American Classic Hub Question

Triathlon Forum
1

Just put a set of new AC 420’s on my road bike. They look great, are light, and I’m dying to take them out for their first ride.

So I put the rear wheel on, lift the bike up and give it a spin to see how long the wheel will keep spinning, figuring with these awesome new wheels it will go forever. I was a little disappointed to see that it actually comes to a stop fairly quickly compared to what I expected. When I spin the front wheel it does seem to spin for quite a long time, much longer than the rear. I have a set of Ksyriums and 404’s and if I spin the rear on either of those they go for much longer. The wheel is much quieter than the Zipp when spinning but louder than the Ksyrium.

A couple of questions: Does spinning the wheel like this really tell me anything about the quality of the hub? Should the rear wheel spin for the same time as the front? Will this have any effect (I know its likely minute) on my power to maintain a given speed as well as how fast I will coast down a hill?

I’m going to take it to my LBS as soon as I get the chance but I thought I’d get some overall opinions here first.

2

Hello,

Don’t worry about it. When you spin the rear it has to over come the friction of the gear mechanism. This doesn’t come into play when you are pedaling. Some systems have more friction than other, but it is a minor difference and only effects coasting. Also some systems break in a bit.

Styrrell

3

Bump for the weekend crowd.

4

My understanding is that spinning the wheel is not a good indicator of hub/bearing quality. Louder clicking from the pawls on the rear hub however, is purported to mean “higher quality”.