That’s been my take too. These days though, hubs with slower engagement tend to be cheap lower quality hubs. I think back on the freewheel failures we had in the early 80s. Two pawls maybe three I don’t recall how many degrees of engagement they had but they did slam into engagement when you ratcheted through janky trails. Shimano freehubs on the 80s and 90s were all two pawl varieties which failed regularly partly because the drive side seals were not good at all and partly the two pawl 18° (?) engagement.
For me a certain degree of engagement like my 1/1 hubs, Torch or whatever the Bontrager hubs offer is fine. When I bought my Trek in 2019 it came stock with three pawls so after a couple months when I serviced the hub I bought the extra pawl kit for a few bucks and halved the engagement. I didn’t notice.
It’s similar to boost hubs being stronger. Or cassettes having a wider range. If you don’t need it or notice it it doesn’t matter. More engagements than we had in the 80s is good. But at a certain point it makes no functional difference. It might be noticeable but it might not be functionally better.
May 15, 2023, 8:15 a.m. - Andy Eunson
That’s been my take too. These days though, hubs with slower engagement tend to be cheap lower quality hubs. I think back on the freewheel failures we had in the early 80s. Two pawls maybe three I don’t recall how many degrees of engagement they had but they did slam into engagement when you ratcheted through janky trails. Shimano freehubs on the 80s and 90s were all two pawl varieties which failed regularly partly because the drive side seals were not good at all and partly the two pawl 18° (?) engagement. For me a certain degree of engagement like my 1/1 hubs, Torch or whatever the Bontrager hubs offer is fine. When I bought my Trek in 2019 it came stock with three pawls so after a couple months when I serviced the hub I bought the extra pawl kit for a few bucks and halved the engagement. I didn’t notice. It’s similar to boost hubs being stronger. Or cassettes having a wider range. If you don’t need it or notice it it doesn’t matter. More engagements than we had in the 80s is good. But at a certain point it makes no functional difference. It might be noticeable but it might not be functionally better.