Originally Posted by wroomwroomoops

I have Phil hubs, front and rear. I have laced many wheels till now, and disassembled most hub models I came across (save for hubs with internal gearing/planetary gears).

I will agree with those that say they are ugly. They are also expensive. however, there are other, much more over-priced hubs, that don't actually justify the price, such as some of the DT Swiss and White Industries (White Industries hubs are not all that expensive, but they are very low quality, when you look at them carefully and from the inside - Surly are MUCH better, for the same price).

So, what makes Phil hubs special is three things: precise machining with very strict tolerances (White Industries fails at this miserably), excellent quality bearings (sure, you can buy these for your hub, but really good quality cassette bearings cost more than you imagine), and finally, shell material. To have a shell made of a strong aluminum alloy means more durable flanges (extremely important, IMHO) and threads. But machining a hub shell from such material means more wear on the tools.

I am not sure that the average cyclist needs this level of quality, and most of my hubs are Shimano, and I am very satisfied with them. But I acknowledge the quality of Phil hubs, and do see where the money goes, in their case. Some DT Wwiss hubs, while also of excellent quality, are about twice or thrice as expensive as they should be.