How To: Servicing Industry Nine Torch Hubs (All You Need to Know!)

Industry Nine is an American cycling wheel manufacturer based right in Asheville, North Carolina. I9 prides them selves in designing and building the highest quality wheels for the ultimate performance out on the trail. Industry Nine offers a full range of wheelsets for all kinds of bikes; mountain, cyclecross, road, gravel, and fat bikes. Here is this episode of our MTB How To, we are going to be servicing a set of Industry Nine Torch series hubs. With all of the abuse we put our bikes through out on the trail, it makes sense that our wheels should be serviced at some point. We recommend servicing your Industry Nine Torch Hubs every 1 to 2 years depending on how often you ride. 

Here we are diving into a set of Industry Nine Torch series hubs ridden on a Santa Cruz V10. The wheels used here feature a 157mm x 12mm rear hub and a 100mm x 20mm front hub. The same process can be followed for any Torch hubs, regardless of width, style, or freehub body. 

We will first start with the rear hub by removing the end caps, disassembling the freehub body, and removing each of the four bearings in the rear hub. Then we will start piecing everything back together step by step and bringing you along the whole way through. Next we will follow similar steps servicing the front hub. Follow along step by step and you will have your wheels spinning like new! 

What Tools Do We Need?

Having the right tools for the job is probably the most important thing! Without the proper tools, this jobs gets more difficult and you run the risk of damaging your wheels. 

• 1 - See everything below we will need to get the job done right; a mallet, Maxima Waterproof Grease, Maxima Assembly Lube, Industry Nine replacement bearing kit, a razor blade, and Industry Nine's bearing press kit. 

• 2 - The replacement bearing kit includes all 6 Enduro bearings needed to service one wheelset. The rear hub holds 4 bearings and the front hub 2. Inside the replacement bearing kit: 61804 x3, 61903 x1, 61803 x1, 3803 x1. 

• 3 - Industry Nine sells there very own bearing press kit that is specifically designed and labeled to remove and press each of the bearings used in their torch hubs. Having these tools in your tool box makes the job nice and easy. Call us at the shop to get your own Industry Nine Bearing Press Kit. 

• 4 - The Industry Nine driver mechanisms come from the factory lubed with Dumonde Tech Freehub Oil. We are using Maxima Assembly Lube to lubricate the driver mechanism as an alternative just because of availability. 

Starting With The Rear Wheel -Remove Outside End Caps

• 5 - Make sure you remove your cassette and brake rotor before disassembling the hub. This will make things easier moving forward.

• 6 - Pull the non drive side end cap off with your hands. Don't use needle nose pliers to remove the end cap. It will come off by hand if nice and clean.

• 7 - Slide the end cap extractor rod through the rear hub axle starting from the non drive side. The notched end of the silver punch should slide in first. Using a mallet, knock out the drive side end cap. 

• 8 - Pull the drive side end cap off the punch and set them to the side for now.

Pull Off Freehub Body

• 9 - Twist and pull the freehub body off of the rear hub axle. You should pull the freehub body directly out from the hub shell. Be careful that none of the paws and springs slide off while removing freehub body.

• 10 - The freehub body will slide directly off of the rear hub axle. The drive side end cap is what holds together when fully assembled. Set the wheel aside for now and hold on to the freehub body. 

Remove Paws And Springs Inside Driver Mechanism (Optional)

These steps 11-14 are optional but recommended. It is a good idea to go ahead and clean off all of the old freehub oil and relubricate the driver mechanism to get everything clean and running new again. 

• 11 - Wipe off all of the old gear lube from the freehub body and driver mechanism with a paper towel. 

• 12 - Start to disassemble the driver mechanism by lifting each of the paws up from the freehub body.

• 13 - There is a small coil spring behind each of the paws so be careful not to lose any of those while removing the 6 paws.

• 14 - Remove each of the 6 paws and springs. Wipe everything clean with a paper towel and leave the paws and springs to the side for now. 

Remove, Clean, And Press Freehub Body Bearings

• 15 - Use the punch to first knock out the outside bearing on the freehub body. The aluminum spacer will fall out behind the bearing. 

• 16 - Use the punch to knock out the inside bearing next. Discard the old bearings for now and wipe clean the aluminum spacer and freehub body with a paper towel. 

• 17 - Grab the 61803 bearing and pink bearing press tool labeled B#61803. You will also see where the tool says Freehub on the face as well. Apply a thin layer of grease around the bearing and freehub body where the bearing will sit.

