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#3337405 30-Jan-2025 14:03

Heading to Rotorua Feb 20-25th with some friends, looking forward to it though we found out it clashes with mtb nationals so DH and XC/XCO will be on.. but should otherwise be ok

Now I see the forestry owner has decided they need to log some trees around Hill Rd, so that's closed the Hill Rd shuttle is now going to Katore Rd instead.. hopefully they finish the logging by the time we go up but we're starting to regret our timing :)

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#3337462 30-Jan-2025 16:40

dfnt:

Heading to Rotorua Feb 20-25th with some friends, looking forward to it though we found out it clashes with mtb nationals so DH and XC/XCO will be on.. but should otherwise be ok

Now I see the forestry owner has decided they need to log some trees around Hill Rd, so that's closed the Hill Rd shuttle is now going to Katore Rd instead.. hopefully they finish the logging by the time we go up but we're starting to regret our timing :)

I haven't been to Vegas for so long...I really need to get down there with my eBike. So many trails I could self-shuttle on

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mattwnz

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#3337514 30-Jan-2025 17:12

dfnt:

Heading to Rotorua Feb 20-25th with some friends, looking forward to it though we found out it clashes with mtb nationals so DH and XC/XCO will be on.. but should otherwise be ok

Now I see the forestry owner has decided they need to log some trees around Hill Rd, so that's closed the Hill Rd shuttle is now going to Katore Rd instead.. hopefully they finish the logging by the time we go up but we're starting to regret our timing :)

I understand the Eagle vs Shark track is being felled and that is supposed to be quite a popular easy going track for most.

mudguard

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#3337519 30-Jan-2025 17:35

mattwnz:

dfnt:

Heading to Rotorua Feb 20-25th with some friends, looking forward to it though we found out it clashes with mtb nationals so DH and XC/XCO will be on.. but should otherwise be ok

Now I see the forestry owner has decided they need to log some trees around Hill Rd, so that's closed the Hill Rd shuttle is now going to Katore Rd instead.. hopefully they finish the logging by the time we go up but we're starting to regret our timing :)

I understand the Eagle vs Shark track is being felled and that is supposed to be quite a popular easy going track for most.

Eagle vs Shark (EvS) is a Rotorua if not NZ icon of a trail. Up there with Split Enz, Rude Rock etc. I don't actually know what it's rated but I need to have one more run before it's felled.

As for the poor timing, Rotorua is usually big enough that you can ride no problem. The DH will be concentrated in one spot and the XC probably won't use all the best trails. So you should be fine.

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#3337548 30-Jan-2025 21:35

Yeah I’m not sure when EvS is due to be felled but hopefully it’s still there by the time we arrive

And yeah trail use should be on it’s just the shuttles will probably be busy uplifting DH competitors and the public. But they’ll be running additional shuttles so should ok

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#3337689 31-Jan-2025 13:08

mudguard:

Eagle vs Shark (EvS) is a Rotorua if not NZ icon of a trail. Up there with Split Enz, Rude Rock etc. I don't actually know what it's rated but I need to have one more run before it's felled.

As for the poor timing, Rotorua is usually big enough that you can ride no problem. The DH will be concentrated in one spot and the XC probably won't use all the best trails. So you should be fine.

Grade 3

https://www.riderotorua.com/eagle-vs-shark/

EAGLE vs SHARK

GRADE: 3 LENGTH: 3KM

BUILT: The original trail was funded in a brand new way for Rotorua: Half the cost was covered by South Star Adventures. They’re a Rotorua-based company, run by Jeff Carter. They’ve built trails in our own backyard – and all over the world.

The other half was raised through crowd funding, organised by the Mountain Bike Club. Fifteen thousand dollars was contributed in just over a month. The amounts of these varied, but every single dollar counted, with $10 ‘buying’ a metre of trail.

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#3338973 4-Feb-2025 08:27

After discovering at Xmas that I'd chewed out another set of freehub bearings in a year, I over invested and ordered a set of Industry Nine wheels.

Picked up the Enduro S alloy rims with a Hydra rear hub. Figured the price difference wasn't worth the small weight saving that carbon would have given me.

Fitted them on the weekend but only managed to have a ride last night.

The weight saving of the wheelset over the Trek factory Bontrager rims was about 30g on the front and identical weight on the rear. I popped in a pair of TPU 56g tubes though, so we'll see how they go for robustness.

