Industry Nine

Hydra Trail 270 27.5in Boost Wheelset

When it comes to conquering trails and earning your KOM's, dialing in the perfect ride plays an undeniable role. Sure, featherweight carbon hoops may do the trick for some riders, however ultra-stiff carbon can feel a bit jarring when you're charging down rocky lines. Alloy still certainly has a sweet spot in our hearts, so it's no surprise that Industry Nine is a tough one to hold a candle to for us, and this year I9 brings us an option that keeps alloy running strong, while improving your ride massively with some of the snappiest-engaging hubs we've ever laid our eyes on in the new Hydra Trail 270 27.5in Boost Wheelset. This slick wheelset brings together the classic Trail rim that we already know and love with a hub that's been two-and-a-half-years in the making — the Hydra. Hydra takes plenty of queues from its predecessor, the Torch, and ups the ante with a whopping 690 points of engagement, and 0.52-degrees of near telepathic engagement for instantaneous power the second you start mashing on your pedals.

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 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.

For your all-mountain endeavors, I9 laces up the Hydra hub with its Trail 270 rims to make this slick set of hoops. I9's Trail rims remain the same as we saw in combination with the Torch in years past. Stiff and reliable aluminum construction, moderately wide 27-millimeter internals, and a profile optimized to hold up to hits on the trail make these rims ideal for just about any wagon-wheel riding application you can throw their way. They come available in either the ultra-stiff 32-spoke option, ideal for riders who want impeccable tracking for white-knuckle downhills and hard-charging trail, or who weigh a little more, as well as a 24-spoke variety for lighter riders who covet a more compliant wheel for charging up XC climbs, and dabbling in a good share of all-mountain terrain as well. Both options lace up with I9's direct-thread straight-pull spokes that, you guessed it, thread directly into the hubshell for a solid, flex-free junction that stays reliable on the trail.