Industry Nine

Hydra Backcountry 450 27.5in Plus Wheelset

For years the engineers at Industry Nine have dominated the marketplace when it comes to snappy engagement and that signature buzz that sounds much like an angry swarm of bees swarming down the trail. With hubs like the Torch on the market that offered 3-degrees of engagement, we thought things couldn't get much better, but back in the drawing room some serious progression was happening. Pushing the limits well beyond our expectations, Industry Nine released the new Hydra hub, featured here in the Hydra Backcountry 450 27.5in Plus Wheelset. Hydra takes the tech we love from the Torch, and ups the ante, with an incredible 690 points of engagement that yield themselves to a snappy 0.52-degrees of control that responds before you've even asked it to. This particular model combines the telepathically fast Hydra hub with I9's lofty 45-millimeter wide Backcountry rim, offering flotation in the rubble with room for plus tires, and even some of the smaller fat-bike options.

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.

On this particular wheelset, Industry Nine opts to lace up the sleek new hub with their familiar Backcountry 450 hoops — an ideal choice for those of us who covet traction and a plush ride. I9's Backcountry 450's are crafted with the same premium alloy you've known from generations past, with a tubeless-ready bead shelf, and a proprietary profile that aims to avoid dents when you're charging beyond the path most traveled. It features an intensely wide 45-millimeter internal width that accommodates massive tires ranging from 3.8-to-3.8-inches wide, so you can get that super low tire pressure dialed for serious flotation on the trail.