Race Face launches J-bend hub only option for Vault line

Race Face have introduced a hub only option for its Vault line, replacing the straight pull hub that comes with its complete wheels with a J-bend hub that customers can build their own custom wheel around. The Vault hub was introduced last year at the centre of Race Face’s Turbine R and Next R wheelsets, but the company is confident enough in its hub that it has made the hub available separate from these wheelsets. To make it easier for customers to assemble their own dream wheels, Race Face have gone with the J-bend spoke option in place of the straight pull spokes of the Turbine R and Next R wheels. It’s likely that Race Face would prefer if you still build your wheel up around one of its own rims, but the hub only option is a strong vote of confidence in its own equipment that it is willing to bet that riders will want the Vault as the centerpiece for their fancy custom wheel build. With no shortage of boutique hubs already on the market, Race Face must think the Vault has something to offer that those hub specialists don’t. To test out the new J-bend Vault hub, Race Face sent the Godfather of freeride himself, Wade Simmons, out on a bomber wheel build from master wheelbuilder Dave McInnes of The Bicycle Hub in North Vancouver.

So what makes the Vault hub special? Well, to start, the Vault offers super fast, 3° engagement for near-instant power transfer. Race Face get engagement every 3° by using a 60 tooth drive ring that alternately engages six double tooth pawls. The Vault has a distinct, oversized hub shell to increase torsional and lateral stiffness, which creates room for more durable 6902 bearings. Add in options for Boost or non-Boost, multiple axle standards and Shimano or XD cassette body options, and Race Face have a hub that can sit at the centre of almost any wheel build. Race Face equip the Vault hub interchangeable endcaps, which can be changed quickly without tools so that when you build your dream wheels you can move them between different frames quickly and easily.

For full details on the new J-bend Vault hub, head to Race Face.