Originally Posted by
mander
It's an "intuitive" word with no technical meaning. People debate the relative "smoothness" of different hubs, some mf in this very thread claimed that loose balls are "smooth" but phils are "smooth" in a different way... but no one can actually say what it means. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that no bfssfger who runs their mouth about this stupid **** has ever looked at a chart comparing friction coefficients (or whatever the actual technical terminology is, I don't understand this stuff either) for different hubs. Let alone what kind of difference that would make on the track or off.
you are right. I have had the blessing to ride both phil hubs (smooooth) and suntour superbe pro hubs(VERY SMOOTH!!!) but yet by me saying this, it means nothing to the outside viewer. I don't care for which is smoother since I don't race regularly (but there is a difference I will say). As long as my hub isn't pitted or grindy I could care less about how
smooth a hub is because at the end of the day they both do their job well.