The new Industry Nine Torch Road Alloy (TRA) wheels debuted just before Dirty Kanza 2018, and we had our hands on a set of the ULCX235 wheelset for a couple days of testing prior to the announcement. We rode them all over town, on dirt paths, and our usual rooty, gravelly cyclocross test track to see if they lived up to the hype. But first, we threw them on the scale and measured them, then checked in with I9’s VP Jacob McGahey to get the real development story behind the new wheels. Here’s the deal…
Torch Road Alloy development story
BIKERUMOR: What was the challenge in adding your direct pull threaded design to the Road Torch hubs?
JACOB: We actually made an alloy spoked road product way back in 2008-2009, however at the time, we were trying to address the aero needs of road riders and were using a bladed spoke with a nipple at the hub. It was a cumbersome system and hard to adjust, so we switched to more traditional bladed steel spokes in late 2009 and carried that forward with the Torch series road line-up. Now, with the gravel market taking off, aero isn’t as much of a concern as ride quality, so the timing was right. That’s where our alloy spokes shine – offering the precision and ride quality that our mtb. wheels are know for, which makes a lot of sense for gravel, and cyclocross, too.
This let us take advantage of the hub/spoke interface used in our mountain bike hubs. Threading the spokes into the hubs makes them easy to true because the spokes wind up much less than their steel counterparts. Other big advantages are steering precision…the wheels are much stiffer laterally, and torsionally, so you get a very direct power transfer. They’re also more durable. The spoke diameter is thicker than a steel spoke. Also, with steel spokes, the root diameter of the spoke threads is smaller than the base diameter of the spoke, which becomes the weakest point – particularly since the “V” shape at base of the thread forms a natural stress riser. It might take a few years before they fail, but eventually a steel spoke will break at the threads. Compare that with a 4, 5 or even 6 year life of our machined alloy spokes and you have a significant advantage. With our alloy spokes, we machine the threaded head larger than the rest of the spoke, and we roll the threads , so that weak point is gone. (NOTE: steel spokes have rolled threads, too, they’re just much smaller)
Customization is the other huge benefit. We offer eleven different color options for the hubs, spokes, and tubeless valves, so the possibilities for custimizing the wheels is almost limitless. Our Ano Lab lets you create something down to the individual spoke color, that matches your bike perfectly.
- 700 x 30-33 – 70 PSI
- 700 x 35-38 – 55 PSI
- 700 x 40-44 – 50 PSI
- 700 x 45-49 – 45 PSI
- 700 x 50-55 – 35 PSI