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Hands On: American Classic Argent Tubeless Road/CX Disc Brake Wheels

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American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (6)

Ask most serious cross racers what equipment they’re running and disc brakes are becoming much more prevalent. But tubeless? It seems that many still cast a dubious eye towards the tires that stay on the rim without any glue.

Like anything though, with time products continue to improve. Thanks to the introduction of improved tubeless cyclocross tires, the feasibility of racing tubeless seems better than ever.

This is where products like the American Classic Argent Tubeless Disc wheels come into play. One of the biggest advantages of tubeless over tubulars is the ability to quickly change out tires based on conditions without having to have multiple wheelsets glued up. For the average privateer that means the ability to run race worthy wheels and tires without a huge investment.

Details, actual weights, tubeless set up, and more next…

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (2)

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (7) American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (8)

Known more for their metal rims rather than carbon (though that is starting to change), the American Classic Argent Tubeless Disc continues with wide aluminum rim with a claimed weight of 390g. Measuring in at 22/19.4mm wide (ext./int.) and 30mm deep, the Argent’s weight is even more impressive thanks to the generous dimensions.

It’s the width of the rim combined with American Classic’s Bead Barb system that results in a secure fit of the tire that allows running low pressures without burping. The rims come shipped with American Classic’s Tubeless Honey Tape installed which just leaves the installation of the AC tubeless valve to set them up tubeless. Like most tubeless wheels, if you get a flat or just decide not to run tubeless the wheels can be run with standard tubes and tube type tires.

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (3)

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (9) American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (10)

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (4)

Cyclocross is especially hard on hubs so racers will be happy to see the AM Disc 130 and Disc 225 units in the center of the Argent wheels. I say that for a few reasons. First, one of American Classic’s best hub features is their Steel Face cassette body technology. Aluminum cassette bodies are light, but terrible for holding up to cassettes with split cogs. Anyone who has had to file down an expensive freehub body to get a different cassett to slide on knows this all too well. AM makes it a non-issue with steel inserts strategically placed on the aluminum freehub body so that the cassette splines won’t dig in. Simple, but brilliant.

Inside the freehub you’ll find AM’s 6 pawl cam actuated engagement system which engages all 6 pawls at once. Using a secondary ratchet system, the pawls only engage when putting the power down allowing for smooth coasting. The 6 pawls each have two tips for 12 points of engagement on the 24 ratchet teeth. Basically it’s a very quite hub that offers excellent engagement when you want to go.

Another noteworthy hub feature is hidden in the axles. Thanks to the design of the axles and hub adjusters, the ends of each thru-axle hub will not move unlike other designs that rely on end caps held in place with o-rings. This makes wheels changes much easier since you don’t run the risk of knocking the end cap out of place when trying to center the wheel. The design also allows for the use of standard QR axles with separate axle inserts. Key to our use with the Fezzari Fore Cyx was their ability to run 15mm TA front and 142x12mm TA rear.

Both 6 bolt hubs get laced to the aluminum rims with AC Bladed spokes with aluminum nipples in a 2 cross pattern front and rear. Whether you call it cosmetic or a race feature, the wheels use two different color spokes to help you find the valve as quickly as possible.

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (13) American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (12)

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (11)

Even with the tubeless tape and valve installed, the Argent wheels are impressively light at 716g for the front and 836g for the rear. Without the tape and valves, the wheels would easily be within claimed weight of 708/823g. Included with the wheels are of course the tubeless valves and tape, but also a silver spacer to use for SRAM/Shimano 10 speed cassettes on the 11 speed freehub body, and a black spacer which is required for running Campagnolo 11 speed cassettes.

Along with the few extra parts, Argent wheels ship with concise instructions for setting up tubeless tires. Judging by how much they stress following the directions, it seems like it’s very important to their performance so just read the instructions OK?

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (14)

Now that you’ve read the instructions you’ll know that AM wants you to use ample amounts of soapy water on the tire and rim before mounting. I used a spray bottle with a soap and water mixture to liberally coat both the rim and tire, then mounted the Bontrager TLR tire per the instructions. Even without sealant the tires mounted up surprisingly well, snapping into place with ease. Next, you let out the air, pull the valve core and inject sealant through the valve then re-inflate the tire. Honestly as far as road tubeless set ups go, this has been the best as far as instantly seating and not losing pressure over time.

Following a dramatic shift in the weather and the realization that mud tires were going to be more useful than file treads, I needed to swap 4 tires between two wheelsets. After 30 minutes and little mess, the tires were swapped and I was back out to the races. Score one for tubeless.

American Classic Argent Disc Tubeless wheels (16)

That brings us to the question – just how do tubeless tires perform for cross? After a handful of races all on tubeless wheels with some very technical off-camber, high speed, bunny hopping, and other cross challenges I’ve yet to burp a tire of feel like I need to run lower pressures. Granted, I weigh 150 lbs with my kit and have more technical skills than power, but for me the set up is working great.

