Spank’s new hub range has a huge ratchet ring and the promise of rapid engagement.
The company’s new Hex Drive hubs also feature great adaptability, which should help you navigate the myriad wheel spacing standards which can often annoy riders.
Spank is marketing its Hex Drive hubs in three model lines: a 29-spoke straight-pull boost for trail and enduro, 32-spoke J-bend boost and non-boost for downhill and freeride bike, and even a gravel bike appropriate 28-spoke J-bend option.
All these new hubs benefit from exchangeable adaptor caps, which help you seamlessly switch between 142-, 148-, 150- and 157mm rear hub spacing.
Recognising the diversity of drivetrain options, Spank’s Hex Drive rear hubs are available with HG, XD and Microspline alloy freehubs. Mountain bikers wishing to use the Spank Hex Drive on their e-MTB can upgrade to a steel freehub, which accounts for the higher torque loading of a battery-assisted drivetrain.
By far the most important feature of the Hex Drive hub range is the internal ratcheting system of its rear hubs. Spank has managed to configure the Hex Drive hubs with an enormous 102T ratchet ring managed by six pawls, each with three steps.
The result is a rear hub with 18 contact points per ratchet ring click. In simpler terms, that means that your riding torque input converts to rear-wheel pick-up at only 3.5-degrees. The smaller that angle of torque input to hub engagement is, the less you’ll have any drivetrain stall on technical climbs, or when dropping many gears in an instant.
Single-speed mountain bikers will have their interest piqued by the swift engagement properties of Spank’s Hex Drive hubs. A range of 11-, 12- and 13T cogs will be optional for a single-speed specific adaptation of the Hex Drive hubs.
Spank claims a front hub weight of 147g for its new Hex Drive range and the 102T rachet-geared rear hubs total a mass rating of 300g. Pricing is $99 for a front hub and $199.00 for the rear.
