In addition to their all-new carbon road wheels, American Classic has new All-Mountain Tubeless and Downhill wheelsets, the former in both 26″ and 29er sizes, with every axle combo you’re likely to want.
Oh, and new graphics and rim/hub color combos that are pretty sharp.
All-Mountain Tubeless wheels starts delivering in late February or early March with a new rim profile extrusion that’s 28mm wide (external) width and 23mm deep. It’s Bill Shook’s design, not UST and the new rim extrusion is based on the tubeless XC rim’s bead hook/bead barb to lock the tire in. The difference for the new All-Mountain version is that it’s 2mm wider and has beefed up sidewalls where they need to be stronger to take more of a hit.
Check them out, along with the new, lighter weight DH wheels, after the break…
Two color combos are available: White with red hubs, shown at top with the 20mm thru-axle hub option, and black with white hubs, shown with standard QR front.
The AM Tubeless wheels have lots of axle options, including a swappable QR/15mm or dedicated 20mm front hub, and standard QR, X12 and 135 rear hubs. Rim weight is 395g for 26″ and 435g for 29″.
Wheel weights are 721g F / 825g R (1546g pair) for the 26″ version, and the 29er set is 788g F / 892g R (1680g pair).
Both wheel sizes use American Classic’s Disc 130 (front) and Disc 225 (rear) for regular wheelsets, or comparable hubs with the various axle options if that’s what you prefer.
New DH wheels are non-tubeless with lighter rims and 20mm front / 150×12 rear. Weight is saved by using their 28mm AM rim versus their old 32mm wide DH rims, and they’re 25mm deep. Team Sunn raced them last year and liked the new one better, so this lighter rim replaces the 32mm, probably for good.
The last of the big news is their new X12 142 hub for the Syntace standard. There’s also a new kit that can convert their Disc 225 QR rear hub to the 142×12, which is how you can make those new AM Tubeless wheels above work on your 142 bike. Sweet.
Other odds and ends:
- New Tubeless Valves with rounded bottom and fat O-ring, makes set up easier and seals better. They have a removable valve core to add sealant.
- New Tubeless Tape. Each roll covers a 29er rim twice, which they recommend doing, and it’s available shop packs with 100m of tape. Shook says it’s a bit harder to apply than some other brands, but it stays put and edges don’t curl up.
