Originally Posted by seely
My guess is therein lies the answer. I absolutely cannot believe any hub, even a Suzue Jr., could just magically strip out after 3 miles. Two things I've learned are: mechanics make mistakes no matter how long they've been around, and people try to "fix" their own bikes even if they have no mechanical skills. Regardless, its still one isolated incident... I've called Surly about 100x over the past 5 years and usually get a live person on the 2nd ring. I'd honestly say their customer service is 2nd to none, and would probably say the same for their hubs. My point is, with all the Surly hubs that have been put into use over the past decade, how many have you heard stripped out? I can't think of a single one. Which to me says this case reeks of an error either on the users part or the builder's part, or an isolated one time incident. I can understand Surly's skepticism.
The person acknowledges the his lack of mechanical skills, and leaves it to the owner of the shop, hell I've even made repairs to his bike after his chain snapped a few weeks ago. The owner does know what he is doing. It really isn't a big concern, because this guy is a psycho on the bike, produces an insane amount of torque, and is the only person who has managed to make me suffer like a dog in order to keep pace or keep in front.
It really didn't make my mind up either, was just set on a phil wood hub in the first place.