Ask the experts

[jono]

Fuck the floating axle. There, I said it.
As much as I love Fox, each 40 I’ve owned has play at the hub after doing the silly compress then tighten routine. Feels like there’s a 0.25-0.5mm gap and zero preload. Rides like the headset is loose or the bearings are shot.
So my solution has been a three handed routine of pulling the lowers together before tightening the pinch bolts.
Maybe making it bind? Still feels better than the rattle.
Maybe a great system for motorcycles that weigh 5x more and have way lower tolerances.

Have you tried adding a shim? Start simple and use something you have on hand? I think maybe aluminum cans have been used. In some states there are these free plastic shopping bags that might work for a really thin option, if you don't need any friction. Can't testify first hand, of course.

[Huskier]

To bring up for the millionth time: Wandering bite point on Shimano XT. Is this a rebuild or a throw in the trash issue? It's gotten pretty dramatic, just my rear.

Follow up question: I have laid hands on a single hayes dominion in their purple anodized finish. Hoping to swap out the malfunctioning XT but the levers are pretty dramatically different and I would wind up with one shorty and one not. Is there a way to swap out just the lever and if so is there a good option to slap a longer lever on the good XT body?

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[jamal]

Start with a good fluid flush and brake bleed if you haven't done that recently?

[bean]

I broke the lever on my MT800 (I think) dropper lever. The mechanism is fine. Is it possible to buy just a replacement lever?

[D(C)]

I’m looking at Fox coil shocks and trying to decide on DHX vs DHX2. I understand that the DHX2 has a wider range of external adjustments, but aside from the minor price savings, is there any reason to go with a DHX over a DHX2, assuming the DHX is set up with the proper tune for my bike?

[J. Barron DeJong]

I broke the lever on my MT800 (I think) dropper lever. The mechanism is fine. Is it possible to buy just a replacement lever?

Shimano doesn’t list a part number for it, so I think that’s a no:

[Spencer123]

What are your experiences with tubeless valves for inserts? I went to get cush core valves and they were out so got talked into the wolftooth valves. They seem to move air fine, but I can't inject sealant through them, I need to break the bead. Not a huge deal, but was wondering if that is normal not to be able to inject sealnt, or if they are subpar valves for dealing with inserts. Thanks!

[toast2266]

I’m looking at Fox coil shocks and trying to decide on DHX vs DHX2. I understand that the DHX2 has a wider range of external adjustments, but aside from the minor price savings, is there any reason to go with a DHX over a DHX2, assuming the DHX is set up with the proper tune for my bike?

My experience has been that the DHX is ultra plush and has ridiculous ground hugging abilities, but blows through it's travel and is entirely lacking support. DHX2 is much more supportive, but not nearly as traction-y.

But I think this is probably heavily dependant on the bike and tune. I've never run a dhx and dhx2 on the same bike.

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[volklpowdermaniac]

what's happening here:

i9 1:1 hub. during pedaling occasionally it feels like something grabs my tire , pedaling becomes harder, feels like i'm in mud all the sudden, then either i do a little tap of my rear tire with a front brake grab and it goes back to normal , or i pedal through it and eventually back to normal...

best summation : a periodic grabbing feeling during pedaling.

maybe just a simple rear hub service, clean , lube , some new pawls and springs?

[Roxtar]

what's happening here:

i9 1:1 hub. during pedaling occasionally it feels like something grabs my tire , pedaling becomes harder, feels like i'm in mud all the sudden, then either i do a little tap of my rear tire with a front brake grab and it goes back to normal , or i pedal through it and eventually back to normal...

best summation : a periodic grabbing feeling during pedaling.

maybe just a simple rear hub service, clean , lube , some new pawls and springs?

Sounds like more than a standard service. Something is getting out of whack.
Definitely tear down sooner rather than later.

[bamboocoreONLY]

What are your experiences with tubeless valves for inserts? I went to get cush core valves and they were out so got talked into the wolftooth valves. They seem to move air fine, but I can't inject sealant through them, I need to break the bead. Not a huge deal, but was wondering if that is normal not to be able to inject sealnt, or if they are subpar valves for dealing with inserts. Thanks!

what sealant are you trying to use? Some like the stans enduro sealant have those little crystals that don't inject into valves very well.

