Industry Nine (i9) Hub Bearing Tools

This page gives a guide as to the tools used to service i9 hubs.  

Hubs, no matter the manufacturer, tend to be one of two basic designs;

- The 'over-axle' design, in which case there is an axle protruding through the bearings that can't be removed until after the bearings are removed.  This axle prevents access to the inside of the bearing with an expanding puller.  Instead, the bearings can be removed by tapping on the axle with a soft mallet or block of wood, or by using a wind-out over-axle bearing remover.  The new bearings then have to be pressed in over the protruding axle, using tube-shaped over-axle press drifts.

- The 'non-over-axle' design, sometimes called a 'spacer' design, in which case, after removing any end caps, there is nothing protruding through the bearings.  The inside diameter of the bearing is therefore freely accessed by an expanding puller, and our regular press drifts can be used.

All of our regular and over-axle press drifts, as well as the 'wind-out over-axle bearing remover' can use the same threaded rod and T-bar handles, so if you are ordering more than one item, select the first item with the handle option 'with T-bars' or 'with nuts', and then the rest can be 'drifts only'.  Make sure that it is the over-axle press that is selected with the handles/nuts, as it comes with a slightly longer threaded rod than the regular press does.

i9 Front Hubs

i9's front hubs are a mix of 'over-axle and 'non-over-axle' designs.  Refer to the table below for information for each model.

i9 Rear Hubs

i9's rear hubs are all of the'over-axle' pattern.  The bearings can either be removed by tapping on the axle with a soft mallet or block of wood, or by using our 'wind-out over-axle bearing remover'.

The new bearings can then be installed using our over-axle press drifts.

i9 Freehubs

i9's freehubs vary a bit depending on the hub and cassette type, but all are non-over-axle designs.  The bearings can be removed either using our expanding bearing puller, or our wind-out blind bearing puller of the corresponding size.  The new bearings can be installed using our regular press drifts. 

i9 Bearing Tool Selection

The following table identifies the tool type & size recommended for each i9 hub type.