Mountain motorcycles have modified. Each and every development to the fashionable MTB is letting extra riders cross larger and quicker. Concurrently, ebikes are experiencing an identical evolution, solely with extra abuse to the drivetrains. All of this places an incredible quantity of pressure to your hubs–the unsung heroes protecting your motorcycle rolling at the path.
When Trade 9 introduced the Hydra platform six years in the past, it used to be a large development over their Torch platform when it comes to engagement. Pre-2020, it appeared that manufacturers have been nonetheless vying for the highest engagement spot and the 690 issues of engagement for the Hydra made the business take realize.
If you happen to’ve ever met the Trade 9 staff or had the risk to excursion their manufacturing facility in Asheville, North Carolina, you already know that they thrive on precision. And the pursuit of perfection. They declare to have over 100,000 Hydra hubs in international use, and so they’ve taken the entire comments from riders around the globe to middle.
“Our goal with Hydra2 was to create a hub that could endure the most extreme conditions and the most demanding riders,” mentioned Jacob McGahey, VP and Head of Product Building at Trade 9. “By leveraging lab testing, real-world data, and our in-house engineering and manufacturing resources, we’ve achieved a hub that sets a new standard.”
Simply what does “a new standard” imply for Trade 9? It’s a hub this is higher in virtually each and every metric whilst protecting it inside of a couple of grams of the unique Hydra.
Key enhancements:
Enhanced Axle Power: A 65% thicker axle engineered for awesome pressure dissipation.
Greater Bearing Longevity: Higher 6903 bearings all through the hub, a brand new labyrinth channel, and full-contact radial lip seals at the freehub and endcaps for unheard of coverage in opposition to contaminants.
Constant Bearing Preload: A foolproof design maintains height bearing efficiency, irrespective of axle tightness.
Strengthened Pawl Engagement: Higher 5.5mm pawl wallet, offering 26% progressed power dissipation to forestall put on and tear.
Progressed Drivetrain Sturdiness: More difficult steel for the pressure ring and an extra enamel on every pawl, particularly designed to deal with the excessive torque calls for of robust E-bike motors.
New Scalloped Hubshell
So that you could reduce weight whilst expanding the spoke flange power, the brand new hub has a scalloped hubshell. Hubs shall be introduced in Direct Thread Gadget MTN shells with their machined aluminum spokes, or the S-Collection MTN for traditional metal j-bend spokes. The Gadget hubs are introduced in 6-bolt solely, whilst S-Collection is 6-bolt or Centerlock.
Thicker Axle, Revised Bearing Preload, New Bearings, New Seals
As regards to the whole thing within the hubshell has been up to date as smartly, beginning on the axle. The brand new axle is 65% thicker to “dissipate stress more efficiently.” That axle now rides inside of greater 6903 bearings all through the hub along side a brand new labyrinth channel and full-contact radial lip seals to stay the bearings working smoother, longer.
With the intention to save you permutations in axle tightness from affecting the bearing adjustment, a brand new preload design has been carried out. Trade 9 describes it as follows:
“The first bearing is pressed into the hub shell, sitting flush with both the shell and the axle. The second bearing is pressed onto the axle, sitting flush with the axle but not the shell, causing a slight amount of compression on the axle. Installing the bearings this way creates a slight compression on the axle, which pushes the bearing rings against the balls. This creates a small amount of friction. When the hub is installed in the frame or fork, the clamping force from the mounting system applies pressure to the axle. This counteracts the initial preload, relieving pressure on the bearing rings and allowing them to spin freely with minimal friction.”
This system claims to get rid of overloading of the bearings, and eliminates the will for added adjustment mechanisms used on different hubs.
New Freehub
There’s so much happening out of doors the freehub for the Hydra 2, however the freehub (and drivering) is new as smartly. The freehubs nonetheless run pawls in a phased configuration, however the brand new pawls have an extra enamel that friends to a drivering produced from a “tougher metal”, particularly to handle the desires of high-torque ebike motors. The pawl wallet were strengthened too, with a bigger 5.5mm pocket which claims to supply 26% higher power dissipation to forestall the wallet from ovalizing after a few years of abuse.
Oh, and the engagement is healthier too. Sure, someway I9 progressed at the close to on the spot 0.52º engagement, whittling it down to only 0.41º.
Extra importantly, I9 claims that they have been additionally in a position to chop down on coasting drag by way of a large 60% by way of optimizing the seals across the freehub. And the sound? Neatly, the sound hasn’t modified a lot. To our ears it’s perhaps slightly upper pitched, however nonetheless the similar I9 sound beloved by way of those that additionally love loud hubs.
