Originally Posted by
mihlbach
In response to this post and several others above that mention perforamace and speed, its worth clarifying that while Phils are indeed nice hubs, they are heavy and the seals produce drag. They aren't really designed to be high performance racing hubs.
Very good point. In the day they were the preferred hub for road tandems and rando touring bikes. They were one of the very few sealed hubs available at the time and were very stout. I have several sets of wheels with them that are over 30 years old with the original bearings. It is possible to detach the outer seals and regrease the bearings. I also have Phil BBs in several of my vintage rides. As to the folks that speak of performance, the best performance (low rolling resistance) is obtained from high quality adjustable open loose bearing hubs and low viscosity grease or oil.