I've never heard of anyone having problems with a Phil Wood BB. On the contrary, what one usually hears is accounts of people riding the same Phil BB for decades. A couple of years ago I bought a Teledyne Titan from a friend of a list member. It had been set up for commuting/light touring with a TA Cyclotourist triple and Phil hubs and BB. The hubs and everything else on the bike looked to be 70's era, probably original, and I suspect the BB was also. The hubs had a bit of rust on the barrels , but worked perfectly, as did the BB. I replaced the BB with a shorter Phil and the Cyclotourist with a double Sugino, but I think the original BB would have gone another couple of decades - it may yet on another bike.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> In the early '80s, I tried the sealed OMAS bottom brackets--two of them.
> Both suffered premature failure after a little over a season, due to water
> penetration, with the bearings freezing solid. Even though I had
liberally
> greased the aluminum cups, I had a bear of a time getting them out, as
> galvanic reaction had practically welded them into the frame. I still
have
> both trashed BBs in my junk archives.
>
> I also had a bad experience with an Edco BB. I was doing my 20 mile ride
> home from work and noticed something odd in the cranks. Ten miles later,
> the bearings on one side had broken up and were completely gone. I've
seen
> standard BBs go hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles all pitted up, but
> still turning. I decided then and there to never use sealed mechanisms on
a
> tour (kind of like why you should not use rechargable batteries in the
> flashlight you keep in the car). You want parts that can get you back to
> civilization. Phil Wood stuff has such an excellent reputation, I would
> consider it an exception, unless someone out there has any
> failed-Wood-on-the-road hard luck stories to share.
>
> Steve Barner, who did a century around the north end of Lake Champlain
> yesterday on his NR/SR Marinoni, and feels pretty good today. Bolton,
> Vermont
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> > Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2003 13:24:14 -0500
> > From: "jerrymoos" <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
> > To: "Eric Elman" <tr4play@cox.net>, <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> > Subject: Re: [CR]OMAS??
> >
> > OMAS made some really "trick" stuff in the early 80's. They were a
> > specialist in Ti before it became common. They were rumored to have
made
> > stuff for Campy. All the OMAS stuff I have seen was absolutely top
> quality.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Jerry Moos
> > Houston, TX
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Eric Elman" <tr4play@cox.net>
> > To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> > Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2003 5:21 AM
> > Subject: [CR]OMAS??
> >
> >
> > > I've recently purchased (2) NOS OMAS BB's from the 1970's. One has
the
> Ti
> > > spindle and other has a steel spindle. I'd like to hear comments from
> > those
> > > of you with experience about the quality of the Ti varient. Durable,
> > flexy,
> > > great, problems??? I'm planning on using it on my Raleigh Team Pro in
> > place
> > > of the worn original Campagnolo SR Ti BB which I have had no luck
> > locating.
> > >
> > > Also, of the two OMAS BB's I purchased, they came with only one set of
> > cups.
> > > Anyone out there have a set of OMAS cups & lockrings in English
threads
> > that
> > > I could buy or trade for?
> > >
> > > Thanks in advance,
> > >
> > > Eric Elman
> > > Somers, CT