1970's Phil Wood Hubset: 36H x 126mm - Stainless Steel 3 Piece - Freewheel (Near Mint)

Extra nicely finished Phil Wood hubs I've ever seen.  The hub centers and axle ends have more of a lightly polished bronze-tinted pewter finish than the more usual brushed/matte grey stainless look.  The finish is deep, lustrous, and highly reflective. These deserve to be the centerpiece of a classic show bike!  

I'm told by the old timers on Classic Rendezvous who worked in the industry (and at Phil Wood!) in the 70's that each hubset's center piece and axle ends were polished together to match, but one set polished may have a different finish than the next.  This one just got a lucky extra bit of polishing!

The timeline of early generation Phil hubs is foggy at best.  We know that the true 1st hubs Phil produced were in 1971 and 1972, and are incredibly rare and flawed.  They had press fit flanges that damaged easily and the bearings weren't very smooth, plus the chrome rusted badly.  They had legit chromed centers, which flared up slightly where they met the flange.  1973 began the true 2nd gen, when they remained 3 piece, gained a more durable finish, and flanges now had an interference fit and aerospace adhesive, plus better bearings. Phil Wood's website states 1978 is when the true 2nd gen was released when the one piece design with SS center sleeve began, but it could be seen as a 3rd gen more so. 

Condition

Near mint or better! The bearings are smooth and grit/play free. Center shell and axle ends are very very clean with minimal wear. The flanges have spoke wear, which is the only real wear to note.  Show bike worthy, and many many miles of riding left.

Details

• 36 hole
• Rear spacing: 126mm