Phil Wood BB -- Is it really worth it?

What makes the over $100 phil wood BB better than a UN-73? Where you can
get a UN72/73 for ~$20 on sale, is it worth it to splurge on the Phil
Wood? Do the Phil Woods have user replaceable bearings?

Thanks,

nc

Lifetime guarantee, and will survive a direct hit by a tactical nuclear
weapon...

wrote:
Lifetime guarantee, and will survive a direct hit by a tactical nuclear
weapon...

Also, the Phil product is available to fit a wide variety of frames and
cranks. I assume this is not equally true of the Shimano BB - maybe
different frames, but I assume only available for a shimano-taper crank.

Mark

Wasatch5k Wrote:
What makes the over $100 phil wood BB better than a UN-73? Where yo
can
get a UN72/73 for ~$20 on sale, is it worth it to splurge on the Phil
Wood? Do the Phil Woods have user replaceable bearings?

Thanks,

nc
Phil Wood will replace the bearings if you send the entire BB back t
them; but not user replaceable. Phil Wood is beautiful to look at, bu
I don't think you will get 5X miles from it.
I used to be a big Phil Wood fan until I had a BB failure mid-tour.
David Ornee, Western Springs, I

--
daveornee

Wasatch5k wrote:
What makes the over $100 phil wood BB better than a UN-73? Where you can
get a UN72/73 for ~$20 on sale, is it worth it to splurge on the Phil
Wood? Do the Phil Woods have user replaceable bearings?

Thanks,

nc

Better bearings and tha ability to replace them make it one of my
favorites. The UN-73, now with integrated right cup, cannot be
converted from ITL to BSC and vice versa.

Wasatch5k wrote:
What makes the over $100 phil wood BB better than a UN-73? Where you can
get a UN72/73 for ~$20 on sale, is it worth it to splurge on the Phil
Wood? Do the Phil Woods have user replaceable bearings?

Thanks,

nc

Plus a zillion different spindle lengths in both tapers, JIS and
ISO..great BB that I have had on my poor wx fixie for two years now.

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2005/feb/chisholm.htm

Wasatch5k wrote:
What makes the over $100 phil wood BB better than a UN-73? Where you can
get a UN72/73 for ~$20 on sale, is it worth it to splurge on the Phil
Wood? Do the Phil Woods have user replaceable bearings?

Thanks,


What makes it better? I've been using one for more than 30 years. How's
that.
Phil Brown

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

Wasatch5k wrote:

What makes the over $100 phil wood BB better than a UN-73? Where you can
get a UN72/73 for ~$20 on sale, is it worth it to splurge on the Phil
Wood? Do the Phil Woods have user replaceable bearings?

Thanks,

nc


Better bearings and tha ability to replace them make it one of my
favorites. The UN-73, now with integrated right cup, cannot be
converted from ITL to BSC and vice versa.

Can you replace the bearings yourself, or do you have to send it back to
Phil Wood? How does the Phil Wood compair to the American Classic that
has USER replacable bearings?

-nc

Wasatch5k wrote:
Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:


Wasatch5k wrote:

What makes the over $100 phil wood BB better than a UN-73? Where you can
get a UN72/73 for ~$20 on sale, is it worth it to splurge on the Phil
Wood? Do the Phil Woods have user replaceable bearings?

Thanks,

nc



Better bearings and tha ability to replace them make it one of my
favorites. The UN-73, now with integrated right cup, cannot be
converted from ITL to BSC and vice versa.

Can you replace the bearings yourself, or do you have to send it back to
Phil Wood? How does the Phil Wood compair to the American Classic that
has USER replacable bearings?

-nc

You need special tools. Rarely, an LBS has them (we do). Or, you get
to live without your bike while your bb is en route to/from PW.

I hear all kinds of stories about Phil Wood components. I have used
them. I have many customers who use(d) them. It seems to me the people
who get all kinds of life out of them either a)don't ride much or b)
don't ride much in bad weather (I'm sure to get flamed here). My first
experience with a PW bb lasted a couple years and the thing ****ed away
(That's about the life I see out of UN-7x's, frankly). That's before I
learned I could service the cart. bearings. Nonetheless, it seems the
average user gets a couple years out of the bb bearings and they have to
be replaced. The neat thing about this is that the bearings and
replacement cost more than a new UN-7x
(http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.aspx?PART_NUM_SUB='1797-01' -
that's $40 worth of bearings plus the labor!). Even funnier is that,
from my personal experience as well as many years in the bike shop, a
Shimano UN-xx bottom bracket lasts as long as the bearings in PW bb.

You must rely on loc-tite to keep PW bb's in place because, if you
torque them enough to keep them from loosening, the bearings bind and
fail quickly. THIS does not sound like an intelligent design, to me.

Also, you have to be skeptical of anyone who markets "waterproof"
grease, and claims their air dam seals keep water out. A very wet ride
proved that to me when I dumped the water out of my "sealed" hubs, and
found rusty grease in my bearings on both bb and hubs.

Their only saving grace, IMHO, is that they offer a wonderful range of
spindle lengths/configurations for obsolete cranks, and also threaded
hubs for those wanting to keep that 120mm spaced frame alive.

Are you willing to pay for polished bottom bracket? I wonder how much
that adds to the cost ....

So, while I have nothing against PW products, I also have nothing for
them, as long as low-cost, equivalent durability alternatives exist.

Robin Hubert

Wasatch5k wrote:

What makes the over $100 phil wood BB better than a UN-73? Where you can
get a UN72/73 for ~$20 on sale, is it worth it to splurge on the Phil
Wood? Do the Phil Woods have user replaceable bearings?

Also consider a TA Axix for about 1/3 the price, if you have ISO cranks.
It is very lightweight, high quality and has user-replaceable
cartridge bearings which are easy to get to. The alloy used for the
lockring is a bit soft if you don't have the exact TA fitting tool, so I
used an old steel Shimano lockring (I have the right 6-dog tool from the
old days). The cups go in with a modern Shimano cartridge BB splined tool.

There is no internal sleeve with the Axix so you should have a drain
hole in the bottom of the BB shell. A Ti axle version is available if
you are svelte and rich.