Industry Nine DH/FR Wheels Long Term Review

[Scott]

Scott checks out a set of DH wheels from Industry Nine for 5 months to see if they are as good as they look.

Check it out here.

[wagon boy]

That's a good read there, I am finding myself very very interested in getting a set of these puppies but want to know if you (or anyone else) sees any advantage/disadvantage of these over a hadley/mavic 721 wheelset for a everyday trail/trash bike?

I understand the spoke difference is great but is there much else?

[Pixsoul]

I understand the spoke difference is great but is there much else?

Apart from the spoke difference (which provides a stiffer and in some cases stronger wheel with less rotational mass), the other major difference is the freewheel.

The Industry Nine hubs (both complete wheel and standard flange hubs) have a 120 engagement point freewheel, providing the fastest engagement out fo any hub (3 degrees between engagements) that I know of, it feels almost instant on the bike.

The freewheel system is a tried and true pawl setup, with a little more refinement. It runs on a 60 tooth drive ring, with 6 pawls. Each pawl is stepped, so that it engages 3 teeth of the drive ring upon contact; providing a stronger contact between pawl and drive ring. There are 2 sets of pawls (3 in each), these sets are offset by 3 degrees from each other...effectively doubling the engagement points from 60-120. So the end result is a 120 engagement point hub, 3 degrees between engagements and every time the pawls are activated there are 9 points of contact with the drive ring providing arguably the strongest freewheel in the industry.

Industry 9 have tested their freewheel at over 700 ft lbs or torque, which roughly amounts to a super chipped Ford power stroke turbo diesel engine...alot more than your little legs could put through it. With 2 years of prototyping and testing they are yet to have a drive mechanism failure.

Anyway, I will stop blabbing, you should check out Industry Nine's about page, it goes through the benefits of the wheel system in alot more depth: http://industrynine.net/official/about.html

Cheers,

Ken

[S.]

Can I9 wheels be rebuilt with 823s, ie can you actually get the spoke through the rim nipple bit somehow?

[Pixsoul]

Can I9 wheels be rebuilt with 823s, ie can you actually get the spoke through the rim nipple bit somehow?

I rest my case.

Well not really, the 823 is designed for normal spoke / nipple combo, Industry 9 will build to ANY 32 hole rime on the market, including this.

Besides I'm sure I have batted off to you about the new wheelset that I'm getting with 823s! Red hubs....red spoke which fades to black at the outer of the wheel, on 823s...mmmm, mmmm!

[Pixsoul]

Oh and for everyones information, we are currently very seriously looking at speccing the 823 as the stock rim for here in Australia. It is light, allows for tubeless (which will get you the lightest rotational weight, no pinch flats and better grip).

Also looking at the 819 for the XC wheelsets, as well as some other Mavic rims.

If all goes to plan these will be offered as stock wheels...eg, no surcharge for a custom rim choice.

[iconic]

who builds these wheels? do you guys at XXIV or the I9 factory people in america?

[Ivan]

Oh and for everyones information, we are currently very seriously looking at speccing the 823 as the stock rim for here in Australia. It is light, allows for tubeless (which will get you the lightest rotational weight, no pinch flats and better grip).

Also looking at the 819 for the XC wheelsets, as well as some other Mavic rims.

If all goes to plan these will be offered as stock wheels...eg, no surcharge for a custom rim choice.

That sounds like a good idea. I don't like the idea of having to use a tubeless kit on the DT rims.

Can't wait to see your new wheels!

[Pixsoul]

who builds these wheels? do you guys at XXIV or the I9 factory people in america?

Industry Nine wheels in Australia are built by XXIV. Ultimately this allows us to keep the price down significantly due to obvious packing savings when sending dissassembled wheels.

All of our wheels are built to factory spec, in a methodical manner (alot of people think wheelbuilding is some sort of black art); Spokes are prepped with linseed oil (i9 factory choice), which is water resistant, lubricates threads and crystalises slighty to form a gel / caramel like consistency which stops the spokes loosening due to vibration (providing a superior interface over tradition spoke prep / loctite). Wheels are brought to their approriate tension range specified by the Industry Nine wheel and spoke combination. Then wheels are trued and dished to the highest standard you will find in any wheel on the market with mutliple pre-stressing processes on the wheel to ensure it stays true as a dime.

[BLAKE-2234]

the only problem is that if you get a stick caught up in your spokes and it rups the actual nipple off the hub your up sh*t creek unlike a normal hub where the spoke would just snap

and from what i heard a spoke is cheaper then an i9 hub