Definitely felt lighter in use but the only real difference is the tube weight. However, the biggest difference is the engagement speed of the freewheel. Holy moly. It's basically instant. Any time, no matter what, you push the pedals and you are driving forward.

Last nights ride was an easy river trail ride as I'm tapering for the Tarawera 100k run next weekend and doing nothing risky or high intensity, so I'm looking forward to trying it on some more interesting trails once I can move again after that.

I'll replace the freehub bearings in the Bontrager wheel at some point and they can live as spares for my bike or my parents e-bikes (Trek Rails).

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#3338977 4-Feb-2025 09:04

geoffwnz:

After discovering at Xmas that I'd chewed out another set of freehub bearings in a year, I over invested and ordered a set of Industry Nine wheels.

Picked up the Enduro S alloy rims with a Hydra rear hub. Figured the price difference wasn't worth the small weight saving that carbon would have given me.

Fitted them on the weekend but only managed to have a ride last night.

The weight saving of the wheelset over the Trek factory Bontrager rims was about 30g on the front and identical weight on the rear. I popped in a pair of TPU 56g tubes though, so we'll see how they go for robustness.

Definitely felt lighter in use but the only real difference is the tube weight. However, the biggest difference is the engagement speed of the freewheel. Holy moly. It's basically instant. Any time, no matter what, you push the pedals and you are driving forward.

Last nights ride was an easy river trail ride as I'm tapering for the Tarawera 100k run next weekend and doing nothing risky or high intensity, so I'm looking forward to trying it on some more interesting trails once I can move again after that.

I'll replace the freehub bearings in the Bontrager wheel at some point and they can live as spares for my bike or my parents e-bikes (Trek Rails).

Is the Hydra the one that's obnoxiously loud and makes a high-pitched whizzing sound that lets everyone in the forest know you're on i9 hubs?
If so, I have always wanted a set of those...
I had DT Swiss 370 hubs on my meat bike, which made a weird oscillating sound, which was also obnoxiously loud but they were also high-engagement (or at least higher engagement than anything else I had ridden).
My current bike has SLX hubs (the new ones, not the ones that implode after three rides) and they're OK, but they're no DT Swiss or i9.

I'm rather envious.

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geoffwnz

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#3338980 4-Feb-2025 09:18

Handsomedan:

Is the Hydra the one that's obnoxiously loud and makes a high-pitched whizzing sound that lets everyone in the forest know you're on i9 hubs?
If so, I have always wanted a set of those...
I had DT Swiss 370 hubs on my meat bike, which made a weird oscillating sound, which was also obnoxiously loud but they were also high-engagement (or at least higher engagement than anything else I had ridden).
My current bike has SLX hubs (the new ones, not the ones that implode after three rides) and they're OK, but they're no DT Swiss or i9.

I'm rather envious.

That's the Hydra, yep. :-)

Though in use, it's not actually as loud as I was expecting. Almost quieter than the Bontrager 108 hub. But definitely more of a buzz than a series of clicks.

The 108 hubs are supposedly super high engagement also but they are noticeably less when you run a Hydra. It'll be interesting to see if there's any kickback on jumps etc.

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#3338982 4-Feb-2025 09:29

geoffwnz:

It'll be interesting to see if there's any kickback on jumps etc.

That was going to be my next question...do you think you'll need an Ochain device to prevent kickback?

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#3338983 4-Feb-2025 09:37

Handsomedan:

geoffwnz:

It'll be interesting to see if there's any kickback on jumps etc.

That was going to be my next question...do you think you'll need an Ochain device to prevent kickback?

I don't jump hard and haven't noticed any kickback with the 108 hub, so I'm not expecting any, but time will tell.

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#3339026 4-Feb-2025 11:16

geoffwnz:

However, the biggest difference is the engagement speed of the freewheel. Holy moly. It's basically instant. Any time, no matter what, you push the pedals and you are driving forward.

No surprises really, the Bonty has 108 points of engagement vs the Hydra's 690. Did you buy them locally or direct from I9?

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#3339027 4-Feb-2025 11:19

JPNZ:

geoffwnz:

However, the biggest difference is the engagement speed of the freewheel. Holy moly. It's basically instant. Any time, no matter what, you push the pedals and you are driving forward.

No surprises really, the Bonty has 108 points of engagement vs the Hydra's 690. Did you buy them locally or direct from I9?

108 is still relatively high engagement vs more generic offerings. But yeah, in a whole different ballpark now.

Direct from I9 after spending way too long drooling over their offerings then rationalising to the Enduro S.

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