American Classic might have only re-launched last September with its range of five gravel tyres, two road tyres and one commuting/city option – but it’s already giving its rubber an overhaul, introducing new widths, lowering rolling resistance and increasing the durability.
The brand’s “Road Hazard Replacement Policy” still stands, so if you manage to damage a tyre beyond repair, American Classic will provide a “one-time 50%-off replacement.”
With so many tweaks to so many tyres, there’s quite a lot that’s now changed, so let’s separate out the categories and get started with road.
American Classic: road tyres
(Image credit: American Classic)
Of the two road tyres in the range, the Timekeeper is American Classic’s race and speed focused option. Following the refresh, it’s now been treated to an “all-new” Stage 3 Armor and Stage 3S Armor casing on the tube type and Tubeless Ready models, respectively.
American Classic says that the tyres have been sent to a third-party for rolling resistance testing and the new Timekeeper has shown “measurable improvements” over the previous iteration.
A 30mm version has also been introduced, to complement the existing 25 and 28mm models in the range. The tyres remain available in both black and tan sidewall options and the pricing stands at $45.00 / £35.50 for the tubeless version and $40.00 / £31.80 for the clinchers.
The Torchbearer, which is the four-season road model, gets a more modest update. It too gets improved puncture protection, but the available tyre widths remain 25, 28 and 32mm and the only sidewall offered is black. Pricing stands at $45.00 / £35.50 for the tubeless version and $40.00 / £31.80 for the clincher.
To comply with the ETRTO guidelines, the tubeless tyres shouldn’t be inflated beyond 73psi when mounted on tubeless rims. If those pressures aren’t sufficient for you in the width you’re currently running, you’d need to go up a size or two.
American Classic: gravel tyres
From left to right: Kimberlite, Aggregate, Udden, Wentworth, Krumbein
(Image credit: American Classic)
The gravel range is quite extensive – the picture above best conveys the tread patterns American classic has on offer.
All the gravel tyres will continue to be offered in 700c x 40mm, 700c x 50mm and 650b x 47mm, while the lightly treaded Kimberlite will now be available in 700c x 35mm as well, for smoother terrain.
Just like the Timekeeper road tyres, the Kimberlites were sent for rolling resistance testing and also came out with “measurable improvements.”
(Image credit: American Classic)
All the gravel tyres now incorporate Stage 5S Armor in their casing to further improve the puncture resistance. Despite this, the tyre weights have also been dropped. When we had the previous model of the Krumbein in for testing, it weighed in at a hefty 752 grams in the 700c x 50mm width.
The claimed weight for the new Krumbein in that width is 650 grams. For context, Schwalbe's G-One Ultrabite gravel tyres came in at 709 grams for the same width.
Each gravel tyre is now also available with new brown sidewalls, in addition to the current tan and black. Pricing stands at $45.00 / £35.50.
After winning the 2019 National Single-Speed Cross-Country Mountain Biking Championships and claiming the plushie unicorn (true story), Stefan swapped the flat-bars for drop-bars and has never looked back.
But his favourite rides are multiday bikepacking trips, with all the huge amount of cycling tech and long days spent exploring new roads and trails - as well as histories and cultures. Most recently, he’s spent two weeks riding from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia.
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