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Anyone running the american classic wide lightning yet?

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#41 ·
twowheelfunman said:
I weigh 184 all geared up. I'm running a Specialized Butcher 2.4 in front at 28psi. Out back it's a Maxxis Ikon EXO 2.35 at 30psi.

Still loving the light snappy ride! I did have a rock flip up onto the front rim and it put a pretty good dent in the rim wall but it's still true with no affect to tire seal.
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Same thing here - a big big dink in the rear WL rim following a steep climb on trail with loose flint rocks (think about the size of a large coffee mug) running Nics 28-30 psi. Needed a compressor to inflate these 1st time, same tyres go up easy with a track pump on stans rims. That said they ride well and I'm very happy with my current rig setting pb runs all over the place.
 
#42 ·
So... the hubs on my Wide Lightnings finally gave in and failed on me while in the trails. Luckily the trails were near my home and was picked up by car. I love the rims but was wary about the hubs even from the beginning. I have to admit that my complaint about the hubs was the lag in engagement. But I had no idea about the durability of the hub. Well I suppose this answers my question.

I am still not sure what is wrong but I am pretty sure its the rachet/pawl system. Will bring bike to LBS later to have it checked out. I hope that something just got loose... but if the rachet/pawl system failed, I will not even claim warranty (set is only a few months old) on it and upgrade the hubs to something more reliable for peace of mind. I bought the wheelset for the rims after all.

I hope that this does not happen to anyone else out in the middle of no where.

See the video here

 
#43 ·
Update: Brought the wheelset to LBS where I bought set from (local distributor of Am Class). After they checked it, they said that it was the XD Drive for the 1x11 cassette that had the problem and not the hub. Thank God! A spring in the XD Driver was supposedly out of shape. So mechanic bent it back to shape, and assemble it back and declared it good as new. I was hoping he was right. After the service, the hub made more noise when coasting. Before service it was very quiet. I did not mind the noise... all I wanted to do was ride.

So I went for a ride this morning. I ended up walking home as the hub or XD drive failed again.

I am not sure what is really the problem... the Hub? The XD Drive? Will go to shop now and have it checked. Will update you guys as soon as possible.
 
#45 ·
Correct. Please pardon my mistake. I did not understand hubs and freehub bodies before this incident.

As per LBS... it is the XD driver that is the problem. I don't know if this problem is a factor of the hub. If not, please pardon my earlier post on the hub failing on me. It seems that it is the XD Driver that failed.

Will update this issue again later when I get feedback from my LBS.

dgaddis1 said:
The XD Driver IS the freehub body. There's no springs on the cassette.
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#46 ·
So... after 3 attempts of the LBS to fix the XD Driver freehub body (walked home 3 times) they finally decided to warranty the XD Driver and replaced it with a brand new one. I was able to ride 30kms trouble free yesterday. I have to admit that those 30kms were trouble free but not worry free. I was worried that whole time as to the durability of the freehub body and whether it will fail on me again. I guess only time will tell...

As of now, I am enjoying the wheels and enjoying riding them!
 
#48 ·
Ok, after 6 months on the wheelset the front is still true and running perfect despite the minor sidewall ding caused by a rock flipping over into it.

The rear has now received 3 small dings and one major ding that also deformed the sidewall toward the outside. All this damage happened while running an Ardent Race EXO 2.2 at 30psi. I ride on the Colorado Front Range mostly. The big ding happened while riding the Backbone Trail North of S Mountain in Salida. Very rocky and had a blast while doing the damage.

No air loss but have bumped the pressure up to 35psi. While climbing am having a few more spin outs on roots and dust covered rocks.

I had the same problem with the Bontrager stock rear wheel but it had air loss issues. Not sure where to go from here. The trail 29er in my opinion is a blast to ride but (for me) requires a light rear wheel.
 
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#49 ·
BOSERO is right - TOO much lag

BOSERO said:
Went to a field and practiced some tight figure eights and track stands... The AC hubs have so much lag before it engages. The lag is so big that I had to re-learn the skills and employ different techniques to execute. Am a bit disappointed with the hubs but am willing to learn to like them coz I like the wide wheels a lot.

More reviews coming.
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You are spot on with your review, the rims are great but the rear hub is driving me crazy. I expected much better. Will have the rear hub replaced sooner than later. The lag is way too much for what we paid for the set of rims.
 
#54 ·
Ahhhh...I read this on the twentynineinches review the other day:

"So in conclusion I have no numeric proof that the Wide Lightning wheels are less durable than other, heavier rims – simple logic would suggest that a sub-400g cannot be as tough in all regards"

Based on his comment, maybe he got some info from AM on the actual rim weight??
 
#57 ·
jeffreyjhsu said:
Four months into riding on my 29r Wide Lightnings. No problems at all. I weigh 165 and run around 19 front and 20 rear. I am a very smooth rider.

Ride quality, traction, everything is better and I put on the tires from my old wheelset so I'd be comparing apples to apples.

I'd recommend these wheels to anyone looking for a performance increase.
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I have nearly a year on these wheels now. The difference in performance still amazes me. More traction everywhere. More control in technical terrain and an overall feeling of increased confidence everywhere. I tell my friends that riding these wheels makes almost as much of a difference as going from 26" wheels to 29". I still weigh around 165 though I'm now running 18 & 19 pounds of tire pressure.
 
#58 ·
Been eyeing these wheels for a while now... going to pull the trigger this month but before I do wondering if anyone can think of comparable wheels to the Wide Lightnings?

From what I know it seems they are in a class of their own, factoring width, weight and cost?
 
#59 ·
Sounds like the rear hub has horrible engagement, see post #39. Not sure how these wheels sets are in a class of their own....Maybe I'm missing something, but a quality rear hub is a pretty big factor in my book.


EBenke
 
#60 ·
Guess it depends on one's needs out of their components. Just speaking from my own experience and what I am looking for.

I need wide rims that can support high concerning loads. Run lowest pressure possible and wide enough i-width to try this new 29+ (29x 3.0 inch tires) for some winter riding. I come from a DH background and rarely attack technical climbs. I also don't race XC, thus don't really require high # of engagements.

I have owned and ran the A.C. Race 29er wheel set of my Trance X 29er for 2 seasons. I know what their hubs are like, not amazing but ok. More looking for weight savings and long with wide stiff rim/wheel to improve handling. All the while keeping cost down say under $1000. I have 3 bikes can't afford to make it rain on each of them. Only other option is to go the wide Chinese carbon wheel brands. Which are getting some great reviews but I am also thinking of resale. Worried if/and people are open minded with chines brands (even though 90% of their bike is manufactured in a mass production line somewhere in Asia). Lastly I personally wouldn't buy any set of used carbon wheels but would for alum as damage/abuse is easily visible on alum.
 
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