Phil Wood Hubs

It's no secret that there's a proliferation of fixed gear bicycles riddling the streets of this city of ours. The idea of a track bike has been romanticized and idealized as a lifestyle choice and accessory to the urban dweller. It's true, it's simplicity in design and functionality is appealing for those of us in this world who have little mechanical inclination. Even if the ability to fix things is a skill one has but the desire to do so is lacking then a fixed gear bike has appeal. Yes, there are no gears to adjust, and if run without brakes then it's of little relevance if rims run dead straight and one certainly won't wear out their brake shoes or rims. It would seem almost too good to be true that a bike exists of such purity and lacking in frivolous adornments and mechanical bobbles that only weigh down the heart and soul (and pocket books) of its rider. But once one has regressed to the purest form of the bicycle the next logical step seems to be to personalize the machine to reflect the characteristics and charisma of its owner. And so we see many a treasured and rare item find its way on to these track bikes, beautiful items like Sugino SuperMighty cranksets, or "Sherrif's star" Campagnolo hubs. It's the latter phenomenon I would like to address.

While the aesthetic appeal of track specific or NJS items is too subjective to argue (though I really am left wondering why quill stems have so much appeal in today's market) I can say this, it makes little if any practical sense to run old school DuraAce and Campagnolo track hubs on your city bike. I'm a sucker for aesthetics, it's true, and I am way too easily distracted by shiny things. I have a NOS Campagnolo rear Sherrif's star track hub that's never been built in my collection of "stuff" and it really is a beautiful thing, but it will never see the road. Why? Because it doesn't have any seals. Neither do those really cool high flange Dura Ace hubs with the blue inlays and the old font DuraAce written on them. Shimano includes little plastic rings with their hubs that they call seals but they aren't seals in the traditional sense. Track hubs are designed to be ridden on, well, this may sound dumb, on the track. Most tracks are indoors, safe from water, dirt, etc and even outdoor tracks of which there are plenty won't get used if it's raining or if there's any debris on the running surface it is quickly swept away for reasons of safety. To ensure their products run as smoothly and as quickly as possible at the upper levels of competition Shimano and Campagnolo have removed the drag inducing seals that are so necessary on their road worthy hubs.

This is where our good friend Phil Wood comes in. Phil is friends with Paul of Paul Components and there are a couple of people that both Phil and Paul know from the Orient who are all experienced travelers of the roads. They come in proper dress for rain and dust and dirt and hair and bird droppings and whatever else they meet along their respective journeys and by this I mean their precious lubricated parts are hidden behind tight and effective seals. The Phil Wood hub in the picture above, well, that's just about the sweetest thing you'll ever see when it comes to road worthy hubs. It's not quite as beautiful as the Campagnolo hub but it's getting pretty close with its elegant SLR cutouts (that save a whole 14grams!!!) that are reminiscent of the older Campagnolo hubs with similarly relieved high flanges.

It makes sense if you're going to invest in a track bike for its simplistic mechanical attributes that you get the hubs that are equally spirited. And please, even if the Bush administration is vague on its interrogation techniques, exposing classic track hubs to water is indeed a form of torturing them.