Likely due to their wider profile the Argents often feel like the tires are much lower PSI than they actually are, but I’ve still raced them down to about 22 PSI without issue. Until they give me a reason to otherwise, I’ll be sticking with tubeless for cross from here on out. As for the Argent Tubeless discs? If you’re looking for a lightweight, race worthy wheelset for cross or for your disc brake road bike, the $1,499 Argents are an easy choice.

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Matt
Matt
9 years ago

I wish they had made the font size on the rims a bit larger, having a hard time reading it.

Mark
Mark
9 years ago

Never has a product needed a “dark” variant so badly…

Fan Boy
Fan Boy
9 years ago

@Matt

yeh, needs more graphics.

Bob Cummings
Bob Cummings
9 years ago

I have been using tubular and tubeless for CX the last two years. Im not a pro crosser but I am a cat 1 racer. In the past I had my “A” set of race tires mounted up on tubular wheels and two sets of non American Classic tubeless clinchers. One set had mud tires mounted up and the other were spare/pit wheels with whatever tire I thought suited the course the best. The mud tires seemed to hold air ok because corner loads are not has high but I regularly burped air on the off camber bumpy sections on most courses in dry conditions. The problem with tubulars is the risk of rolling them if not glued properly and flatting. Ill never forget one of my best races two years ago at Ruts N Guts I was in a two man battle with a huge gap on the field and flatted a front with 3/4 a lap to go. I rode it in but lost 2 spots instead of contesting for the win. I now have two sets of American Classic Argent Road Tubeless and love them! I always check my pressures before AND after each race with a very accurate digital guage and never lose any air. I even test them regularly around our local single track MTB course for training and never lose air even with the occasional rim bottom on a root. The AC wheels rock! My Zipp 303 tubies have been replaced.

wako29
wako29
9 years ago

I’m not quite following why they included a spacer for Campy 11sp cassettes when it would require an entirely different freehub body anyways.

Fatso
Fatso
9 years ago

@wako29

I use the black spacer on my Shimano and Sram cassettes – its required for Campy 11 but also makes sure you can get good compression on your cassette lock ring. Not all cassettes have the exact same tolerances and the 0.5 mm spacer does the trick. Better to have a spacer if you need it than have to hassle getting one is my thought.

Velo
Velo
9 years ago

They look nice, but $1,499?

scentofreason
scentofreason
9 years ago

I have the American classic hurricane wheelset on my cross bike. Running it tubeless. First ride on the set ran over a 1 roofing nail. Thought I’d blown the tire of the rim. Stopped, pulled the nail out, rotated the tire so the hole was low, let the sealant seal the hole, rode home. Tubeless rocks. I’ve also done some exploring rides where I take my cross bike along old abandoned railroad lines. Miles off fist sized shale, no issues. AC rocks…

Roy
Roy
9 years ago

Good to see more options that are not from Waterloo for tubeless road and CX tires. I have a few sets of CX wheels with AC hubs and they hold up perfectly, never a rough bearing and I like to wash bikes. As soon as more companies make real tubeless ready tires that have precision bead dimensions I will sell all my tubular wheels. In the mean time I anxiously await more tubeless options as having one bike and multiple tires will be way better for racing thru the season and having rubber to match the terrain. Tubeless has been rocking on mtb for YEARS, why the delay for road/CX? I have one of the first sets of Dura Ace tubeless wheels from years ago, and it took years to get some decent road tire choices other than Hutchinson, and CX? I have bled trying to keep sub 30psi tires on the rim tubeless.

With the exodus to discs, this will open another realm of options for tubeless carbon rims!
Bring on the new wooohooo

charango
charango
9 years ago

Or you could buy Stan’s Grail for less than half…

scentofreason
scentofreason
9 years ago

charango – 11/03/14 – 7:03pm
Or you could buy Stan’s Grail for less than half…

the grail has a max psi of 45 for 32mm tires. That’s too low for my 220lbs frame. AC arget 1531g, grail comp 1,720g, grail 1,625g (rider weigh limit 210). Hey bikerumor! please start listing rider weight limits and max psi for ALL wheel reviews. That’s key information we need to know.

Velo
Velo
9 years ago

Can’t you get a set of Pacenti SL23’s built-up for around $600?

Fatso
Fatso
9 years ago

@Velo

You can get a lot of different rims built for around $600 but you won’t get 1531 grams.
You’d have to do DT 240s or less and then use Sapim CX Rays to get anywhere close and that will cost more than $600 and you’ll have a flexier wheel with a heavier rim. And you also have 1/3 lb (150 grams) heavier rims that aren’t tubeless in their design. Then you can stuff some tubeless kit in there for more money and weight. Also the Argent is wider at 19.4mm not 18mm which effects your tire size not to mention the bead hook the Argent dramatically reduces if not eliminates burping. The price is steep but there is also a lot of technology there that is pretty hard to match unless you go to a carbon wheel that generally has even a higher price tag.

chup
9 years ago

Dt swiss rc28 spline db c… Similar price, yet lighter.

