Industry Nine has expanded its line of S-Series mountain bike wheelsets with the addition of a J-Bend Hydra Hubset option.
The 28h steel-spoke wheelsets were previously available only with black, straight-pull Hydra hubs. Now, the North Carolina brand’s more affordable line of Carbon and Alloy MTB wheels can be acquired with the Hydra Classic hubset for lacing with conventional J-Bend spokes. The new offering brings with it the ability to customize hubs with a full range of anodized colors to choose from.
Industry Nine’s Hydra Hubs have a class-leading engagement with 690 Points of Engagement offering pick up every 0.52°Today’s announcement from Industry Nine delivers four new S-Series wheelsets – “S” alluding to the fact that they all run steel spokes and are priced a little more favorably as compared to i9’s lighter wheelsets that are built with aluminum spokes.
While wheels with straight-pull spokes have a quicker and easier build process, J-bend counterparts can be easier to live with in the long run, especially for basic re-truing and tensioning. While straight-pull spokes have a tendency to spin during tightening, making the job tricky without additional tools, J-bend spokes do not; the way they are bent around the hub’s drilled holes prevents them from spinning during tensioning. For that reason, some mechanics find them much easier to work with.
Appreciating that, Industry Nine saw fit to offer their more affordable S-Series wheelsets with the J-bend Hydra Classic hubset. There is no difference in price, with the alloy and carbon wheelsets starting at $950 and $1,795 USD, respectively.