Is this I9 hub failing?

sundaydoug said:
Where is it cracked? I see the indents in the drive ring to help give the pawls clearance when reinstalling the freehub body, but I don't see any cracks.
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This - here’s a better photo from the interwebs

AB3F81F6-5F94-476D-9EFB-B10C8EAE1135.jpeg
 
I have not been super impressed with my i9, had to do a full bearing replacement after a year on the rear hub.

White industries is good, but nothing was better than the project 321, it is on my sons bike atm and it rolls much much smooth than the i9 and has the “spin for ever” effect. The reason I tried i9 was because of the preload nut issues with the 321, something that sounds like it is resolved with their next gen hub which should be out soon
 
I had two mechanics at my LBS look at it closely. Lights, camera, zoom and we all determined those are not cracks but rather machining marks. We saw no signs of any cracks when looking closely at the teeth. Weird, I've serviced this hub many times and never really noticed those marks. It's back together, loaded up with grease so it's nice and quiet. I'll pull it apart in another month for a check up, unless it starts to self destruct sooner, I'm still a little concerned. Also waiting to see what I9 has to say when they see the pictures I sent.
 
TommyF said:
I had two mechanics at my LBS look at it closely. Lights, camera, zoom and we all determined those are not cracks but rather machining marks. We saw no signs of any cracks when looking closely at the teeth. Weird, I've serviced this hub many times and never really noticed those marks. It's back together, loaded up with grease so it's nice and quiet. I'll pull it apart in another month for a check up, unless it starts to self destruct sooner, I'm still a little concerned. Also waiting to see what I9 has to say when they see the pictures I sent.
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There's probably a limit to loaded up with grease if one wants pawls to fully engage.
 
TommyF said:
I had two mechanics at my LBS look at it closely. Lights, camera, zoom and we all determined those are not cracks but rather machining marks. We saw no signs of any cracks when looking closely at the teeth. Weird, I've serviced this hub many times and never really noticed those marks. It's back together, loaded up with grease so it's nice and quiet. I'll pull it apart in another month for a check up, unless it starts to self destruct sooner, I'm still a little concerned. Also waiting to see what I9 has to say when they see the pictures I sent.
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I'm going to agree with your mechanics and referencing @JonFern 's picture. The marks are from the machining operations. Too uniform in depth, width, and equal spacing radially between each set around the circumference.

Too much grease will make it quiet, but may hinder engagement. I9s are supposed to be loud. Probably not as loud as the Hope SS specific hub on my SS. What does I9 recommend for lubing the freehub?

Signed,
Mechanical Engineer
 
JDurk said:
I'm going to agree with your mechanics and referencing @JonFern 's picture. The marks are from the machining operations. Too uniform in depth, width, and equal spacing radially between each set around the circumference.

Too much grease will make it quiet, but may hinder engagement. I9s are supposed to be loud. Probably not as loud as the Hope SS specific hub on my SS. What does I9 recommend for lubing the freehub?

Signed,
Mechanical Engineer
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I believe they recommend the Dumonde Tech Freehub oil. There is also a very light grease that is recommended if you want quieter pawls. Forget what it is. I'll have to find it on my bench.
 
JDurk said:
I'm going to agree with your mechanics and referencing @JonFern 's picture. The marks are from the machining operations. Too uniform in depth, width, and equal spacing radially between each set around the circumference.

Too much grease will make it quiet, but may hinder engagement. I9s are supposed to be loud. Probably not as loud as the Hope SS specific hub on my SS. What does I9 recommend for lubing the freehub?

Signed,
Mechanical Engineer
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I use Ceramic Speed Pulley Grease in mine. It's really close to a wet lube but lasts a lot longer.
 
My first I9 torch had some grooving on the free hub body but other than that I have owned 4 pairs (2 torch/2 hydras) and zero issues. Never even needed bearings. I think single speed is what damaged the original one but it still never failed.
 
Wood never buy just based on cost noise maintenance and every post about them being a PIA from actual users. DTSwiss and Shimano FTW.

and get off my lawn!
 
w_b said:
Wood never buy just based on cost noise maintenance and every post about them being a PIA from actual users. DTSwiss and Shimano FTW.

and get off my lawn!
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I've seen the latest and greatest DTswiss falling apart a lot recently.
 
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w_b said:
Wood never buy just based on cost noise maintenance and every post about them being a PIA from actual users. DTSwiss and Shimano FTW.

and get off my lawn!
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I have a 2nd-hand wheelset with I9 hubs that have not given any trouble, and I recently greased the pawls too. Plus, there will never be any Shimano on my bikes, been that way for 34 years.
:thumbsup:
 
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TommyF said:
I had two mechanics at my LBS look at it closely. Lights, camera, zoom and we all determined those are not cracks but rather machining marks. We saw no signs of any cracks when looking closely at the teeth. Weird, I've serviced this hub many times and never really noticed those marks. It's back together, loaded up with grease so it's nice and quiet. I'll pull it apart in another month for a check up, unless it starts to self destruct sooner, I'm still a little concerned. Also waiting to see what I9 has to say when they see the pictures I sent.
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If you look in the svc manual, those machined relief sections allow the pawls to slide back into place upon reassembly. I had my i9 rear hub apart 1 week ago for normal service and it looked exactly the same. Ride on. BTW-My fav hubs are King!
 
TommyF said:
I had two mechanics at my LBS look at it closely. Lights, camera, zoom and we all determined those are not cracks but rather machining marks. We saw no signs of any cracks when looking closely at the teeth. Weird, I've serviced this hub many times and never really noticed those marks. It's back together, loaded up with grease so it's nice and quiet. I'll pull it apart in another month for a check up, unless it starts to self destruct sooner, I'm still a little concerned. Also waiting to see what I9 has to say when they see the pictures I sent.
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So basically this thread falsely made I9 hubs look bad? :Ugh:
 
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