American Classic

[Bici-Sonora]

Originally Posted by flying

The 210gr Timekeeper road tires look interesting
available in 25&28 black or tan walls

When I was in Andy Gilmour’s shop yesterday, he had just received his AC Timekeeper 28mm tires. The packaging is nice, and when I handled them, they felt really supple and seemed really light. The tread pattern looks a lot like Conti GP5000s. He mounted one on a rim—nice and tight fit, and without measuring, they looked to run a bit narrower then their listed width.


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[charliedid]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

I'm too far around the curve to think $35 tires are going to offer the performance I'm looking for, especially after seeing how much they weigh. More skus in the 700cx50 range is great, but almost 700 grams? Woof. The other sizes are similarly porky.

It is extremely interesting that a new brand with 8 new molds and something like 50 skus is able to just pop up overnight, connected direct with Amazon, selling for significantly below competitors. Hopefully some of these will hit Bicycle Rolling Resistance to get an idea of how they stack up.

Yeah if you forget retail prices for a moment and just search Gravel Tires and see what many of the brands are selling at with discounted prices it's not that far off.

Asian/American partnership makes the set-up costs of molds etc. a bit more doable.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Bici-Sonora

When I was in Andy Gilmour’s shop yesterday, he had just received his AC Timekeeper 28mm tires. The packaging is nice, and when I handled them, they felt really supple and seemed really light. The tread pattern looks a lot like Conti GP5000s. He mounted one on a rim—nice and tight fit, and without measuring, they looked to run a bit narrower then their listed width.


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Interesting.

Which rims?

[El Chaba]

So with no connection to the old company and with the tires made in Taiwan, it would appear that “ American Classic” is neither….

[Bici-Sonora]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Interesting.

Which rims?

American Classic of course!—not sure which model—but one of the more narrow ones—likely ~16mm ID. I may order some of the 32 mm tubeless ones today to see how they roll. Just looking at them and handling them, they didn’t seem like cheap tires.


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[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Bici-Sonora

American Classic of course!—not sure which model—but one of the more narrow ones—likely ~16mm ID. I may order some of the 32 mm tubeless ones today to see how they roll. Just looking at them and handling them, they didn’t seem like cheap tires.


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Nice

[LancasterPA]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

I'm too far around the curve to think $35 tires are going to offer the performance I'm looking for, especially after seeing how much they weigh. More skus in the 700cx50 range is great, but almost 700 grams? Woof. The other sizes are similarly porky.

It is extremely interesting that a new brand with 8 new molds and something like 50 skus is able to just pop up overnight, connected direct with Amazon, selling for significantly below competitors. Hopefully some of these will hit Bicycle Rolling Resistance to get an idea of how they stack up.

I asked about this. My question and their response:9

Question: How do your Timekeeper road tires compare to the Continental 5000 tubeless? While the 5000 are fast, I’ve been a bit disappointed with the fragility and stiff ride, so looking for a better tire.

Response: The rolling resistance depends on the wheel, speed, and pressure. In terms of tests like bicyclerollingresistance.com, the Timekeeper TL is about 14W +/- 0.5W. We hope this information helps. In terms of puncture protection, our construction provides bead-to-bead protection with an additional breaker. It will outperform the GP 5000 TL. For confort, the shoulder turn-up construction (similar to the Schwalbe Pro-One TL) will make it a supple ride.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Interesting.

Which rims?

I have a set of 28 mm timekeeper tires on 22 mm ID rims, and they measure about 28.5 mm.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by prototoast

I have a set of 28 mm timekeeper tires on 22 mm ID rims, and they measure about 28.5 mm.

Cool. You ride them yet?

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Cool. You ride them yet?

Not yet. In the process of replacing cables/housing on that bike.

