addi61

I am trying to decide on hubs for a new track build. Looking at Phil High Flange or Profile Racing track hubs. I did a little searching and didn't find much recent info on the Profile hubs. Anyone out there been riding them for a while, what do you think?

Luckily I have a couple buddies with wheels using both of these hubs so I was able to borrow them for an afternoon to check the chainline each would give on my bike. The Profile is really spot on and the Phil is about 1.5mm off, both checked with the same EAI cog. Should I take the 1.5mm chainline difference into consideration or is it too small to affect wear and chain noise?

Before you tell me to ask my buddy about the Profile hubs, he has only had them for a couple weeks so all he knows is they spin well right now. I know the Phils will last.

What would you choose prices being pretty similar?

Thanks

50voltphantom

1.5mm is nothing to lose sleep over. I can't speak to Profile hubs specifically (I've owned their cranks), but they have been making race-quality parts for nearly as long as Phil.

One upside to Phil hubs is the stainless hardware vs crmo on the Profiles, which is nice if corrosion is a concern.

One upside to Profile hubs is that changing spacing from 120 to 130mm, for example, costs less than half as much ($30) as it does for the Phil hubs ($90).

Scrodzilla

You should not.

addi61

Thanks Scrod. Is chain noise more a function of chain and cog interface than the chainline being a little off?

Any reason you don't carry Profile hubs?

addi61

I didn't realize all the Phil hardware was stainless, good to know since I live near the coast. I don't see a situation where I would want to run these wheels on anything other than a bike with 120mm spacing but thanks, I hadn't considered that cost either.

50voltphantom

There may come a day where SSCX sounds really cool, and suddenly 130mm is on the table. Great hubs no matter which way you end up going.

To complicate matters further, you can upgrade to Ti hardware on the Profiles fairly inexpensively.....

Scrodzilla

Chain noise is based on a lot of variables and chainline is actually the least likely source. Worn parts, new parts, worn chain on old cog, chain tension and even frame material can be to blame. Aluminum tends to resonate the noise a lot more than steel.

I've had two bikes at the same time - one steel and one aluminum - with the exact same drivetrain setup (Sugino 75 chainring, Izumi Super Toughness chain, EAI cog) and the aluminum bike was noisy where the steel one was dead silent.

We don't stock Profile track hubs because every time we would try to place an order they were never in stock, so we eventually stopped trying.

addi61

Oh man, there goes that argument haha.

addi61

Good to know. If you had to choose one of these hubs for yourself, price and availability being equal, which would you go with.

As a side note, the end caps and washers on the front Phil hub look really small. Have you ever seen and issue with them digging into or damaging a fork with carbon dropouts?

Scrodzilla

I have Phil's on my bike.

Nope.