Old School and Cutting Edge?

WHAT: American Classic MTB 350 Disc (options include singlespeed hubs and 29-inch rims) WHERE: www.amclassic.com HOW MUCH? $580

A few years ago my brother was in the market for a new wheelset and asked for my advice. I gave him the basic rundown: you can buy a light wheelset that uses standard spokes and lacing patterns, or you can buy a light wheelset that uses exotic spokes and lacing patterns. The exotic wheels are nifty to look at, but can leave you in the lurch when spokes start snapping—either the spokes are hard to find, expensive to buy or just a pain in the ass to rebuild a wheel with.

My brother then posed the next logical question, “Well, where can I buy a really light, really strong, wheelset that I can repair myself?” That led me to scratch my head a bit. Normally I’d have steered him to his local bike shop, where a salty, old grease monkey would lace him up a nice set of hoops. Sadly, his local bike shop is operated by young, grease monkeys who’ve never learned the fine art of twisting and tuning spokes.

The recent (okay, the late `90s still seem recent to me) explosion of pre-built wheelsets has meant that quality wheelbuilding is becoming something of a lost art. Oddly, while there are plenty of pre-built wheels on the market, most of them seem to employ less than 16 spokes made of some rare space material that NASA is always slow to Fed-Ex to your house whenever you taco a wheel. Function seems to have taken a backseat to fashion in the very flashy aftermarket wheelset market.

I was pleasantly surprised, then, to run across American Classic’s MTB 350 Disc wheelset at last year’s Interbike. The MTB 350s are proof positive that ultralight, doesn’t have to mean “damn near impossible to fix”.

At 1,503 grams, the American Classics are freaky light—182 grams lighter than Mavic’s feathery CrossMax SLs—and yet the American Classics are laced with 32 stainless steel , J-bend spokes—sturdy 3-cross lacing, no less. What makes this wheelset so light?

First and foremost, the wheel incorporates an ultralight 350-gram, deep-section rim. I want bore you with physics, but the basic idea here is that the more weight you have on the perimeter of your wheel, the more sluggish your acceleration is going to be. American Classic’s lightweight CR350 rim greatly reduces rotational weight and yet has proven surprisingly strong.

The CR350 is made from Nibium-Rhobium alloy, which the company claims is more corrosion resistant than other alloys. Many low-spoke count wheelsets, by comparison, use much heavier rims. Why? Because when you subtract spokes from a wheel, you subtract structural strength—to reinject (so to speak) that strength, manufacturers using low-spoke count designs usually use a heavier rim. Plus, low spoke count wheels generally run higher spoke tensions, which require stronger, heavier rims. Just something to consider the next time you go wheel shopping….

Next, the MTB 350 is laced with 32, butted DT stainless steel spokes—light, strong, easy to replace. The spokes are of the traditional J-bend style. Some folks argue that J-bend spokes are inferior to straight pull spokes, since J-bend models occasionally shear at the elbow (the bend being an inherent weak point). Folks in the J-bend camp argue that such failures are the result of a sloppy fit between the spoke head and the hub flange, and that any spoke will beak in such cases.

Truth be told, there are plenty of fine wheels using both types of spokes. Personally, I’m a fan of J-bends because they are easier to find at your local bike shop. Getting back to the American Classics here, the good news is that these are DT Swiss spokes—some of the best available. Spoke lacing is of the sturdy, decidedly un-sexy but very reliable, 3-cross pattern.

At the center of the wheel sits American Classic’s proprietary Disc 225 hubs. Bill Shook of American Classic has created a freehub that incorporates six simultaneously-engaging pawls. Simultaneous engagement is a very good thing. Hubs tend to bite the dust when some of the pawls jam (due to excess grease or contaminants) and too few pawls wind up carrying the pedal load. Broken pawls lead to that disturbing “Shit, I’m pedaling but I ain’t moving forward anymore” sensation (immediately followed by much cursing, teeth-gnashing and a depressingly long trudge back to the trailhead).

While I can’t tell you that American Classic’s six pawls really engage quicker than three pawl systems (like Shimano) or are any more robust, I can say that the 225 Disc hubs proved exceptionally reliable over the six months that I rode them. No breakage, or howling sounds from the hub--these are good things.

The hubs roll on four widely-spaced, cartridge bearings. American Classic places these cartridge bearings closer to the drop-outs, so as to reduce axle flex and subsequent wear on the bearings (it’s the same logic that has led manufacturers to locate bottom bracket bearings outside the bb shell). The hubshell is crafted from 6061-aluminum and features thick, high flanges. American Classic contends that 6061 conforms to the spoke heads better (for a snugger fit) than more brittle 7075 aluminum.

While I encountered no major durability problems with the hub, I do have one gripe: the hub’s lightweight aluminum freehub body tends to get chewed up by the cassette cogs. I know, I know….loose cogs will tear up any freehub body. I swear, though, that I had my cassette threaded nice and tight on that sucker. I even used the little spacer that came with the wheels. Alas, to no avail. Assuming, however, that you don't swap out cassettes every month or two, this isn’t a huge issue, so long as you make sure your cogs are as snug as possible. Still, I’d give up the weight savings of aluminum in this application, for a sturdier steel freehub body.

All in all, I walked away incredible impressed with this wheelset. I weigh between 170 and 180 pounds (depending on how much it’s raining and how many deadlines I’m facing) and I ride with all the grace of a mountain gorilla in heat. In the past six months, I’ve cased more than a few jumps on this wheelset, I’ve poorly timed dozens of log-overs and, in general, I’ve been my general jack-ass self…and, yet, the MTB 350s have held true.

Don’t get me wrong—these aren’t freeride or even “all mountain” wheels, (they’re far too light for that kind of application) but for cross-country racing and general trail riding, they have very few peers. Light, strong, easy-to-repair, true-tracking….oh, and decidedly less-expensive than most of the high-falutin’ wheelsets that require special spokes. In my book, that makes the MTB 350 Disc a hell of a buy.

Finally, Singlespeeders and 29ers will be as pleased as pigs in shit to know that you can also buy this wheelset with a single-speed rear hub and/or with 29-inch hoops. Oh yeah, if you’re still hanging onto your sidepull brakes and ranting about how lame disc brakes are (silly Luddite), you can rest easy—American Classic offers the same basic wheel in a non-disc version.