I believe Mel Pinto imported the Maxicar hubs in the old days. Gene Portuesi
also listed them in his catalog. I don't know why they were never more
popular. They were definitely one of the smoother and prettier hubs out
there. They were more expensive than Phil as I recall, and not as available,
so that may explain it. Another interesting story (I've got a million of
them!): I was riding through the Lakes District of England in 1982 and came
upon a couple with a Jack Taylor tandem. They had Maxicar hubs and were
heading back to the steep passes of the L.D. because the last time they tried
to ride there, they spun the freewheel threads right off the hub! They were
going back to see if they could do it again. I suppose it is possible they
had an English freewheel on a French threaded hub, but if they got it from
the Taylors you would think it was English. We rode over Hardknot and
Wrynose passes that were both listed at 1 in 3 (33%) with our Phil Wood
(pre-cast flange) hubs and had no problem, but we were only riding
moderately-loaded singles.
.
Bob Freeman
> In any event, it is remarkable that it took Phil Wood decades to get to
> where Maxicar was in the 1940's. One reason that Maxicar is so rare in
> this country is perhaps related to Spence Wolfs relationship to Phil Wood.
> Spence Wolf was perhaps the most visible importer of top tier french
> goodies (i.e Alex Singer bikes) yet he had strong ties to Phil Wood. Had
> Wolf actively imported Maxicar products and not encouraged Phil Wood,
> perhaps Maxicar would have become much more popular.
>
> Any thoughts from folks who know more about this than myself? Thanks, Mike
> Kone