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Optimal traction on the fly with White Crow tire pressure adjusting hubs

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WhiteCrow-Hub_winter-fat-snow

Let’s start with the idea that the White Crow hubs let you adjust your tire pressure as you are riding along.  That, in itself is no simple feat, but you might also think that it couldn’t possibly be worth all of the extra complexity (and probably weight too) just to be able to let air out of the tires while riding along. But of course it is much more nuanced than that.

With the growth of fat bikes (and maybe even plus-sized tires) for a lot of trail riding and racing, the difference in a few PSI, or even a 1/2 PSI in a fat bike in a race, can make a huge impact on grip, especially over loose surfaces. Plus, White Crow not only lets you lower or reinflate your tires on the go, it also uses a dual chamber system, much like we’ve seen recently with ProCore that actually lets us run even lower pressures without the risk of pinch flatting or burping a sidewall. So, how does it do it…

WhiteCrow-Hub-cutaway

The basics go like this….
White Crow links two air chambers in your tires with a pump and valves in the hub that regulates pressures.

At the tire the system adds a secondary air reservoir that is essentially a smaller inner tube that sits against the rim, just like Schwalbe’s ProCore. It sits within the typical volume of the larger tubeless tire, and at the same time locks the tire’s bead in place so it can’t escape.

WhiteCrow-Hub-internals

At the hub there is a lot more engineering. A mix of alloy and carbon of the oversized hub shell houses a large diameter polymer (plastic) air pump that can be alternately fixed to the axle or allowed to spin with the shell. That lets it pump air when needed, but doesn’t create internal drag when not in use. Then on the outside of the hub there are a couple of valves that link the two air chambers in the tire by hoses to move pressure from one to the other.

WhiteCrow-Hub-Tire-Inflation WhiteCrow-Hub-Tire-Deflation

The whole things is operated by a clutch in the hub that you control with a lever on the bar. The remote gives you three positions: Inflation, where a valve opens letting air move from the high pressure secondary chamber to the tire; Rest, where the hub spins friction free; and Deflation, where the hub-based pump is engaged and the toque of the wheel spinning pumps air back into the high pressure chamber.

What that mean is that the air doesn’t change from inside the complete system, so no chance for outside contamination. But it also means that you can go up or down in pressure as many times as you want (up to equalizing the high pressure chamber and the tire itself.)

WhiteCrow-Hub-schematic-rendering

If you are curious (like we were) as to why you use the pump to lower pressure, instead of the other way around, the creators have a few good reasons. First, they figure that more often than not you’ll want to drop pressure for descending, so it will be easier to add some resistance on the flat or downhills with just a little more pedaling. And when you are climbing some smooth section you can increase pressure for less drag on the trail without any extra resistance against the pedals. Also, if you need to quickly add air back in or if there is some emergency or dramatic trail obstacle, you can reinflate from a stop quickly or even when you are bombing down a trail without having to worry about pedal input.

WhiteCrow-Hub-rendering

Besides just getting lower pressures and the associated improvement in comfort and traction, the White Crow system has other side benefits. The inner air reservoir goes a long way to preventing tubeless burping, and also protects the rim from obstacle impacts and pinch flats. That also means you can ride much thinner (read: lighter) rims on more technical trails. The setup also makes it easier to mount non-tubeless tires and rims tubeless because of the added security.

WhiteCrow-Hub_handlebar-remote

As for the nitty gritty details, the White Crow rear hub is compatible with 170 & 190mm QRs, 177 & 197mm 12m thru-axles, and Boost 148. Both Shimano 10 speed (11 mtn) & SRAM XD bodies are available. The front hub works with 15mm thru-axles only for a variety of spacings. Both hubs are 6-bolt standard, and each use a single White Crow Pressure Command lever (left & right) to adjust pressure. You set the base minimum pressure at the start of a ride, and then can add up to 15 psi more on the go, and move around in that range while you are riding. The act of deflating on the go consumes about 45W, but no resistance while inflating or staying at the same pressure. As for weight the system adds about 150g each wheel vs. typical fat hubs.

WhiteCrow-Hub_winter-fat-gravel

The White Crow air pressure regulation system was developed in Belgium, and is said to be able to stand up to muddy and wet conditions. That’s good, because foul weather is probably where this type of a system would really shine. So what is the state of the White Crow? It is currently in a working prototype stage. Founder and design engineer Xavier Serret is shopping the product to parts suppliers in the industry and hopes to get to market soon.

