Rich at Rivendell here. I'm a little concerned about over-generalizing on this thread, from anecdotal information or personal experience. I don't know of any general weaknesses in current Phil, WI, or Shimano hubs. It's important, I think, to be careful, especially about negative feedback regarding the quality of an item.
Current Phil hubs use a 5-double pawl system, are all 11-speed compatible, have more bearings (5) than you'll ever need, a stainless steel freehub body, and the (still) legendary Phil axle. Simply put, it's the toughest (and heaviest) hub out there. Yes, freewheeling is a bit stiff. So? White Industries MI5 hubs are much lighter, cost $100 less, have a tubular-steel axle, and the (also) legendary White Industries adjustment system. Titanium freehub body, 4-pawl system, 11-speed compatible. Also a bunch of bearings. Maybe not as tough as Phil, but easily plenty tough for touring. Chris King classic hubs are cool. I especially like that the drive mechanism is in the middle of the hub body. Yes, they're slightly "over-engineered," and they sound like a swarm of bees following you when you ride. But when they're well-maintained, they work great, and go on and on. I'd recommend the steel freehub driver, though, as the aluminum notches easily. Oh, and they're the most expensive of the lot. Ah, Shimano. Lots of people love to hate Shimano. But, let's be honest. They make great stuff for bikes. The steel-axle (10mm) models (older XT, LX) are all gone except for Deore. A good solid hub. But I have to admit after working on, and examining, the current XT model (780), I find little, if anything, to criticize. I like loose-ball bearing hubs anyway, and these are those. I'd thought the alloy axle and steel end-caps would be a no-go, but not so. They work quite well. I believe Shimano has researched and re-worked the XT freehub body, it's toughened up, and hardened steel. I've put lots of those hubs out on the road, and only a few have come back for any repairs. So let's cool down, OK? On Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at 8:38:28 AM UTC-7, Birdman wrote: > > So it turns out that while I wait for my Atlantis frame, I get to have > lots of fun drafting up my dream build before the cold, hard reality sets > in 3-4 months from now. > > Lately I've been thinking about a wheel set. I'm a big guy at 250lbs and > will be riding on pavement, gravel, and dirt roads on short tours with > front and rear racks, basket, panniers, etc. The latest plan is to run 50mm > Marathon Duremes. > > I have a 36h wide body SON hub for the front and Rich has recommended > Atlas rims. As for the rear cassette hub, which would you recommend if > money were no object (it is, but this a dream build): > > White Industries MI5 > > or > > Phil Wood Touring? > > Isaac > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
