These wheels have impressed us with their strength and stiffness, despite our best kit destroyer’s attempts to knock them out of shape, and they’re a reasonable weight too.
They come with sturdy aluminium rims, 22mm wide and 24mm deep, each laced up three-cross to one of American Classic’s own hubs with 32 butted spokes.
The hubs both have large 17mm axles and super-high flanges to add extra strength and they house adjustable bearings – you need a couple of 19mm cone spanners to tweak them, which could well involve a trip down to your local bike shop.
Ours ran smoothly straight out of the box and they’ve stayed that way ever since, with double seals keeping water and grime well and truly locked out. The rims are as true as they were the day we got them too, without any need for jiggery-pokery with the spoke key.
Hitting the scales at 723g (front) and 848g (rear), these aren’t the lightest wheels out there but they’re not especially heavy either – and, wonder of wonders, our set was actually slightly under the manufacturer’s claimed weight of 1,600g.
In use, this is a wheelset that spins up to speed pretty quickly for something so brawny, and there’s virtually no flex even when you’re chucking the bike around out of the saddle or leaning hard into a tight turn. We didn’t get any brake rub at all while climbing or sprinting, even when we set up the blocks stupidly close to the rim and really nailed it.
With all that in mind, the Hurricanes make a great choice if you’re a big powerhouse who’s looking for a performance setup without a massive weight penalty, or you’re after something that’s capable of handling the knocks of cyclo-cross. They’d also be just the job if you simply want the confidence of a sturdy set of wheels that won’t let you down.
The cassette body is compatible with nine- or 10-speed Shimano or SRAM, and a Campag option is available to order. They come with quick-release skewers and rim tape.