• 18 - Place the 61803 bearing in the outside of the freehub body and stack the pink bearing press tool on top. Use a mallet to press the bearing into the freehub body. Make sure that the bearing spins freely once it has been pressed in straight.

• 19 - Apply a thin layer of grease on to the 3803 bearing, the aluminum spacer, and freehub body where the bearing sits. 

• 20 - Using the mallet and pink bearing press tool, press the 3803 bearing into the inside of the freehub body. Mare sure that the bearing spins freely once it has been pressed in straight. Set the freehub body to the side for now to move on to the removing the hub shell bearings next.

Remove, Clean, And Press Hub Shell Bearings

• 21 - Industry Nine has designed the rear hub so that the axle that sits inside the hub shell can be used to remove the bearings inside. Using a mallet, strike the hub axle on the drive side to remove the non drive side bearing. 

• 22 - You will see the the 61804 bearing slide out of the hub shell on the non drive side. Slide the bearing off of the hub axle and discard of it. 

• 23 - Now set the axle back in the rear hub. Using a mallet, strike the hub axle from the non drive side to remove the drive side bearing. 

• 24 - You will see the 61903 bearing slide out from the drive side. Remove the bearing from the hub axle, discard the bearing, and wipe clean the hub shell and axle. 

• 25 - After cleaning the rear hub axle, apply a thin later of grease to the 61804 bearing and axle. Grab the purple bearing press tool labeled MTB Front & Non Drive Rear.

• 26 - Slide the 61804 bearing and the purple bearing press tool on to the axle.

• 27 - Slide the axle, bearing and purple bearing press tool into the hub shell through the non drive side. Using a mallet, press the bearing into the hub shell. 

• 28 - Slide the 61903 bearing and gold bearing press tool labeled R-Hub Drive Side on to the hub axle. Using a mallet, press the bearing into the hub shell. 

Reinstall Paws And Springs On Freehub Body

• 29 - Now that we have all the bearings replaced in the rear hub, we are going to reassemble the freehub body. Set one of the coil springs into the small whole of the freehub body.

• 30 - Use the tip of the razor blade to compress the coil spring down. Be careful not to lose the spring at this point. If they going flying, they can be hard to find. With the spring compressed, slide the paw into the notch in the freehub body. 

• 31 - The larger groves on each of the paws should be facing up like shown below. Once the paw has slid into the freehub body, make sure the spring is working properly. 

• 31 - Work your way around to all 6 paws and springs!

Lube Driver Mechanism And Slide Freehub Body Back On the Hub Axle

• 33 - Before we install the freehub body back on to the rear hub axle, we need to lube the driver mechanism. We recommend using Dumonde Tech Freehub Oil even though in this application we are using Maxima Assembly Lube. Put a dab of lube on each of the paws where they pivot. 

• 34 - Place a small amount of lube around the inside of the driver ring inside the hub. 

• 35 - Slide the freehub body straight onto the rear hub axle. 

• 36 - Continue to slide the freehub body onto the hub axle. Once the freehub and hub shell come in to contact, spin the push the freehub into the hub. The paws will compress allowing the freehub to fit tight to the hub shell. 

Grease And Slide On Rear Hub End Caps

• 37 - Grease the inside and the face of both end caps. Slide the non drive end cap on without pinching the O ring inside. 

• 38 - Slide the drive side end cap on without damaging the O ring. 

Now To The Front Wheel - Remove End Caps

• 39 - Now it's time to grab the front wheel. Remove the brake rotor and get it out of the way for now if you haven't already done so. 

• 40 - The 20mm end caps shown here will pop right off by hand. If you are using 15mm end caps, you might have to use the long silver punch to tap them out. 

Remove, Clean, And Press Front Hub Shell Bearings

• 41 - In order to punch out the front hub bearings, use the long silver punch and push the aluminum spacer in between the two bearings to the side. Punch out one bearing at a time using the silver punch and the mallet.

• 42 - Now grab the new 61804 bearings used for the front hub and the purple bearing press tool. Clean and grease the aluminum spacer that fits between the two bearings. 

• 43 - Press the first bearing into the hub shell using the purple bearing press tool and a mallet. Then set the aluminum spacer into the hub shell before pressing the second bearing. 

• 44 - Press the second bearing into the hub shell. Make sure the bearings are spinning properly after being pressed in straight. 

Grease And Push On Front Wheel End Caps

• Finally, grease the 20mm end caps and push them back on to the hub shell. Be careful not to pinch the O rings around the edge of the end caps. 

You Made It! Now your Industry Nine wheels will be rolling like new again. Feel free to call us at the shop with any questions and we would be happy to help.