Single Speed Wheels

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Permalink Reply by usrnull on January 5, 2009 at 9:42am

I run the following:
mavic cxp 33 rims (stiff, not superlight)
db spokes (strong)
36h phil wood hubs (not superlight, damn near indestructible)

Definitely bomb-proof (I take them mountain biking, dropping 1 foot hucks without any worries, though my forks have crapped out before the wheels needed truing).
Definitely not uber-light, but they're not too bad. With 36 spokes, they were built for strength.

I would not go with a flipflop. When I ran one, I rarely flipped it...you may as well just swap it out (especially since you should do this every so often anyway, to keep it from freezing on there).

I am a big fan of Phil wood hubs. I use (abuse?) the crap out of mine (cx racing, winter/snow/salt commuter, rainy day commuter/trainer the rest of the year). New bearings are $11 when you finally need them, but the number one reason is this: my hubs are 13 years old (only about half that time in heavy use) but the last time I tried to replace the bearings, the shop couldn't disassemble the axle body properly. They sent it back to Phil, and they also had problems with it. They ended up replacing everything but the shell for $42 (it would have been $150 for a new hub). I like companies that stand behind their stuff, even when their stuff is ancient and ridden hard.

High flange might be a little heavier, but they mean shorter spokes = less likely to break. I've never broken any personally on this setup, and I true them about once a year, if that.

Regarding track hubs...it depends. The bearings tell the tale. If they are properly sealed, you should be fine, but I've heard about some high-end Dura-Ace track hubs that shouldn't even be ridden in the rain, as you can practically see the bearings from the outside. If the axle looks like it's thinner than a pencil, it might make me think twice about bombing on it.

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