Why Magnetic Mountain Bike Hubs?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Conventional freehub pawls create mechanical drag when you are not pedalling.

With the magnet design, there is no leaf-sprung drag on the freehub internals, which means you'll coast faster downhill

.

Do bike hubs make a difference?


Hubs that are “louder” usually have more engagement points

. This means your drivetrain picks up faster, so less energy is lost. Hubs that have sealed cartridge bearings or needle bearings usually never need to be replaced, they're far stronger and stay cleaner.

Why are some MTB hubs so loud?

The noise produced by a rear hub, cheap or luxurious model,

comes from the so-called pawls – tiny, spring-loaded elements designed to bite to the ratchet of the hub when pedaling forward

. When coasting or pedaling backward, the pawls disengage and slide over the engagement surface.

What hub has the most points of engagement?


Chris King's hubs

have 72 points of engagement and have long been considered a standard, and then Project 321's hubs have 216. Onyx uses a sprag clutch system for instantaneous engagement, but that's a clutch system, and it's best to compare clutches to clutches and pawls to pawls.

Are i9 Hydra hubs loud?

With 690 points of freehub engagement, the Hydra hubs from Industry Nine come pretty darn close to fulfilling the instant-engagement dream.

They're super-efficient, flashy, and loud

. If you race and want every bit of power transfer to count, the Hydras are for you.

Are i9 Hydra hubs worth it?

My short answer is

yes

. I've been quite impressed with the performance of the hub. Not only is it quieter, it's noticeably faster. Don't get me wrong, it's not going to dramatically improve your technical ratcheting game over the already fast Torch hub.

Why do expensive bikes click?

Why? “First of all,

the wheels on expensive bikes tend to be very light, sometimes hollow, so the noise of the freewheel is amplified as it vibrates down the spokes to the rims

,” chimes in Andrew Laws, a cycle blogger and former editor of the bike news site VeloBalls.com.

What hubs do pro cyclists use?

The distinctive green hubs are

Chris King R45s

. They use lightweight hub bodies and bearings that are made in-house. The rear hub features a RingDrive system with 45 teeth for fast engagement.

What makes a good bike hub?


Good-quality bearings, sealed and protected from dirt and water

, are the key to long and healthy hubs. Older or less expensive hubs may use cup and cone bearings, which contain two rings of loose ball bearings that sit in ‘cups' inside the hub body, and are secured in place by conical nuts known as ‘cones'.

How do I make my mountain bike hub louder?

How can I make my bike hub quieter?

Are more pawls better?


more pawls means, at least theoretically, a more solid engagement

. increasing the number of pawls does not increase the number of points of engagement nor does it make the does it decrease the distance you have to ratchet back to find the next point of engagement.

Are Chris King hubs worth it?


Kings are really worth the money if you are planning on keeping them for several years

. That's the most special part about king hubs, you can run them for years. I know two guys that have had King hubs outlast rims, spokes and even frames. King hubs have a crap load of engagement points.

How many points of engagement do you need MTB?

Points of Engagement

Generally abbreviated to POE. Lower-end hubs will generally have something in the range of

18-24 POE

. Higher-end hubs typically start at ~36 POE, and go up from there.

Are Hope hubs worth it?


The Hope Pro4 hubs offer a great bang for your buck

. Durable, light weight, an array of anodized colors, and good engagement are just a few of the attributes of this value pack hubset. If you want a high performance hub without the high price. the Hope Pro4 hubs can't be beat.

How do I make my I9 Hydra hub quieter?

How do I make my Hydra hub quieter?

How many points of engagement does an I9 Hydra hub have?

With

690 points

of engagement, increased durability and bearing life, decreased rolling resistance and weight, the Hydra is I9's premium hub. The Hydra features a 115 tooth drive-ring and a six phase engagement system, that achieves 2nd, 3rd and 4th pawl contact to distribute the load.

What is an instant engagement hub?

These hubs are

built to be the jewels that make a custom bike special

. They can make a single-speed bike quieter. They can make a trials bike quicker-engaging. And, they can make a trailbike clean sections of technical uphills never thought possible.

How much is Hydra hub?

Industry Nine Hydra Classic Rear Hub – 12 x 148mm, 6-Bolt, XD, Lime, 32H.

$475.00

. In Stock.

Where are i9 hubs made?

Industry Nine – Hand Made in

Asheville, North Carolina

.

Why do bikes click when coasting?

So, what causes a bicycle clicking noise when coasting? It might come as a surprise, but the clicking sound is often a result of

tensed bike pawls

. When the tension is greater, the pawls, which are spring-loaded components of the bike hub, fail to catch, and the resultant effect is the clicking sound.

Why do people want loud hubs?

Riding with a loud hub

ensures that you get the attention of people

, like dog walkers and other riders on trails. Most people like this because it helps clear traffic in your way. People hear you coming and quickly make way for you making it easier for you to pass.

Why do some mountain bikes make noise?


A spring-loaded part that engages a set of teeth when moving in one direction, but slides over them when moving in the other direction

. The pawls in a freewheel make a ticking sound when a bicycle coasts.

Why are Chris King hubs so good?

The instructions that come with the hubs are clear and easy to follow. King makes their own bearings, so you can't just get them anywhere and they do cost money, but

they are extraordinarily good bearings

and it's not uncommon for them to never need to be replaced.

What is ratchet hub?

What is a ratchet type hub. Popularized by DT Swiss, the ratchet drive is also spring-loaded, but it doesn't use pawls. Instead of three or six pawls pivoting out and interacting with a surrounding drive ring,

a ratchet drive uses two toothed rings, placed next to each other on a horizontal plane

.

Is ratchet better than pawls?

Pawl vs ratchet

In theory,

the larger number of ring-based contacts in a ratchet should be more reliable and transmit force better

, although in practice pawl-based systems are well enough engineered that this is unlikely to be an issue if they're maintained regularly.

David Evans
Author
David Evans
David is a seasoned automotive enthusiast. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering and has a passion for all things related to cars and vehicles. With his extensive knowledge of cars and other vehicles, David is an authority in the industry.