Without a doubt, most think of the myriad of anodized colors when the name Industry Nine is mentioned. Over the last two years Industry Nine has seemingly dominated mountain biking -- appearing on podiums with Team Morewood and countless pictures of bikes and buzz on MTBR. Despite their gorgeous aesthetic, that's the last reason they're worth considering.

The stock Industry Nine All-Mountain Wheelset is built around an ingenious hub/spoke design laced to the new lightweight, sturdy DT Swiss XR4.2d rim. The spoke is machined to a diameter of .100" from ultra light 7075-T6 aluminum. "Aluminum," you ask? Yep. It's not only possible, but borderline genius as each is designed specifically to address the two weakest points found in a traditional steel spoke -- the j-bend, and the threading -- the two spots spokes generally fail. Industry Nine eliminates the j-bend altogether as it threads directly into the hub as opposed to the rim. As for the threading, Industry Nine implements a root diameter greater than that of the spoke itself, making it one of the strongest points on the spoke. The end result is a gorgeous, lightweight aluminum spoke with strength equal to a 14/15g double butted stainless steel spoke.

No worries though, no special tools are needed -- a standard .126 spoke wrench still does the trick. Each wheel uses 32 spokes laced in a 3-cross pattern. This displaces impacts across a broader area, provides optimum stiffness, torsional strength, and keeps your wheels true longer. After all, that's the point isn't it? And, should you have one fail on the trail, you can fix it in a snap -- just pull the tire to the side, drop it in, and thread it into place. You'll receive two of each size with the wheelset purchase.

The Industry Nine hubs are the nerve center of the wheelset. Hub shells and axles are machined from 7075-T6 aluminum to accept a six bolt rotor -- they're both strong and stunning and can be relied upon for years to come. The cassette body is machined from 7068 aluminum which delivers 20% greater tensile strength than aluminum. It features an incredible 3 degrees of engagement via 120 engagement points. Any of you faced with technical climbs will understand just how important a performance advantage this is -- no wasted motion, seemingly instant engagement. Out of the box, it delivers a distinctive buzz that mellows with age. Tested beyond 700 ft-pounds of force (like your super-chipped Ford Power Stroke diesel engine), Industry Nine has experienced zero drive mechanism failures. For the cherry on top, Industry Nine uses hardened 17-4 Stainless Steel endcaps -- chances are, they'll outlast you.

Industry Nine is a company fueled by engineers that set out to "do it better." The name is derived from the fact that they are the ninth company to be spawned from the parent company, Turnamics, which designs and manufacturers everything from robots that build robots to assault knives to killer wheels -- and, they do this all in beautiful Asheville, NC. After visiting them and their 60 CNC machines, we understood that production will likely never be a problem!

Clint Spiegel is the owner of Turnamics, and chief engineer who conceptualized the revolutionary design that makes these wheels so special. Clint is a longtime cyclist who consistently asks, "How can I do this better?" Not so different than most of us, but Clint has been blessed with a brilliant engineering mind and a bevy of CNC machines at his disposal. So, he decided to reinvent the wheel. And, something tells us he's not going to stop with the Industry Nine All-Mountain Wheelset.

The stock Industry Nine All-Mountain Wheelset is available with matching spokes and hubs in anodized silver, red or black laced to a DT Swiss XR4.2d rim. If these options aren't what you had in mind, give us a ring or drop us a line as Industry Nine can customize a wheelset in most any color combination on any rim -- it will require a wait of 6-8 weeks though. Skewers are not included. 1640g