Lubricating your Industry Nine Hydra

Industry Nine has changed their maintenance recommendations. When you do your I9 Hydra service, you’ll want to keep these new updates in mind.

Industry Nine and Dumonde Tech have a long standing relationship.

Industry Nine has been using Dumonde tech as their source for all lubrication needs as long as they’ve been around.  This is for good reason, as Dumonde produces a line of resilient and effective oils and greases that complement Industry Nine’s precise hub manufacturing. 

The new for 2019 Hydra hub has the option of using either Dumonde’s thicker grease or their lower viscosity oil.  Each one slightly affects how the hub behaves and the level of maintenance required.

Industry Nine has tweaked their I9 Hydra Service recommendations slightly.

Are you greasing your new Hydra hubs correctly? Industry Nine’s lubrication suggestions have changed slightly and we want to make sure that you are up to date. We went straight to the source for the answers, and here is what we learned:

Q & A with Industry Nine

How do oil and grease compare when used on Hydras?

Both the Dumond tech freehub oil and their ProX freehub grease use the same base compounds for lubrication. However, the grease uses different carrying agents, so it is thicker and allows for quieter hub operation and will stay in place longer.  The freehub oil has slightly lower initial drag (although not typically noticeable on the trail) and will enhance the natural sound of the hub when coasting for riders who like a louder hub.

What option is more likely to extend the life of the hub?

Neither product will significantly change the hub life, but the grease should do a bit better job keeping water off of the steel drive components due to its higher retention properties, which may extend the service life a small amount.

Why did you change to grease vs. oil?

To take advantage of its higher retention properties and quieter operation which was a request we had gotten from some riders.

What exact grease do you recommend using?

Dumond Tech Pro X Freehub grease https://www.dumondetech.com/portfolio/pro-x-freehub-grease/

Can other brands of grease be used?

Generally you can get away with small amounts of most other freehub specific greases, such as the King Ring Drive grease, DT star ratchet hub grease etc. However, it is critical to stay away from thicker waterproof greases as they can cause the pawls to stick and cause slippage and/or damage to the freehub mechanism. That being said we recommend the Dumonde Tech products previously mentioned as we feel they offer the best performance and have been proven in the field.

It’s time to service your hub when…

There is resistance or stickyness when attempting to spin the hub or freehub.

If your hub sounds gritty or louder than it should.

Regular maintenance! It’s important to do an I9 Hydra service on a regular basis. To learn more, visit our End of Season Care blog post.

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