Stenson Lindal
Google
Overpriced, ill designed, bicycle hubs with poor warranty.
Had my 1/1 and hydra rear hubs fail prematurely. Axle broke on both hubs after 2 years of use. Hub shell on the 1/1 completely failed and cracked. Replaced bearings twice in that time frame. As far as I understand the aluminum Hydra axle is designed to flex to allow the pawls to engage. The axle flexing at a sharp bearing journal corner is fundamentally a poor practice as it quickly leads to the aluminum work hardening and breaking. Disappointed that between the 1/1 and front/rear Hydra hubs, they use different size bearings sizes so you can't just stock 1 style $13 bearing. I9 hub owners are forced to stock multiple different $37 bearings to perform a service (which you will need to do frequently living in the PNW)... water ingress from the seals is an issue on these hubs. Brand new bearings installed before a 4 day 650km gravel trip and the bearings were rough and rust was to be found inside the pawl ring after the trip (it rained all 4 days).
In conclusion, I had 1/1 rear hub shell completely cracked from the axle bending/breaking and the bearings/pawls compromised. I9's customer service offered me a 25% discount on the parts that needed to be replaced (axle, bearings, hub shell). Their offer, didn't cover 4 new bearings, 6 pawls, drive ring, new seals, just covered 25% off a new axle and hub shell. In my eyes that is a poor way to deal with a product defective even after 2 years of use. The axle design is a known issue with I9's hubs and should be dealt with a complete replacement hub. On a positive note, the engagement is impressive and it looks like their engineers are solving the axle stress points (with larger bearing journal radius and friction washer now).