A Visit With Bill Shook Of American Classic- with Guitar Ted and Grannygear
Of the several appointments we had at Interbike 2012, one of the more interesting ones was with Bill Shook of American Classic. To be able to sit down with the “brains” of the operation, of any company, is always a treat, in our view. Mr. Shook did not disappoint us.
Guitar Ted (L) and American Classic's Bill Shook (R)
With so much changing in the world of wheels of late, American Classic has been especially busy. Take for instance the 27.5″er trend, which American Classic is keeping up with. There is also the new XX1 drive train from SRAM. The 11 speed cassette requires a special free hub, and American Classic has responded with a free hub which will retrofit to their current hub line and also will be available as a complete hub. Expect to see that early next year.
Am. Classic's XX1 freehub proto
Another item we were shown is a rim. American Classic, up to this point, has not allowed aftermarket sales of rims only, preferring to be in total control of the wheel building process.
Profile of the new "101" rim
The New 101: This will change now with the introduction of American Classic’s “101″ rim. The 101 is going to be offered across all three mountain bike wheel sizes and in a few different drillings. Appearing in a very understated anodized black, these rims have little branding, and are in response to wheel builders and customers who have wanted an American Classic rim to lace to their own choice of hubs.
Of course, these rims will also support tubeless tire set ups, and will utilize the same bead barb technology that other American Classic mountain biking rims have. Weight for the 29″er 101 rim is targeted at 380gm each. 27.5″er, and 26″er rims will obviously weigh less.
L to R: Race rim, All Mtn rim, 101 rim
Bill Shook was quick to point out that he was targeting a competitor’s product with the 101 and feels that he has a stronger rim at a competitive weight. Optimization of the rim extrusion and dimensions were key in achieving the goals set for the 101. Those looking for a light weight, XC racing oriented wheel set should take a close look at the 101. Availability is slated for early next year.
The 101 does not use a UST standard dimension, and when we asked Mr. Shook why not, he stated that the UST bead seat and rim wall were not as optimal as they could be. He stated weight and the mechanical interface of the rim and tire as specific areas where he felt American Classic rims were better. Obviously, weight in a rim is of concern to many riders, and Mr. Shook felt that the UST outer rim wall above the bead seat was too high. In addition, much like Stan Koziatek’s beliefs, (he of Stan’ No Tubes fame), Mr Shook felt the taller rim wall inhibited tubeless tire benefits. Lowering that rim wall obviously reduces weight and allows for a better tubeless tire performance since the rim isn’t inhibiting the tire sidewall from bowing outward naturally near the bead.
Recall that Grannygear has been on a set of tubeless single speed wheels (reviewed here) and they have been stellar performers with a very good blend of stiffness, width, weight, and so far, toughness. They roll like crazy too. (Look for a Final Review on those soon.)
Twenty Nine Inches would like to thank American Classic and Bill Shook in particular for taking the time to sit down and chat with us. For more information on American Classic, see their website here: American Classic .
I wonder if there will be an issue with bearing life in the 11 speed hub bodies. The bearing size has to be pretty small especially if a thru axle is used.
@Upsidedownbiker: I really don’t think so. The free hub is basically only different on the outside, as far as how the cassette will attach to the free hub body, and it has no real effect on the innards.
Just wondering about the widths of the rims? Are there three rims, 101, MTB tubeless, MTB race?
@Yogi: There will only be the 101 offered as a rim separately for wheel builds. It is 21mm inner rim width, approx 380gms for the 29″er size, and will support tubeless set ups. Black ano only.
Other rims produced by American Classic will only be available as part of completed wheel sets at this time.
That rim look veeeerrrryyyy interesting. I’ll have to try a set for sure.
“They roll like crazy too.” – I’ve found the same thing with American Classic hubs – they are super fast rolling, faster than any others I’ve worked with.
Hi! Thanks for the nice write up!!!
We will have the disc 101 rims in 29 size 32 spoke holes available after Oct 15,2012 in the US. Also available in the US after Oct 15, wheelsets RACE 29, MTB tubeless 29 etc with the new colors (black with silver/white graphics).
The disc 101 rims are 25mm wide outside, 21mm wide inside and 18mm tall. In the pic above, it is the rim on the far right.
BR, Ellen AC
@Ellen: Thanks for chiming in with that update!
All good. Hope you get to ride this weekend!
@All…I corrected the extrusion call outs. Apologies. Thanks for the clarification, AC folks.
gg
As an AC wheelset owner, what options are available should you damage a rim, given that the AM/Race 29 rims are not available?
@Samuel J Greear: The wheel can be sent back to American Classic for a new rim/wheel build. I would contact your LBS and/or American Classic to find out more.
What is the max. spoke tension on these 101 rims?
@Kevin: I contacted American Classic, and their response was that due to the varied component spec that may be paired with a 101 rim, there was really no good way for them to give you a solid spec number for spoke tension. Their opinion is that a wheel is a system, and your specific component choices will affect the outcome of spoke tension that is ideal.
I thought that the race wheel was the widest but in the picture of the extrusions the rim on the left looks to be the narrowest
@Ted : NoTubes can give indications : http://www.notubes.com/literature/ztr_rim_specifications.pdf , example 95kgf for the 29″ Crest rims and 125kgf for the 29″ Arch EX rims. Wheelbuilders must know what the max spoke tension is they can apply, system or not. Weird that they won’t provide this specification. Thanks for asking – really appreciated.
Any idea on the ERD of the 101 rim?
537mm for the 26″