Re: Phil Hubs, was Re: [CR]Let's BADLY assemble an Alex Singer - now 1975

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Avocet)

From: <hersefan@comcast.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: Re: Phil Hubs, was Re: [CR]Let's BADLY assemble an Alex Singer - now 1975
Date: Mon, 06 Jun 2005 03:21:33 +0000


I appreciate Harvey's kind words. I probably was too harsh on Phil Hubs - I sold them for a number of years and actually think they are quite nice. But the early ones were not as I recall easy to service (and hub flanges did seperate but they worked that problem out).

It is more an issue that although Phil Hubs are quite good, they could have been much better. While folks may report many years of service on Phil hubs, some folks have reported four or five decades of service on the MaxiCar hubs. And MaxiCar hubs when adjusted properly simply don't have side play. I've taken bikes from the 50's and 60's and although I don't know if they've been serviced, they work amazingly well. The way MaxiCar hubs are protected is quite amazing, it is really three layers of protection. Plus, the annual bearing just makes more sense. If a typical cartridge bearing fails, it can be quite nasty. But the MaxiCar bearing offers all the protection of sealed, yet is fully servicable. Since the bearings in the MaxiCar hubs are better, I don't understand why Phil didn't adopt them. It may have been a cost issue and Phil Wood didn't think the advantage was significant enough. Given that Singer was such a user of MaxiCar hubs, I think it would have been nice if more of the bikes making it to the US had used them.

Mike Kone in Boulder CO


-------------- Original message --------------


> I'm indebted to Mike Kone for all that I've learned from him, and some nice

\r?\n> things I 've bought from him, but I still must differ with him in one small

\r?\n> matter.

\r?\n> Mike wrote :

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Arrgghhhh.......

\r?\n>

\r?\n> No mention of MaxiCar - or course not, since Spence was such a Phil Wood Fan.

\r?\n> But MaxiCar was so much better! A quick inspection of a MaxiCar hub shows that

\r?\n> Phil Wood made a silly choice for bearings. There was no need for enthusiasts

\r?\n> to put up with the silly wobble at the rim caused by the Phil bearings inability

\r?\n> to support a side load.

\r?\n> +++++++++++++++++++

\r?\n> I've never owned or opened a MaxiCar hub, but they look just beautiful, and I'm

\r?\n> sure they work as well. But, I don't understand the complaints about Phil hubs.

\r?\n> I've got 'em on the tandem (48 hole), had 'em on a triplet (48 hole), and have

\r?\n> used them on a number of bikes. I have barely perceptible play on one of the

\r?\n> three hubs I just checked, none on the others. The bearings are conventional

\r?\n> symmetric cartridge units, which are not designed for high axial loads, but bike

\r?\n> wheels generally don't see high axial loads. Now, I can imagine a couple of

\r?\n> ways to get a bunch of side play on a Phil. (1) riding a worn-out bearing. If

\r?\n> one side goes, it will still get side play; doesn't take both. (2) Bad

\r?\n> installation: easy to damage the bearing by pushing on the wrong part.

\r?\n> Otherwise, mine have been pretty bullet-proof for decades.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> your mileage may vary.

\r?\n> harvey sachs

\r?\n> mcLean va