Very light and the price is affordable. My first year they went out of true more than I would have liked, over the winter my shop "lock tighted" the spokes and I've only had to true the rear wheel once in 2000 miles this year. I should mention that I've hit a lot of pot holes as well. So I'm happier with these wheels the lonnger I use them.
Similar Products Used:
Cris King hubs, titanium spokes, Mavic open pro rims, made by Colorado Cyclist
OVERALL RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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STRONG AERO LIGHTWEIGHT QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE SERVICEABILITY
DIDN'T GET THEM SOONER
this review is for the 420 clincher wheelset Went to interbike 2001 met the wonderful people at American Classic/Shook Designs fell in love with the prototype wheel put in my pre-order and waited...and waited...and waited due to a production delay but when they came mid 2002 I was on top of the world.The wheels exceeded my expectations then and still to this day 13 months later I truly love these wheels and have them on both of my road bikes I would buy them for any future bike I purchase unless they come up with something they deem "better" the wheels are super stiff aero light and very sweet looking I am a 210lb serious multisport/timetrialist clydesdale racer the wheels were built with 20f/24r 14/15 radial front and 14/15 2 cross rear with alloy nipples.The weight was 644/835 I absolutly hammer these wheels and have never needed truing these wheels are really underated the customer service is top notch the people at American Classic?Shook Designs are truly great to work with I have two sets of 420's(bought a second set around january 2003 along with a set of AC Carbons and have never had a problem with the hubs haven't changed the bearings yet they are still smooth I have ridden many different wheelsets both clincher and tubular and these are my favorite clincher wheels the 38mm carbon AC tubulars are my favorite tubulars
Similar Products Used:
all or most wheels which would be too many to count
OVERALL RATING |
3 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Light weight- lightest clincher available? Cushy ride- flexy rim, thin revolution spokes. Smooth bearings, especially the front. Pretty Front hub-not CNC'd. Sales rep at Amer. Class. very helpfull.
Don't stand up and climb! Any weight savings are deleted through flexing the rim and spokes. Be like lance and fly away seated. Shipped perfectly true but not stressed. Nipples all pinged when on first ride and wheels whent out of true. Rear hub crude and ugly- CNC'd with little thought of rigidity. Very thin brake track. Engagement of freehub is mushy- not direct.
Light wheel set with expected psoitives and negatives. Conventional spokes. ie- uses standered industry spokes. Stealth when stickers are removed.
Similar Products Used:
open pro- ultegra hubs
OVERALL RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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VALUE RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
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Super light, reasonably priced compared to other light wheelsets, traditional looks
? durability
CR350 rims - very light American classic hubs - also very light Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes - awesome 28 spoke two cross in front 32 spoke three cross in back total weight 1330 grams Built by Brazen Cycleworks http://www.eteamz.com/sites/brazen/news/ The wheelset is very light for the cost. So far no problems with rear wheel after 2-3 months of training. The front wheel has not faired as well. I hit a rock in the road at about 30mph and split the side wall of the tire/tube. (Luckily I stayed upright). The wheel was out of true and the rim was dented. I have retrued the wheel but it will always have a small wobble. A rock could damage any rim, but I suspect that a stonger rim ie open pro would have sustained less damage. I'm still using the wheels and they are very fast for climbing/accelerating (1.5 lbs lighter than my previous wheels) and plenty stiff for me. I'm 150lbs.
Similar Products Used:
Mavic Cosmos