It’s a relatively small shift in hub tech, and one that was easy to miss, but ENVE’s oversized Innerdrive ratchet internals now come to their most affordable US-made carbon Foundation wheel family, too. No price increase… just wider bearing spacing, bigger ratchet rings with stronger teeth, and the option for much faster hub engagement as an upgrade.
ENVE Foundation wheels get a J-bend Innerdrive upgrade
ENVE introduced a new tougher and lighter straight-pull hubset for their premium wheels this past winter. It was the first fully ENVE-developed hub and drive system.
But it was what’s inside that actually makes them stand out.
By significantly increasing the diameter of their steel ratchet rings and shifting them into an oversized hub body, but sticking with the same standard 9° / 40T engagement, the ratchet teeth got bigger and thus stronger. Plus, the bigger ratchet diameter meant that ENVE could widen the space between the bearings in the freehub, aligning that ratchet over that big main bearing for reduced stress while ensuring smooth freewheeling and engagement.
While we only heard about a straight-pull version of Innerdrive last January for SES & G series wheels, it seems ENVE already had traditional flanged hubs for J-bend spokes at the start of this year.
Same great ENVE Foundation price, just better Innerdrive hub engagement
So now (and probably for the last several months) the more affordable $1400 carbon Foundation 45 & 65 road and AG25 & AG28 gravel wheels have already featured new Innerdrive tech inside.
No price increase, just better performance. And if you want faster engagement from your hubs down the line, these US-made carbon Foundation wheels can be also upgraded to 6°/60T, 4.5°/80T, or 3.6°/100T Innerdrive ratchet rings like the premium wheels, too.
