ENVE’s new Innerdrive hubs are their first-ever 100% in-house designed hubs, and they introduce interesting tech that makes them more durable than prior versions.
The obvious change is a move to straight pull spokes, which allowed them to completely redesign the hub shell and drop 60g from the prior J-bend model. Claimed weight is just 326g for the pair, but the new design allows for stiffer wheel builds with spacing between each spoke so they don’t creak or rub on each other.
It also makes servicing easier. Consistent spoke lengths on both sides of the hub mean you only need one size spoke per wheel.
An anti-twist design make wheel building and truing easier, too, and they say this improves ride quality as well.
They use stainless steel bearings and races with non-contact seals on the inner bearings to reduce friction, but full contact seals on the outer bearings for improved longevity.
What’s ENVE Innerdrive?
The real magic happens inside, though. They stick with a ratchet ring design, which they like better than pawls, but move it a few millimeters further inboard, deeper inside the hub shell.
Then they oversized the ratchets to 42mm in diameter and placed them directly over the internal bearings. They say this reduces stress on the axle and bearings by centralizing the torque and eliminating twisting loads (and thus wear & tear) on those bearings.
The ratchet rings are made from a proprietary hardened steel. Choose from four tooth counts depending on your preferred noise level and needs:
- 40-tooth (9º engagement)
- 60-tooth (6º engagement)
- 80-tooth (4.5º engagement)
- 100-tooth (3.6º engagement)
All road, gravel, SES, and G Series wheels will come stock with 60-tooth ratchets.
Which begs the question, why offer a 40-tooth downgrade? Probably because they will license the system to others, so it’s good to have a basic, more affordable option to increase potential adoption of this technology.
Perfect Preload keeps it simple
The hubs also use their Perfect Preload system, which eliminates bearing preload adjusters by using a tuned wave washer to provide just enough side load on the bearings without stressing them…or leaving it open to user error when adjusting (or ignoring) the hubs.
The new Innerdrive hubs have been tested under UAE Team Emirates throughout the 2023 season. They’re available now on SES and G Series wheels, and as a standalone hubset for $750. They hold 24 spokes per wheel and have HG, XDR, MS, and N3W freehub body options with 12×100/12×142 thru-axles only.
