Yeah, my disappointment with the Hydra is mostly from bearing life (lack thereof). The large ones seem to get crunchy every half year, which is crazy short considering I don't see any sign of corrosion/contamination when I swap them out. They are easy to work on at least. When I asked I9 support about the really short bearing life, they sent me a set of bearings and a new axle shaft, which was slightly longer than the old one. By comparison, DT bearings last me and my buddies years, and we haven't had any issues with broken ratchets. All my riding is "winch & plummet" style, so the benefit of Hydra for me is basically just improving my track standing ability in the parking lot. And 350s tend to be much cheaper in OEM builds (Reserve 30 HDs with 350s are $200 less than 1/1s and $600 less than Hydras), so I guess I was just surprised to hear I9 hubs being mentioned as a good value proposition. Plus they're lighter, and make the suspension feel a little bit better (to me).
That said, I've seen/heard rumors that DT is coming out with a new high engagement hub (some of the pros are already running them), which could be interesting.
Sept. 26, 2023, 1:55 p.m. - Andeh
Yeah, my disappointment with the Hydra is mostly from bearing life (lack thereof). The large ones seem to get crunchy every half year, which is crazy short considering I don't see any sign of corrosion/contamination when I swap them out. They are easy to work on at least. When I asked I9 support about the really short bearing life, they sent me a set of bearings and a new axle shaft, which was slightly longer than the old one. By comparison, DT bearings last me and my buddies years, and we haven't had any issues with broken ratchets. All my riding is "winch & plummet" style, so the benefit of Hydra for me is basically just improving my track standing ability in the parking lot. And 350s tend to be much cheaper in OEM builds (Reserve 30 HDs with 350s are $200 less than 1/1s and $600 less than Hydras), so I guess I was just surprised to hear I9 hubs being mentioned as a good value proposition. Plus they're lighter, and make the suspension feel a little bit better (to me). That said, I've seen/heard rumors that DT is coming out with a new high engagement hub (some of the pros are already running them), which could be interesting.