Phil Wood Hubs
Richard Ney Jr.
I recently bought a wheelset built up with new Phil Wood sealed hubs.
The rear hub holds a freewheel, it's not a freehub.
Does anyone have experience with these hubs, and if so can you give me
some indication of time between overhaul
Thank you in advance for any insight...
--
Richard Ney Jr. <rt...@sprintmail.com>
Sharon & Garry
You will probably need to replace the bearings in these
hubs about every 10K miles. So why not avoid the
hassle and just send them to me...
Garry
THolland63
Richard Ney Jr. wrote:
> I recently bought a wheelset built up with new
> Phil Wood sealed hubs . . . Does anyone have
> experience with these hubs.
Congrats. These are some of the best hubs ever made. Service should be a
non-issue. The only troule I've had is when a ham-handed mechanic bent the
axle trying to liberate a freewheel -- but Phil & Co. repaced it no charge.
However, this wasn't entirely the mechanic's fault. Phil hubs hold a
screw-on freewheel tenaciously. Replacing the one on my tandem (40h Phils)
is always an adventure. So, pull that freewheel off while you still can
and give the threads a *very* liberal coat of anti-sieze.
TRH
THoll...@A0L.com (change A0L to AOL)
Jeff Orum
THolland63 (tholl...@aol.com) wrote:
> However, this wasn't entirely the mechanic's fault. Phil hubs hold a
> screw-on freewheel tenaciously. Replacing the one on my tandem (40h Phils)
> is always an adventure. So, pull that freewheel off while you still can
> and give the threads a *very* liberal coat of anti-sieze.
And be sure to use the metal cup that Phil supplies on the left hand side
of the hub so you don't press the bearing out when you remove the
freewheel.
Chris Neary
"Richard Ney Jr." <cyc...@nomail.com> wrote:
>I recently bought a wheelset built up with new Phil Wood sealed hubs.
>The rear hub holds a freewheel, it's not a freehub.
>
>Does anyone have experience with these hubs, and if so can you give me
>some indication of time between overhaul
>
Great hubs!
A story:
My wheelbuilder built me a 20 spoke radially laced front wheel using
somebody else's hub. Within a couple of months I had pulled a spoke
through the flange.
He rebuilt the wheel using the same make hub. Same result.
I told him to fix the problem or build me a less aggressive wheel. His
reply: "We'll use a Phil Wood this time. If you break it, you'll break
anything."
I'm still riding that same hub four years later.
I replaced the bearings after about 8000 miles. I may go for a longer
interval this time.
Good riding to you,
Chris Neary
dia...@aimnet.com
"It doesn't get any easier - you just go faster" - Greg Lemond
David Suryan
"Richard Ney Jr." <cyc...@nomail.com> wrote:
>I recently bought a wheelset built up with new Phil Wood sealed hubs.
>The rear hub holds a freewheel, it's not a freehub.
>
>Does anyone have experience with these hubs, and if so can you give me
>some indication of time between overhaul
I'd like to point out some of the strengths and weaknesses of Phil Wood hubs
based on my own experience and experience of cycling friends that have used
them.
Phil Wood hubs are virtually bomb proof except for the bearings. The hub
body and axle rarely fail because of the sturdy design. I do know of one
instance where a flange separated from the shell. This hub was used on
a tandem. Phil's guarantee is good and the hub was replaced.
The bearings are another matter. Phil uses the standard contact seal
cartridge bearing. These are the same bearings used from electric motors
to various bicycle components. As has been mentioned before in this forum,
these bearings are designed to keep out air bourne contaminants, not water.
Lacking any other water barrier these bearings become contaminated with
water and die when used in wet conditions. Here in the Pacific northwest
we have plenty of wet weather and the only folks I know of that haven't
replaced their Phil bearings don't ride in the rain. Several testimonials
have appeared in this forum on Phil hubs durability and resistance to weather
induced failure. This is counter to my experience and water borne
contamination can be expected since the design does not include further water
barriers beyond the seal that is part of the cartridge bearing.
It's interesting to note that Phil made a significant design change in
their hubs around 1992. This made it possible to replace the bearings
with just a couple allen wrenches. Before that they had to be sent to
the factory for bearing replacement. I've not seen any wear out but I've
seen many die from rust.
Fortunately the bearings are easy to replace otherwise I probably would
have replaced my Phil Wood hubs.