Daan

Well, in case of the Hydra, it does improve things a lot, except for sound. Was originally suggested by I9 themselves, after I contacted them about the constant skipping, and them having already replaced one hub. It'll help in longevity of the drive ring, the teeth of which will get rounded off with every skip, not good since they're so tiny already. Rolling resistance is still low; compared to my FFW bike, it almost feels like being propelled on an ebike, rolls scary fast

Have you tried installing two pairs of springs behind each pawl? Ever since I did that, skipping has been relatively minimal. It is obnoxiously loud now though. And those pawl pockets are getting pretty stretched out.

Can't comment on the Avid, but Magura with BBB pads (the blue organic ones) is absolutely silent, pads seems to fit slightly tighter than stock. Lewis is a blatant Trickstuff copy, not for the ethically conscious.

Just saw this new Mantra Drive hub announced by Halo, might be interesting? Single speed hg body, boost or 142 through axle, or 135 bolt on, 150 poe, 5 pawls, and best of all, purple: https://www.corebike.co.uk/new-halo-renthal-teravail-ht-product-releases-ison-corebike-2025/

Using a cheap Giro Radix without mips for trials. Nicely finished, no styrofoam on the bottom like the super cheap helmets. I like it much better than my expensive Troy Lee Designs A2, with mips, that I use for MTB. The TLD squeeks/rattles a bit, sits too low on my forehead, is heavier, and feels and looks bulky.

If it has slower engagement than a Pro 4, the pawls must not be engaging properly, and it's defective. Or your memory is off Hex has 102 engagement points, Pro 4 SS only 88. I have them here side by side and the difference is noticeable if you look for it (in practice, not so much).

Don't know, perhaps the same factory as Inspired? They're just a bit too clone-y for my taste, exact same integrated bash ring too for example. Plus you can actually order them on AliExpress. Never seen one fail, but other than the bash ring, never seen one in real life either.

Inspired indeed, one too many bunny ups, and maybe a bad weld. Still, held up for three years. But I'd even get an Alibabba Extention before that abomination of a Clean.

Case in point 🤪 Anything can break, but better have something that at least looks good while breaking it.

I'd say this video makes a compelling argument that 40 is the new 30. Wish I could make it look that easy dude.

€ 145 at trialmarkt.de. Looks alright, 9 pawls, offset so 3 engage on a 42 tooth ring, so 126 engagement points. Too bad there's no 135 mm bolt on option it seems, only 12x142? Let us know how you get on with it!

Yeah, it looks a bit off with those seat stays below the top tube. Also, what's going on with the mismatched wheels for the production shots haha.

I actually joined a yoga class for half a year or so, which helped tremendously. One of those more power yoga oriented ones, as I'm not into the spiritual stuff. Yoga with Adriene on Youtube is a good source if you want to do it by yourself. She has some good hip/lower back routines. For the more hip specific mobility stuff, this guy has a nice routine. I especially like the first move (as an extra, I also twist my upper body along with the hips/knees), as well as the thing he does at 8:45. In addition, I'm also trying the pancake stretch (look it up on Youtube). Doing these moves every day. The older I get, the more I need it To add to that: I also do a lot of single leg stuff in my (weight training) workouts, like pistol squats. They help with keeping all the muscles around the hips in shape too.

Only suffered this as a result of way too much road biking, as in, doing rides 4 times a week at max effort, six years or so ago. Eventually caught up to me after a very long solo ride where I wanted to keep a certain average speed. Result: inflamed piriformis on the right side (which is also my stronger side, ride right foot forward in trials). Went to a cycling specific physio for this, and what helped me most was doing a specific stretch on my desk every 20 minutes (!), this one. Set a recurring alarm on my phone for this, and kept at it for weeks. Combined with taking it easy riding wise (but not sitting still), it still took a few months to disappear 100%. Besides the direct overload from the road biking, the underlying issue was just sitting on my ass too much (work behind a computer) and being very stiff in the hips. Aside from that one stretch that targets the piriformis directly, I found doing yoga moves and hip mobility excercises a few times per week really help with the stiffness there. For trials especially, the less stiff I am in my hips, the more relaxed I can ride, and the more bouncy I feel on the bike. Now I'm getting a bit older (40), I very much notice the difference, off the bike too, so I find that's really worth investing in. Hope this is of any use!

Couple of sets of those levers (and full brakes) on the German bikemarkt (mtb-news.de). But I seem to recall you're from east Asia somewhere?