When switching from the older Torch wheels or the Project 321 hubs over to the Hydra hubs there was a very noticeable difference, similar to the sensation that occurs when you switch from a traditional pawl system with far less engagement to either of those.ĭoes having that much engagement in the hubs make you a better rider? No, not at all, and it’s probably not going to help you get through any bit of trail you previously couldn’t clean. Now to the other part and what actually matters - 690 points of engagement…can you even tell? Plain and simple, yes. Usually after a half dozen rides or so, the wheels would get louder as the grease thins out but so far things are purring right along, and I’ve put a solid 30 hours, many of those in poor conditions, on the wheels. There’s still a bit of I9 in there, but it’s much subtler. If you’ve ridden Chris King or Project 321 hubs, it has a similar tone to those two now, more of a growl. It’s not quiet, but it’s less disturbing. The first thing that I noticed with the wheels is that the loud, at times almost annoying “metallic rattlegator” sound that Industry Nine have become known for is much more subdued.

Industry Nine's two new freehub bodies - 101 and Hydra on top and then their older Torch below. Not to be left out, the front hub also gets a new axle as well. The 15mm axle now makes a direct contact with the thru bolt, making a stiffer axle system overall. The other reason for the change was to increase the stiffness of the axle system. This was done to increase bearing life and to be compatible with Shimano's Micro Spline freehub. The rear axle is now a 15mm spec, down from 17mm. The new design uses a smaller diameter axle and a larger bearing. With the new freehub design there's also a new bearing and axle configuration on both the front and back. This is where Industry Nine claim that their system has an advantage over a traditional pawl system that can’t limit that flex - they say it limits and minimizes wear and tear on the system and provides a more consistent ride. It utilizes the inherent flex in the drive system to transfer the torque and ensure that a single pawl will never take the entire load. You have one leading pawl that starts to take the load or force from pedaling, but because the pawls are phased close together and the tooth count is so high, as soon as you apply torque to the system, or pedal, a second, third, and fourth pawl will start to take some of the torque load and evenly distribute the load.

In the video, you can see the difference in the phasing of the older 3-degree and new Hydra design. That means that each time you move the drive ring one tooth over you’ll get six individual clicks. The Hydra system also uses a leaf spring system under the pawls instead of the tiny coil springs found on the Torch system. This means that all of the pawls, and the teeth on them, catch the teeth on the drive ring individually instead of simultaneously. With Hydra, there’s a 115-tooth drive ring, and 6 individually phased pawls, equally spaced from each other. This can lead to accelerated bearing wear, freehub body wear, and it can impact the efficiency to the system because the bearings that are supporting the freehub are taking an increased load. This adds a big cantilever load to the freehub body and the freehub bearing as well as the drive side hub shell bearing. Occasionally, with all of those outside forces, you’ll end up with a single pawl engagement. That's the theory at least, but when you’re actually riding down the trail there are a lot of different forces acting on the bike and flexing just about everything on it, including the hub shell, axle, and drive ring there’s constant movement and stress in the system.

The older Torch series, left and Hydra, right have a different pawl, drive ring, and bearing system.Īccording to Industry Nine, having the highest engagement wasn’t the principle goal with Hydra - the primary goal was to make the most durable high engagement hub system possible.Ī standard pawl driven system has between two and four pawls that engage simultaneously, a design that's intended to equally distribute the load around the drive ring and freehub body.

Fresh step paw points complaint