EM2
EM2
9 years ago

@Fatso If you are looking for the grams you go tubular .

I am wheel builder and have made a set of ZTR Ironcross (wider than this AC) at 1615gr and for the half money .

AC hubs , ZTR Ironcross , C xrays setup give you the same weight for 2/3 of the money , a bit wider and 32 spoke durability (a key word that is not mentioned).

charango
charango
9 years ago

@scentofreason

FALSE. Grail has a max psi of 116 @ 23mm or 100 @28mm. You are probably thinking of the ironcross.

booty
booty
9 years ago

@charango

Actually, scentofreason was correct on 32mm, and you’re correct on the other two max psi’s. Stan’s says it right on the Grail product page. http://www.notubes.com/ZTR-Grail-700c-Comp-Wheelset-P1474.aspx

thesteve4761
thesteve4761
9 years ago

I’m still not getting the Campy spacer….

Also, DT XR331’s are both wider and lighter, and could build up cheaper. Working well on my CX bike as tubeless.

ObligatedToSay
ObligatedToSay
9 years ago

Dear American Classic: The decals – was Comic Sans not available?

Fatso
Fatso
9 years ago

@EM2 – Agree’d – go tubular for best weight savings. American Classic has great aluminum and carbon tubulars as well. If you’re looking for a shallower 32 spoke- 3 Cross at 1600 grams they have the Hurricane Disc Tubeless that will be roughly same price as what you are describing but with stiffer spokes and also a 120 PSI which you don’t have on the Ironcross. And you’re also a wheel builder, most of us have to pay to have the wheels built on top of the parts cost 🙂

The ZTR Iconcross is a good rim but max PSI is too low if you want to do anything other than cross – same with the DT XR331. The DT rim is about 15 grams lighter than the Argent but a much shallower profile (almost half)

I spent a lot of time looking at all of the options – not that one is outrageously better than another it always depends on what you need. I have more than 12,000 miles on my Hurricanes and the American Classic customer service has been great – reason enough for me.

thesteve4761
thesteve4761
9 years ago

@Fatso- XR331= 87PSI max with a 35mm tire. How much air do you want to run?!

http://www.dtswiss.com/Resources/Tech-PDF/Tire_Pressure_Dimension

scentofreason
scentofreason
9 years ago

thesteve4761 – I want to be able to throw some road tires on my cross bike, so I’d like at least 120psi for my rims. (Which the AC allow for). My cross bike has disc brakes, descending the local mountain roads with disc is a revelation in fun, no longer do I have to creep down for fear of blowing through my rim brakes capacity. (Someday I’ll get a road bike with disc brakes…)

thesteve4761
thesteve4761
9 years ago

Scent- You can run the XR331’s “officially” down to 28mm and over 100psi. Check the link, pretty nifty little chart. Even at 220lbs, that should be plenty of tire and pressure. I’ve run mine with 25mm tires no problem. The AM Classic look like a good option, just over priced. And the graphics…..

booty
booty
9 years ago

Correct, the Am Classic graphics and contrasting spoke thing is just awful.

Happy with my Grail Comps. Dependable 32h/3x lacing, way cheaper, and let’s face it, a couple hundred grams across a wheelset makes no difference whatsoever. Like really none.

What’s the word on this Am Classic “bead barb” thing? Is it any more reliable than Stan’s BST design for CX?

Isawyou!
Isawyou!
9 years ago

Hey Bob! Aren’t you sponsored by American Classic?

js
js
9 years ago

My city hosted CX Nats last weekend and the number of people running wide rimmed clinchers who needed to ‘correct’ their tires was ridiculous. With a 19.4mm internal rim width, I expect owners of these rims would have very few tire options that could be mounted without exceeding the 33mm max.

I get that many people will never need to worry about this, but for those who will be contesting more serious races (state, national or UCI), it’s a very valid concern.

EM2
EM2
9 years ago

@Fatso
Sorry i made a mistake , i was wrong about the weight of the Ironcross build , it is not the same as the AC .
The set run Bitex disc hubs (shimano 11s) , sapim c x-rays (64 , X3) aluminum nipples at 1520gr .

Fatso
Fatso
9 years ago

@EM2

Right and if you put CX-Ray on Hurricanes you’d be lighter as well. I prefer a standard stiffer spoke with a better aluminum nipple on a wheel I can also run at 120 PSI. More options, stiffer build, better nipple, better bead seat, better hubs which certain outweighs 80 grams between 2 wheels…

Dhey
Dhey
6 years ago

Can.i.convert to regular qr

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