[Bici-Sonora]

There is one negative review of the tubeless version of the Timekeeper up on Amazon, FWIW. I mostly don't trust Amazon reviews. And with so many different rim designs, who knows what happened. But I thought tubeless ready tires were supposed to work on hookless rims:

"I ordered the Time Keeper 700x28 and they did not hold on a hookless rim setup tubeless. Tire bead blew off during a test ride at 70PSI."

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by Bici-Sonora

There is one negative review of the tubeless version of the Timekeeper up on Amazon, FWIW. I mostly don't trust Amazon reviews. And with so many different rim designs, who knows what happened. But I thought tubeless ready tires were supposed to work on hookless rims:

"I ordered the Time Keeper 700x28 and they did not hold on a hookless rim setup tubeless. Tire bead blew off during a test ride at 70PSI."

That review is posted on the version of the tire that is not tubeless compatible. Looks like the buyer bought the wrong tire.

[flying]

Originally Posted by Bici-Sonora

When I was in Andy Gilmour’s shop yesterday, he had just received his AC Timekeeper 28mm tires. The packaging is nice, and when I handled them, they felt really supple and seemed really light. The tread pattern looks a lot like Conti GP5000s. He mounted one on a rim—nice and tight fit, and without measuring, they looked to run a bit narrower then their listed width.


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Thanks for that!

Will be interesting to see what folks think of them after they have had some road time
Also if https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ tests them would be nice

[EB]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

I'm too far around the curve to think $35 tires are going to offer the performance I'm looking for, especially after seeing how much they weigh. More skus in the 700cx50 range is great, but almost 700 grams? Woof. The other sizes are similarly porky.

At least in weight:

Compare: https://www.amclassic.com/collection...products/udden

Vs: https://www.wtb.com/products/venture

Seems very comparable in weight to the reinforced WTB versions which are very popular in this segment, but nearly twice the price.

[spoonrobot]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Yeah if you forget retail prices for a moment and just search Gravel Tires and see what many of the brands are selling at with discounted prices it's not that far off.

Asian/American partnership makes the set-up costs of molds etc. a bit more doable.

I'm not seeing that for any of the brands I buy. WTB tires went up ~10% across the board a few months ago, Panaracer is up a few points for most models with some like the "plus" models being 15-20% more than last year. Rene Herse certainly isn't selling at a discount, nor Schwalbe, Teravail, Donnelly, or Maxxis. Tubeless GP5000 is still $75.

AFAIK every domestic tire brand is an Asian/American partnership? Jan Heine certainly wasn't/isn't getting a massive discount from market working with Panaracer if the info from Ultradynamico was any indication. These [gravel] tires may well be a great value, but their weight is significantly above most comparable offerings so I'm skeptical they have some secret sauce. Other than price and Amazon connection, that is.

I added all their 650b sizes to my big tire sheet and they don't shake out very well by weight, their 700c offerings would probably be the same.


Per many different tests, RR trends down with weight:

Originally Posted by LancasterPA

I asked about this. My question and their response:

- How do your Timekeeper road tires compare to the Continental 5000 tubeless? While the 5000 are fast, I’ve been a bit disappointed with the fragility and stiff ride, so looking for a better tire. I’m competing in several ultramarathon events next year and will attempt to podium at the Oct ‘22 Double Anvil tri in Va and looking for a fast, comfortable, “sticky” tire.
Show Quoted Content

Question: How do your Timekeeper road tires compare to the Continental 5000 tubeless? While the 5000 are fast, I’ve been a bit disappointed with the fragility and stiff ride, so looking for a better tire.

Response: The rolling resistance depends on the wheel, speed, and pressure. In terms of tests like bicyclerollingresistance.com, the Timekeeper TL is about 14W +/- 0.5W. We hope this information helps. In terms of puncture protection, our construction provides bead-to-bead protection with an additional breaker. It will outperform the GP 5000 TL. For confort, the shoulder turn-up construction (similar to the Schwalbe Pro-One TL) will make it a supple ride.

Interesting, but doesn't have enough info to clarify. I sent a question about one of their gravel tires and I'll post if I get a response.