R&D Cycles, Pedal Kickback, and Bicycle Hubs: Ryan F9 Critiques Industry Solutions

Ryan F9 examines the recurrent issue of pedal kickback in mountain bike suspension and the cycling industry's response. Pedal kickback occurs as rear suspension movement draws the axle backward, stretching the chain and causing both tension against suspension (reducing rear shock effectiveness) and discomfort ('pedals punching me in the balls of my feet'). The industry's shift from low-engagement hubs (18 engagement points, 20-degree pedal slop) to high-engagement ($300 precision machined, up to 120 engagement points, 3-degree slop) improves efficiency but provokes kickback. Anti-kickback hubs (e.g., C13 Sidekick, DT Swiss Degree of Freedom, $500 price point) mitigate kickback by introducing a pusher star, which re-engages the pawl only after 20 degrees of pedal movement, eliminating pedal tension.

Ryan F9 underscores the cyclical nature of these "solutions": low engagement led to high engagement (efficiency, but kickback), which produced anti-kickback devices (kickback reduced, but inefficient pedal slop returns), and now manufacturers offer variants (C13 with 90-degree version, DT Swiss "zero degree setting") that reverse earlier improvements. He describes this cycle as a case of R&D "taking laps up its own asshole," noting that marketers rebrand 20 degrees of slop as "20 degrees of freedom" and perpetuate product churn without substantive progress. While Ryan admits to enjoying the predictably inefficient anti-kickback hub for its silence and drag-free sensation ('feels like free falling to descend'), he points out that, at appreciable speed, kickback is negligible regardless of hub design due to the drive ring outpacing suspension pull.

Ultimately, Ryan asserts the ceiling is inherent in the chain and sprocket system: despite 95% mechanical efficiency and broad accessibility (build for $100, learn in an hour), forcing a chain to "skip and grind" across gear teeth remains inelegant. His conclusion is that riders must simply choose which tradeoff (engagement vs. kickback) matters and ignore the marketing churning ever more products: "no one will ever sell you a cake that you can have any at the same time."