I love my shimano 600 front hub. It spins so smooth even after a hard winter and no maintenance. And it's loose ball.

...as opposed to a 50mph descent on a road bike front wheel, during which the sporadic application of the front brake could produce only a fraction of the force of tehz' 130 pounds leaning over the handlebars of a fixed wheel bicycle. yep, i get it...

okay, so maybe i'll go with the rebuilding up of the hub, should i go with a front open pro?

fine. you win.
can i say english isn't my first language?
open pros or cxp 33's will serve you fine.
you may like the 33's better cause they are also high-profile(aero) rims & a bit cheaper.
Open pros are box section and a bit lighter; though but not as stiff as the 33's. if that matters to you.

Stress marks at the spoke holes = don't use that rim anymore. Don't listen to sr20det.

Just how many points might this get someone... I mean... I'm asking for a friend...

I rode my bike to alameda the other day...my bike, which is all boss and stuff. I went to Albertsons, cause they got a coinstar and I had to cash in. By the by, I rode through the posey tube, which, if you are in the know, is some *****. I lock my bike up, yes my bike, outside, being careful not to scratch my toptube and the likes. Did I mention my bike? It's got a front wheel. As I am locking, I look up and see this dude going absolutely efffing crazy on a unicycle. Absolutely crazy. He was holding the seat, which made me think maybe he had a brake, which made me think, yeah, I could probably dis him for that. But I didn't want to. Absolutely crazy on a unicycle. And the wheel was real big. Huge.

cool?

It's a metal cuff that tightens down with a flathead screwdriver (the kind you might use to attach a rubber hose to a faucet or pipe - hence the name). You can get one at your local hardware store for under a buck. You put on the wheel, close the QR hub so it's nice and tight and the lever is right next to one arm of your fork, then put the clamp around the fork and the lever and tighten it down, so that anyone wishing to steal your wheel will need a flathead screwdriver and a couple extra minutes.

For god's sake, I know what a hose clamp is. A dime works great. Most people carry dimes.

I thought you were just paranoid the lever'd fail. Tie wraps or etape for that.

Back to your regularly scheduled important fixed front wheel thread...........

So I'm gonna order a new set of Phil hubs because the ones I have aren't pink enough, should I get the front fixed-fixed or fixed-free?

Ya, the locknuts (or whatever they're called) loosened up quite a bit on it's own,
and the hub all but seized after a while. Required a complete overhaul,
but I think pretty much any hub would need tending to after a Chicago
fall and winter. And I crash sometimes....

Phil Wood makes a bearing that fits the Surlys (the instruction sheet that comes with your Surly hubs will give you the proper part #, call Phil Wood with that and they'll direct you to the proper equivalent); swapping them out does make a noticeable difference. Just make sure to press 'em in straight.

turns out building my shimano hub up with an open pro, after labor and spokes, would cost more than just ordering the surly/open pro. so i guess i'll be going with the order.. i'm not brave enough to build my own wheels

Get a working wheel, don't worry about it matching (except for aesthetics).
And don't blow your wad on a track front, any road wheel will do, it is just a matter of what quality you want, and how much you want to spend. I commuted for nine months and did a mess of alleycats on a 35 dollar no-name replacement road wheel. No worries.

way