Industry Nine

Hydra Backcountry 360 27.5in Boost Wheelset

When diving into the wild beyond, you're bound to need a little extra grip and control, as bushwhacking off of the beaten path can take a toll on flimsy wheels — but that extra control shouldn't come at the cost of speed. Fortunately you don't have to sacrifice one for the other with Industry Nine's new Hydra Backcountry 360 27.5in Boost Wheelset. These progressive hoops combine the wide and stiff platform of I9's Backcountry rims, and laces them up neatly with alloy spokes to the all new, ultra-snappy Hydra freehub. These telepathically fast hubs up the ante well beyond the Tourch hubs we've loved in years past, and offers a phenomenal 0.52-degrees of engagement for power that transfers near instantaneously to the trail.

The Hydra hubs build on Industry Nine's previous drive system, which is pretty easy to spot if you take a peek at the internals. You'll spot a similar pawl layout that we've seen before in the Torch, and the same pristine CNC machining coming straight from Asheville, North Carolina. Like the old Torch hub, the Hydra features a 6 pawl design, but the drive ring amps things up to a 115-tooth drive ring, as opposed to the 60-tooth used in the Torch, crating a whopping 690 points of engagement, blowing the 120 points of engagement of the Torch out of the water. These 690 points of contact translate directly to the snappiest hubs we've ever seen, with only 0.52-degrees of engagement, propelling you forward just about the instant you put any power down. Furthermore, the engineers opted to keep things simple for those of us who tinker on our bikes at home, making the hub fully serviceable without any proprietary tools.

The Hydra hubs on this wheelset neatly lace up to the familiar Backcountry 360 rims that we've seen in years past. This rim-and-hub partnership offers the perfect platform for riders who covet wider tires, extra flotation, and a boost in traction for uncovering deer trails far beyond the beaten path. I9's Backcountry 360 rims offer a 36mm inner width ideal for wide-trail tires ranging anywhere from 2.6-to-3 inches in width, that offer just the right balance of plush traction, and quick-rolling speed to power up the mountain. This model utilizes 32 stiff aluminum spokes with direct-thread straightpull technology for a solid, flex-free junction.