PKMzeta profile

Do you find better spoke service life with the new rims as well? Snapping spokes has been an issue with my Union/Strife wheels and they were built up by WAO with the alloy polyax nipple. They've all broken at the spoke thread where it goes into the nipple so I suspected they are under stress there.

...am I being overly cynical or is this a not-so-subtle way to hike the price by 20%? Previous version sold for $59.50 including clamp, and now it's $72?

Am I the only one thinking they got the compound/casing combos backwards here? I would want the medium casing with the softest compound for front use, and the heaviest casing with a medium compound for rear use. 

It’s one of my complaints with Maxxis actually. Usually the DD and DH casing tires are only available with the MaxxGrip compound and I end up running a super slow rolling rear since I can’t seem to keep the EXO(+) alive as a rear tire.

Any comparison between WD-40 lubes and your recommended ones? I've been using their wet and dry lubes for the past couple of seasons for the simple reason that they're sold by Canadian Tire for $10/120mL.

But I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for less frequent lubing or cleaner running if there are real benefits.

I'm in the same boat as Sean. Flashlight mounted on the bars with Olight's handlebar mount. Flashlights are cheaper, with trailside-replaceable, non-proprietary batteries, and offer excellent performance. 

For better or worse, there's also a large prepper/EDC community dedicated to reviewing flashlights with objective brightness and runtime measurements. There are subsequently many companies competing in the space. In contrast, not nearly as much competition in the MTB-specific lighting market, and of course everything bike-related is subject to the normal markups...

This article reads like an infomercial. I always thought NSMB did better than other MTB publications to avoid native advertising so this is kinda disappointing.

Posted by: mrbrett

I also have I9 1/1 hubs. Similar issue. I just did rear hub bearings again last night as well as a freehub cleaning and degreasing. Maybe 10 months on a set of bearings. I am 208 lbs and ride a hardtail. 

Still using Enduro bearings - but the aftermarket ABEC 5 ones. Not sure that’s what comes in the hubs or not, but they look visually different than the ones I took out. 

One side note: The bearing holes are fairly loose in all instances on my hubs and I have resorted to LocTite sleeve retainer to get a satisfactory fit. In fact my rear hub has been warrantied once for this issue before. The second hub also does the same thing so I believe they just run the holes loose down there at I9. I can just “press” bearings in by hand. 

Hubs I haven’t broken or had issues: hadley, CK, DT Swiss 240 and 350. 

Hubs I have had disappointing durability issues with: all the rest.

Wow, that could have been my story word for word. Bought my WR1 Unions with the 1/1 hubs last Sept - warrantied first hub shell after consulting with I9 and WR1. New hub shell that I got in Jan 2022 has just started exhibiting the same issue with a loose fit on the driveside hub shell bearing, with the freehub, axle, and bearing pulling out together... 

Really disappointed in the quality of these hubs, as it sounds like some in the thread have had similar experiences. With the cost of these, I was really hoping these would be forever wheels. When it's time for a rebuild I'll consider new hubs. 

My front wheel has also started popping spokes and I've replaced 5 spokes in the past 4 weeks. Also disappointing considering the wheelset is less than a year old, although it did run perfectly true and holding its tension basically without any maintenance until recently. All of the spokes have broken at the threads, so I'm suspecting the alloy nipples used in the build is the culprit.

Posted by: Vikb

I don't do anything to extend bearing life other than not using a hose at all on my bikes. I tend to brush them when they are dry. If I occasionally wash them it's with a bucket of soapy water a rag. I get years of use out of a set wheel or suspension bearings. I get new bearings from the manufacturer when it is time for some replacements...so nothing $$$.

So, if it's wet and the bike is super muddy you would wait until the mud dries and then brush it off?

Posted by: niels@nsmb.com

Is it a recurring problem on the same hub? In that case it may be a tolerance issue with the hub. If the bearing's press fit is just a little too tight it will get cooked no matter how often you clean and repack it. I've had this happen with a Hope rear hub once (long time ago).

My personal strategy is to stick with DT hubs, I've literally never had to touch their bearings, they just keep spinning smoothly and without play for years and years in my experience.

No, this is the first time on these hubs, but the cheap Formula stock hubs on the bike gave up after about 8 months. Had Hopes on a previous bike that I barely touched, but I was riding much less back then (1 ride every week vs 4-5 now).

Really getting frustrated with how often I'm having to do my wheel bearings. Most recent rear hub (I9 1/1) is developing play after 10 months of riding. I ride year round in all weather, hose to clean only, no pressure washing, and regularly remove endcaps and freehub for cleaning and relube (but haven't been taking the bearing seals off). 

What are you all doing to prolong bearing life? Looks like these are options: 

- More thorough cleaning regimen that includes prying off the seals regularly and regreasing

- Upgrading bearings (I9 uses Enduro bearings, looking at NTN and SKF) 

- Overfilling bearings with grease, my understanding is that they only come ~1/3 packed to reduce drag