WhiteCrow-Tech.com

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27 Comments
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Tyler Durden
Tyler Durden
7 years ago

Popcorn time!

Tyler Durden
Tyler Durden
7 years ago
Reply to  Tyler Durden

Though I must say after the first act (actually reading the article), this is better executed than I imagined (not that I endorse or condone the ridiculous notion of pressure adjusting hubs).

boom
boom
7 years ago
Reply to  Tyler Durden

Ha, I can’t wait for all the haters to speak up.
I’ve always wondered why this hasn’t been tried more often though. Many different off-road motorsports platforms already execute this with great success. I’d for sure love to try it out!

VazzedUp
VazzedUp
7 years ago

This would be very useful for urban fat biking, where rides link sections of creeks and greenbelt together via roads. Guessing it would also work for tubeless 29+ and 27.5+ systems.

therealgreenplease
7 years ago

This will probably get a lot of hate but I think it’s a great idea especially with the advent of 27.5+ and 29+. For something like an Xterra where you mostly have well-groomed single track with sporadic sections of mildly technical terrain this could be a huge boon. Keep pressures near max to minimize rolling resistance and then drop down right before those sections.

Mike D
7 years ago

Or, you could, like, not ride a silly plus sized tire in the first place and be good to go for your entire race 😉

David Tollefson
7 years ago

Hum-Vee fatbiking! Love it!

Padrote
Padrote
7 years ago

oh good another button to push to distract from actual bicycle riding

JBikes
JBikes
7 years ago
Reply to  Padrote

SQUIRREL!!!

AlanM
AlanM
7 years ago
Reply to  Padrote

Do you get really confused by shifting?

Tyler Durden
Tyler Durden
7 years ago
Reply to  AlanM

SS4Life!

JBikes
JBikes
7 years ago

This is really nicely done, at least from what the article shows.

Haromania
Haromania
7 years ago

Best new product I’ve seen in a really long time. Nicely dun!!!

captain derp
captain derp
7 years ago

regardless of what people think about the applications, this is a cool piece of engineering.

ChknBreast
ChknBreast
7 years ago

Very well executed, but likely the hubs/system will exceed the price of most complete fatbikes.

JBikes
JBikes
7 years ago

Add a pressure gauge – seems like this would be easy enough. Could even be BT off the stem to a wireless display. Given the desire for this in the first place, it would seem to be a wanted item (especially given the sensitivity of fat tires to pressure)

Also – compressor output, how long does it take to deflate said 15 psi? I know, this is kind of hard to answer given unknown core pressures and tire pressure, but maybe an estimate would be nice if anyone from WhiteCrow is on here and has experience.

Jason Miles
7 years ago

Do they have rideable hubs or is this just a concept? Pictures look a little shopped to me.

1368439846
1368439846
7 years ago

Google PumpHub. A number of years ago someone built the same idea and there’s a video on youtube of it running. Pretty cool.

Drew Diller
7 years ago

So it’s a value-added bead lock?

Sounds great. Would love to test one.

Jimbo
Jimbo
7 years ago

Air-Ride on bikes huh?

ginsu
ginsu
7 years ago

Finally, after ten years of dreaming about this technology, they finally make the bike. I think this would work really great for XC once you get over the added weight and complexity of the system.

Harrison Law
Harrison Law
7 years ago

Pretty neat idea! Way better execution than it’s predecessor, but also more expensive I’m sure. http://www.nakano-iw.co.jp/

Steve
Steve
7 years ago

Not once have I wished I could change pressure mid-ride.

Georg
Georg
7 years ago

Did you watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or did you use the phrase “more nuanced than that” before 😀 ?
EU Eds: Sorry no CW here in Prague, but at 96% Rotten Tomatoes, that might be worth pirating legally downloading…

Cryogenii
Cryogenii
7 years ago

Just one question… If you’re tubeless, how well will this cope with sealant?

Harreson
Harreson
7 years ago

This is perfect when you realize you’ve just let way too much air out your tires and don’t need to stop to reinflate, I’m sure it’s going to cost tons but what an awesome idea, wish I could have it

Ben
Ben
7 years ago

Maybe it uses special sealant, the kind that won’t plug tiny air lines…oh 😉

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