paul hub dilemma update
 

hey y'all, some of you may remember the issue i was having with my paul hubs. i was breaking the non-drive side locknut. i ended up breaking three of them. i did everthing i could to prevent it, including not torqueing the axle bolt down as tight (i always use a torque wrench when tightening axle nuts), adding chain tensioners, and whatever else i could think of. after the last broken nut (keep your minds out of the gutter), i ended up sending the wheel to paul. he told me that there may be a problem with the threading of the axle. so, he hopefully fixed it. i just got the wheel back yesterday, but havent had an opportunity to ride because its been raining and the spicer doesn't see rain. so, i'm planning on getting it out tommorow. i'll give another update, especially since i know several people on here have been contemplating picking up a set of paul hubs. i hope i just picked up one that had a problem and that its not indicative of a larger problem with the design of the hubs, because everything else about them rules. the bearings are smooth as any i've seen and they look awesome. so we'll see.

Thanks for the update. Paul's are on my consideration list for this Spring for the new wheelset. I love how beefy they are but was concerned about yours (and someone else's I think) similar issues with them.

Hmmm, Promax, IRO or Paul...

Damn, I did not see this message earlier. I ordered mine and they will be here next week. On a related note, for 28 holes, does anyone recommend a 2x instead of 3x lacing?

Spicer is building a paul/deep-v wheel for me right now. you'd think that between paul and spicer, someone would come forward if there were a real problem.

tim

Hey TimArchy - not sure if you mind, but how much does Spicer charge for that? PM if you're uncomfortable or would rather not say. Thanks.

I use Pauls hubs on my singlespeed MTB, so it amazes me you can actually break the bolts on a fixie. I mean, you're not even bunnyhopping or jumping or anything.

Having said that, the Pauls design relies entirely on the surface area of the brass washer and axle to stay in place. If the wheel slips, *kaboom* you'll probably snap the bolt holding the wheel on.

Are the Promax or IRO's even in the same league though, abstnr? Aren't they just badge-engineered hubs from the Orient? Still, I'd recommend the Pauls. I like 'em.

It's great to hear that Paul is a stand up guy when it comes to customer service. Good luck with you nut-cracking problems.

Definitely not - I'm looking at three levels here for hubs come a month or two. Paul's will be on the higher end of things. I saw them in person and was taken in by how beefy they are.

Promax's is sort of a medium price range but truthfully for that price, I'd rather just step up to the Paul's. The IRO/Formulas are tempting because of the price of the complete wheelset and I really do want me some Deep V's.

I considered Dura Ace but I really don't want to muck about with a cup and cone system.

so a quick update on the hub issue. i rode in to work this morning and so far so good. although, i was very gentle with them this morning. i didn't skip stop at all, but i hit a few holes (accidently) and nothing broke. i only torqued the non-drive side down to 18ft lbs, maybe 19. the drive side i went to 20ft. lbs which is what i normally do. i really like the hubs, but i do know that the lock nut on the paul hubs is a bit smaller than on the miches i have on the steamroller and the pro-max hubs i used to run on the spicer. i'm not in the least worried about breaking the axle bolt, as the axle itself and bolt seem to be pretty stout, its just the lock nut that worries me. hopefully whatever paul did it was solved. i haven't been able to get in touch with him to ask what exactly he did to repair the problem. oh, and absntr, gene (spicer) doesn't charge for wheel building if you get the components from him. just another reason to go on about his customer service.

ok, this is the (maybe) last entry i'll post on this thread so it can die. i've ridden the hubs quite a bit since the last time i posted on this. so far, the nut seems to be holding up. i got a message from paul saying that he replaced the axle and nut. according to him, there was something about the previous axle that was not letting the nut seat properly and was putting an unusual amount of stress on it, so thats why it kept breaking. i did notice something weird about the threading when i tried to remove the last broken locknut. i'm still paranoid about breaking the nut, but yesterday i went on a fairly long ride and rode reasonably hard, so..... all in all, i would still recommend the hubs to folks and when i get a camera i'll post some pics of the wheelset. hopefully, by posting all this, i didn't just doom myself to having them explode into a million pieces.