Hey everybody welcome!
Here we are, 2022, and if you ask people what is the main criteria for choosing a hub these days
most of the time is going to be points of engagement (POE).
A good example of that is this Industry Nine Hydra, 690 points of engagement (POE).
Do we really need that many? Is this just a buzzword? Let's take a closer look!
And all this in the context of DT Swiss reintroducing their 240 hubs after 20 years
with only 36 points of engagement (POE).
So let's take a closer look at this low engagement DT Swiss hub
compared to the 690 POE Industry Nine Hydra hub.
DT Swiss actually took the time to put an article together, you can find it on their website
and here you're going to see their explanation on why they chose this 10 degrees angle or 10 degrees engagement angle
Riding effects section is actually pretty interesting
because they go ahead and explain a couple of effects on the bike
one being BACKLASH and the second one being PEDAL KICKBACK.
PEDAL KICKBACK is something that you will notice only on a full suspension bike
and I would argue that unless you're doing timed runs, or you are Aaron Gwin winning a race without the chain
I don't think any one of us will actually measure or be able to tell whether that affects their ride in any negative way.
It has to do with what's called chain growth as the suspension progresses
and you can see here how your pedal seems to be lifting up
as this 150 millimeter compresses all the way to the bottom.
Now imagine your weight being on the pedal as the suspension is trying to move through its travel.
And the theory is that your weight is actually going to hinder the ability of the suspension
to function the way it was designed that's what pedal kickback is!
And in the article DT Swiss makes a case for lower POE = better,
so 36 POE being better for pedal kickback than other options out there.
So if your riding is more gravity oriented should we say that lower POE is better?
What is your experience? Let us know in the comments below!
Now the other argument is that high engagement hubs like this i9 Hydra
are very useful when going uphill, technical climbing.
And the idea is that if you have to relocate your pedal as you're climbing
a high engagement hub will actually give you that immediate engagement meaning that you will never have your pedal in the wrong spot
and not be able to engage with your hub.
This is explained by DT in the BACKLASH section on their website and also a little bit more here
where they talk about Pedal Kickback, engagement angle, and ultimately instant engagement POE
and this Hydra, with only 0.5 degree of engagement comes very close to that definition.
But how relevant is that to actual riding?
Let's say you're using this second last cog or the 45T on a Shimano 12 speed cassette
and you have to ratchet pedal in the middle of the trail.
With this half a degree of engagement
that's a click,
that's a click.
That's all you need to do to reposition your pedal and you will be engaged with the rear hub in an instant
that's why I pretty much called this an instant POE hub.
Now on a DT hub with 36 POE, what you're gonna get is this, 36 POE so 10 degrees, here it is:
Click...
click
click.
So you have that Delta of about what, an inch (2.5 cm) between each click.
Obviously you would expect a difference between 0.5 degree of engagement and 10 degrees
but you tell me...
click
Would this be a problem if you're doing technical climbing?
Would you have an issue ratchet pedaling with this 10 degrees of engagement of the 36 POE?
I have to admit that for me and my family the standard 36 POE of the DT Swiss it's good enough.
However you can replace this with a 54 POE Ratchet giving you about 6.6 degrees
so pretty much half that travel before the pedal engages to the real hub.
Not to mention that the 54 POE changes the sound of that rear hub
bringing it closer to the distinctive noise of that high engagement POE hub
And in comparison here's the sound of that 36 POE
There's always other criteria for comparing hubs. we're talking weight
availability, price, color, what about longevity?
So which one of these is very important for you guys?
Is Points of Engagement an important criteria for you?
Let me know in the comments below,
as usual check my channel, I have quite a few videos talking about wheels and hubs.
Let me know your opinion in the comments below
and until next time hope to see you folks on the trails.
Cheers guys, cheers!