When I install cushcore in the shop, I just pour it in at the last second before closing the bead, as I've had way too many instances where sealant doesn't inject well and backfires all over me. Obviously that's different if you're just topping off and don't want to break the bead though.

[joetron]

what's happening here:

i9 1:1 hub. during pedaling occasionally it feels like something grabs my tire , pedaling becomes harder, feels like i'm in mud all the sudden, then either i do a little tap of my rear tire with a front brake grab and it goes back to normal , or i pedal through it and eventually back to normal...

best summation : a periodic grabbing feeling during pedaling.

maybe just a simple rear hub service, clean , lube , some new pawls and springs?

Yep. I’d start with a freehub service. There is a dust seal between the fh body and hub shell that can get a little bunged up sometimes. Have a good look at that.


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[Spencer123]

Thanks. It is just standard Stans with Vittoria airliner light inserts. Thats good to know. Yah, the top offs will be a little bit of a pain, but it sounds like you have run into this using other valves as well so doesn't sound worth the effort to swap them out and try something else since they move air just fine. At least not until the tire dies. The backfire injecting through the valve was severe.

what sealant are you trying to use? Some like the stans enduro sealant have those little crystals that don't inject into valves very well.

When I install cushcore in the shop, I just pour it in at the last second before closing the bead, as I've had way too many instances where sealant doesn't inject well and backfires all over me. Obviously that's different if you're just topping off and don't want to break the bead though.

[D(C)]

what's happening here:

i9 1:1 hub. during pedaling occasionally it feels like something grabs my tire , pedaling becomes harder, feels like i'm in mud all the sudden, then either i do a little tap of my rear tire with a front brake grab and it goes back to normal , or i pedal through it and eventually back to normal...

best summation : a periodic grabbing feeling during pedaling.

maybe just a simple rear hub service, clean , lube , some new pawls and springs?

As others have said, it's easy to pull out the freehub driver and confirm that things are in good shape. I would also check if the hub axle is cracked or bent, which can happen on those hubs. You can find an exploded diagram on the i9 website.

The hubs are pretty simple, with not too many parts. i9 also has great support, so reach out to them if you find an issue or something broken.

[jm2e]

what's happening here:

i9 1:1 hub. during pedaling occasionally it feels like something grabs my tire , pedaling becomes harder, feels like i'm in mud all the sudden, then either i do a little tap of my rear tire with a front brake grab and it goes back to normal , or i pedal through it and eventually back to normal...

best summation : a periodic grabbing feeling during pedaling.

maybe just a simple rear hub service, clean , lube , some new pawls and springs?

Could be those shitty i9 bearings.
Or maybe it’s not the wheel. Can you reproduce in a wheel stand?


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[NW_SKIER]

I agree with what others have said. Start by checking the hub bearings. I9 hubs are great at blowing the outside driver bearing. I keep spares with me at all times for a parking lot service if needed.

[volklpowdermaniac]

PITA to quote yall but thank you thank you!, i'll be got a service kit on order and will break it down

[frorider]

I agree with what others have said. Start by checking the hub bearings. I9 hubs are great at blowing the outside driver bearing. I keep spares with me at all times for a parking lot service if needed.

With this ^ as their reputation for many years now, I don’t know why anyone buys I9 hubs when light & reliable options exist. Chris King, Hadley, DT, Project 321–overs the years I’ve never travelled with spare parts for any of these. Even the crazy cheap Hopes I’d order direct from UK were reliable enough.

[Andeh]

With this ^ as their reputation for many years now, I don’t know why anyone buys I9 hubs when light & reliable options exist. Chris King, Hadley, DT, Project 321–overs the years I’ve never travelled with spare parts for any of these. Even the crazy cheap Hopes I’d order direct from UK were reliable enough.

This. Man, I wanted to support i9 since I like the story of onshoring production of bike parts, but after 2 of their hubs burning through a set of bearings every season, I'm back on the "buy and forget about them" train with DT.

[XtrPickels]

I have currently 3 sets of i9 wheels and never an issue. I pull seals like once a year and clean / regrease. 6 total sets over the years.

Maybe it's the drier Colorado climate?

