Here’s a 1980s animation of how it works: For the job of freewheeling they depend on a sprag clutch. Onyx hubs don’t use pawls or toothed ratchets of any form. The end result is that there’s somewhat of a limit on how precise a pawl-based hub can be made, with them commonly offered with 6-10° engagement and premium choices down to about 3°. The quicker the engagement of a pawl freehub, the tinier the driver teeth and pawls get, and these hub pieces get much harder to machine, requiring extremely tight tolerances. To have quicker hub engagement in a pawl hub, you need more teeth on the driver, or pawls working out of sync with each other. Bike hubs will use at least two pawls – usually three or more – because hubs are small and pedaling torque at the hub is pretty darned high. On pawl-based hubs, the number of teeth on the driver determines how quickly the hub will engage when you start pedaling forward. if you don’t already know, here’s a video of how that works. Probably 99.99% of bicycle freehubs depend on some sort of pawl-ratchet system. Or, it’s imperceptibly close to instant – more on that later. Onyx hubs’ claim to fame is really in their freehub engagement. And that latter point – the ability to time pedaling and ratchet through techy bits of trail – is massively influenced by hub engagement. Crank length, pedal thickness and shape, and one’s ability to time pedaling through pedal-biting obstacles all have an impact on one’s ability to pedal through chunder. Of course, bottom bracket height is not the only factor that affects pedal striking. ![]() Take a loaded rig onto backcountry trails that were likely blazed on foot or horseback, however, and pedal striking can, in my experience, become a major hindrance to forward progress. ![]() After all, it’s pretty easy to avoid pedal striking on an unloaded bike, on maintained mountain bike trails. It’s a major annoyance that is especially relatable to the bikepacking world. There’s no doubt in my mind that the trend toward longer, lower and slacker bike geometry has made mountain bikes more capable and fun, but the main penalty for these new-school, lower bottom bracket heights is increased pedal to rock action. For me, the interest in high-engagement rear hubs all started with a few too many pedal strikes.
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