Present Hub Lineup
Hydra 2 hub choices at release
The Hydra 2 will totally change the prevailing Hydra hubs, and it additionally shifts the road’s focal point to the extra competitive finish of mountain cycling. The result’s a product line that’s more straightforward to know for shoppers:
1/1: Funds-conscious product for highway, gravel, and mtb
Solix: Highway, gravel, and XC
Hydra2: Path, enduro, DH, e-bike
Pricing & Availability plus Hydra 2 e-bike compatibility
Hubset-only pricing will get started at $700, with whole wheels beginning at $995 for the alloy Enduro-S S-Collection MTN wheelset. As same old, the hubs are to be had in a limiteless array of 12 anodized colours.
Observe that the chart above specifies which wheels fit with SL e-bikes (as much as 65 Nm torque, 44lbs/20kg), and full-power Magnificence 1 e-bikes.
SL e-Motorcycle suitable Hydra 2 wheels
Alloy Enduro-S Collection MTN
Carbon Enduro-S S-Collection MTN
SL e-Motorcycle and Complete Energy Magnificence 1 e-bike suitable Hydra 2 wheels
Alloy Enduro Gadget MTN
Alloy DH Gadget Mountain
Carbon Enduro Gadget MTN
Alloy Grade-S S-Collection MTN
I9 Hydra 2 Grade 300 Wheel Evaluation
Months in the past, we began speaking with Trade 9 about getting a suite of the brand new Hydra 2 wheels in for evaluation. The timing used to be intended to present us quite a lot of time to trip and abuse the Hydra 2 hubs and feature the evaluation able to head for the release.
Then the typhoon hit.
This can be a testomony to the workforce at Trade 9 that they have been in a position not to solely rally round their neighborhood and fortify them in a ancient time of want, but in addition organize to design, engineer, manufacture, and release a brand spanking new hub platform whilst the use of their headquarters and manufacturing facility to assemble and distribute much-needed donations.
Remember the fact that, the supply of the wheels were given driven to the very finish of 2024, however I’ve nonetheless controlled to get moderately a couple of miles at the wheels since then.
With precise weights of one,110g for the rear and 967g for the entrance, the mixed weight with valves and tape is two,077g.
With the intention to maximize my checking out mileage and the volume of abuse I may just inflict on them, I supposed to place them on an ebike, so I9 despatched the Alloy DH Gadget MTN wheels with GR 300 v2 rims. I fixed the wheels to the one full-power Magnificence 1 ebike I’ve in nowadays, the REI Co-Op DRT e3.1.
December began out rainy, with closed trails so when the temperature after all dropped low sufficient to freeze issues, it used to be time to trip. Unusually, we if truth be told had a just right quantity of snow this iciness, which briefly modified to ice. It’s been a horrible iciness for fats cycling, but it surely’s been nice for iciness ebiking so long as you have got some studded tires.
Mounting up my set of Schwalbe Ice Spiker Professional studded tires proved difficult. The combo of the Grade 300 V2 rim and the Ice Spiker tires used to be a decent one, which pressured me to make use of gear (and gloves), leading to one damaged Lezyne Energy XL tire lever. I were given them put in, and airing up the tires used to be on the spot, however I’m now not taking a look ahead to wrestling them off.
I additionally needed to make a metamorphosis of rotors for the reason that Gadget wheels solely are available 6-bolt, and the motorcycle got here with Centerlock rotors. I sought after to upsize the rotors from 180mm to 200mm anyway, so it used to be an excellent chance to switch.
I don’t have so much to mention in regards to the hubs at this level, rather than they roll extraordinarily easily and feature been doused in dust, salt, snow, and freezing water – together with a couple of dips as much as the hubs after breaking via skinny ice and in reality checking out the waterproofing of my iciness boots. I didn’t be expecting to have any problems but, and I’m glad to file that I used to be proper.
In comparison to the opposite Trade 9 Gadget wheels I’ve ridden, this pair is noticeably stiffer. That’s comprehensible taking into consideration they’re 32 spoke with the stiffest rim Trade 9 makes. I’m a lighter rider who’s normally now not onerous on wheels, so I don’t have any downside working 24 or 28 spokes normally. On the other hand, I9 doesn’t be offering a wheel this is suitable with full-power ebikes with the rest lower than 32 spokes. My plan in the summertime is to throw some tire liners in, and get out and damage it.
I’m glad to mention that I’ve had necessarily 0 problems with Trade 9 wheels over the last decade or extra of use. However for many who have damaged hubs, the Hydra 2 turns out to have progressed in each and every approach to ship a harder hub. Hubs that can stay your motorcycle rolling with much less repairs.
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