jjames1452 

I am considering upgrading the wheels on my '85 Voyageur. This is a pre-ride picture, so I did adjust the seat. Up for consideration is a wheel set featuring Phil Woods hubs laced to Mavic Open Pro wheels. I need the hubs to make this a reality. I have seen an entire wheel set with Phil Woods hubs go for a little over $200 on this forum. eBay has the hubs for $425 NOS. What is a fair price range to pay for just the hub set, NOS or used?

wrk101

Used, $150 to $250 for the hubs, NOS, $400 +/- (for vintage NOS). Of course, you could always find a better deal, but properly marketed, they are bringing that kind of $$.

Search completed auctions on ebay.

Miamijim's deal on this forum is a good one!

jjames1452 

Wow - so the NOS stock price is not out of the ordinary.
Do they make a difference in long touring?

wrk101

NOS are the most over-rated items on ebay IMHO. Unless you plan to put them in a display case, as soon as you mount them, they are no longer NOS. So you take a 50% haircut in value. Myself, my theory is that I am putting parts on a used vintage bike, so why wouldn't I buy used parts to install on them? Most vintage bikes got very little use, so a used part is often very lightly used. And a lot of NOS items on ebay are not NOS anyway, its a grossly overused term.

Often, the best deals on high end parts are when you buy a complete bike. I bought a 1981 Schwinn Super Sport (a touring model), came complete with Phil Woods wheelset (not original), plus a lot of original parts: Cyclone GT generation 1 derailleurs, alloy racks, on and on. Bike sat on C/L for over a week, so its not like I scooped it up in five nanoseconds.

PW used standard sized bearings, that are readily available on ebay. Search by bearing number, and not PW as the same bearings are for sale for about 1/10th the cost when you don't mention Phil Woods in the title.

zukahn1 

While very nice hubs the PW hubs are still pretty basic hubs. For riding purposes they are way overpriced.

FastJake

There are two things I would consider that could "make a difference" for hubs in long distance touring. Performance/weight and durability. Performance/weight: no. If anything they are heavier than many other hubs. Durability? I'm also going with no. Sure they may last you 100 years instead of the 30 years you might get out of a well maintained Shimano hub but does that really matter on tour? I repack most of my loose ball Shimano hubs about once a year. If you're going on a longer tour than that, maybe a cartridge bearing Phil hub is a better choice. But Shimano cassette freehubs are also bombproof and not obscenely overpriced (my opinion.)

jjames1452 

Thank you all.

I truly appreciate the advice and help I get from this forum.

I am going to try my first set on a 1985 Voyageur. I weigh a little over 200 lbs. When loaded with myself and gear, the bike is carrying a bunch of weight. Miamijim's wheels look up to the task of carrying weight over long distances.