[volklpowdermaniac]

I have currently 3 sets of i9 wheels and never an issue. I pull seals like once a year and clean / regrease. 6 total sets over the years.

Maybe it's the drier Colorado climate?

yeah i'm on hub/wheelset number 5, 2 torch, 2 hydra, 1 1/1 and i've never had issues other than this small one now. spin forever, clean and grease every couple of years, but i do see a lot of people complaining which is incongruent in my head, but my n=1, so who the f knows

[mildbill.]

Ask the experts: Would a bike company present misleading weight numbers? How shocked should I be!!??!

Situation: 11 year old is starting in the NICA world this year. I'm engaged in full analysis paralysis mode on what bike, but was perusing the Trek website thanks to the 25% NICA discount...

Trek is offering 2 aluminum hardtails with virtually identical specs, listing one at 33lbs in medium, one at 28lbs in medium.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...lorCode=orange vs. https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...black_greydark

The Marlin is more interesting to me because of the size-specific wheels (she is moving up from a 24") and much better standover, in fact the procaliber isn't even in the running due to sizing but the weight discrepancy had me scratching my head.

Fork: Both Judy solo silvers, lighter bike is boost and 120mm vs 100mm (Edit: I now see that they specify a tapered steerer on the lighter bike - safe to assume that 1 1/8" straight steerer on an entry level bike is a heavy steel steerer tube?)
Rims: Same
Hubs: Heavier has formulas, lighter has shimano
Groupset: Heavier has SX, Lighter has Deore
Dropper: Heavier has tranzx, lighter has Bontrager (which is probably a tranzx)
Tires: Heavier has ardent exos, lighter has some bontrager nonsense
BB: Heavier has truvative powerspline, lighter has shimano cups
Both measured with tubeless set up.

And so on.

So my question is - where are they getting 5lbs heavier on the other aluminum framed (both are "Alpha Platinum") bike?

I could see a lb or 2 on the crank / bb / cassette...zero on the fork, negligible on the dropper / wheels / tires...3lb difference on the frame seems crazy...

[frorider]

yeah i'm on hub/wheelset number 5, 2 torch, 2 hydra, 1 1/1 and i've never had issues other than this small one now. spin forever, clean and grease every couple of years, but i do see a lot of people complaining which is incongruent in my head, but my n=1, so who the f knows

While mechanics or industry folks can see enough data to conclude that Yup that product is failure prone, that doesn’t mean everyone will experience failure. Some products (certain products from e13, I9, etc) do fail enough to get such a reputation for statistical failure that their own press releases or CS communications acknowledge the statistical failures and promise that ‘we’ve fixed it this year’.

If you own a shop, or have beers with a shop owner, you’ll see the challenge — carry a product (because THIS year it’s been fixed) like I9 hubs that have a history of failure but your customers want it, or try to talk them into a more reliable brand that is just as light and also comes in dentist colors?

It’s tough for retailers. The Fox Float X2 was plagued with issues for a couple of years, despite the assurances that ‘we’ve fixed it’. I have a 2024 X2 that’s been rock solid, but I only got it after I became convinced they HAD fixed the issues. Amusingly enough, during that long stretch where Fox was bombarded with X2 failures & basically overwhelmed, there still were people posting ‘what issue? Mine’s fine’.

[jono]

I'm trying to think of something that would be more prone to statistic-driven failures than bearings and all I can come up with is: cheaper bearings.

I get why I9 might try to save $6, but if I'm a consumer replacing them and I already know the last ones didn't...

[Boissal]

Add me to the statistical pile supporting more than frequent I9 bearing failures. Fell for the Hydra hype a few years ago, bought a rear hub, it's been nothing but a pain since D1. The bearings barely make it through a UT season, and I'm not doing a whole lot of mileage with the bike the Hydra is on, mostly painful alpine rides with lots of slow steeps and HAB. First bearing replacements at 400 miles, now at about 800 and the wheel feels very sluggish when spun by hand. The drag is unreal, I can't imagine how much power I'm wasting to that POS. I'm getting a new rear wheel built with a Bitex hub. My trail bike has a DT350 that I've ridden for 5 seasons and close to 4000 miles, I think I've re-greased it twice, it looks like a perpetual motion machine next to the I9...