Industry Nine Torch Trail S Wheels – Reviewed

I have always wanted to ride the Pisgah Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina.  Nearby Asheville has more breweries per capita than any U.S. city so the combination sounds incredible.

However, instead of this ultimate riding trip I was given a pair of industry Nine wheels to test.  Industry Nine calls Asheville and North Carolina home.  Just to ensure I wasn’t living the dream, Cam and Pete asked me to test the more economical Trail S wheelset.  As I9 likes to say the Trail S wheels are built for ‘a wider range of riders.’  They say this because I9 is rightfully known for their high end customizable wheels built around their highly regarded 3 degree engagement hubs and individually machined aluminum one piece (no nipple) spokes.

Industry Nine keeps the cost down on the Trail S models by using stainless steel silver Sapim spokes and the slightly less expensive 6 degree freehub.  The nipples are still the lighter Sapim alloy versions.  This actually seems strange to me for a rim made ‘for a wider range of riders’ because, while they are lighter they are less  durable than brass. The rim uses 28 spokes and runs a 24.5 mm inner width.  If you want wider you have to run the 26mm inner width Torch Enduro rims.

The specs for the Torch 27.5 Trail S wheels from the I9 webset are:

• Handmade in Asheville, NC. with new Torch S 28 hole straight-pull hubs
• Trail S alloy rim – 28.5mm outer width/24.5mm inner width. Laser etched logos
• Sapim Race butted stainless steel spokes paired with Sapim Secure Lock Double Square nipples
• 3 pawl/6 degree freehub*   *(Optional 6 pawl/3 degree freehub + $50)
• Tubeless ready – comes ready to ride with tape and valves installed
• Black hubs, rims, and nipples with silver or black spokes
• Front axle configurations – QR, 9mm thru, 15×100, 20×110, and 15×110 “Boost” with optional 1mm Rock Shox compatible “Torque Caps”
• Rear axle configurations – QR135, 10×135, 12×135, 12×142, and 12×148 “Boost”
• SRAM XD1 and Shimano HG freehub bodies available
• 1690g 29″ 1630g 27.5”

Using the Sapim spokes will also offer a significant advantage to anyone who rides hard and tends to hurt their bike parts.  It is always good to be able to buy replacement bike parts at our LBS and not have to special order in unique bits such as the one piece I9 aluminum spokes.

Although not in the realm of the sub 1500g higher end I9 wheels the weight of less than 1700g is very respectable.

SETTING THEM UP

These rims come completely tubeless ready with the tape and valves pre-installed by I9.  Installing a set of Maxxis Exo 2.30 tires was a snap and just took a few minutes using my small air compressor.  I used 120 ml of Stans Sealant and the tires have been running flawlessly for a couple of months.

The bearings on the I9 hubs are smoooooth.  After installing the rims on the bike I gave them a good spin and was amazed at how long they spun freely.

THE RIDE

I mounted the wheels first on a Chromag hardtail.  The lack of suspension combined with North Shore winter riding was sure to give the rims a good thrashing.

Of course, like everyone who tests I9 wheels says, the first thing you notice is the incredibly loud WW2 dive bomber sounding rear hub.  Whether you like it or not is a different matter. Personally I loved it.

After several harsh wet rides the wheels remain very true with no play at all in the hubs.  The spokes stayed surprisingly evenly tensioned. I purposely didn’t tension the spokes after the first couple rides (as recommended for any new wheel set) and still they stayed nicely tight.

The combination of the strong hub sound and the day to day dependability gave me a lot of confidence in this wheelset. Of course the sound is just a mental thing but these rims really did feel like they could be pushed much harder.

As you have probably figured out I was impressed with these wheels. They are priced at 845 USD on the I9 website which is decent for a set of solid lightweight wheels. These wheels are not sexy to look at like other I9 set ups but based on what I have seen the last couple months, and based on the easy availability of spokes, these hoops should serve you very well.

The Torch S wheelset is available in 29 and 27.5, with pretty much every front and rear axle configuration (aside from DH spacing. You also choose between black and silver spokes, All for US$845. Check them out here…

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Who needs carbon?