If you lock your fixed gear in a place where some wicked cat might cut through your frame to steal a set of sweet Phil Wood track hubs, the Wheelgirl Online store now has 32-hole Formula sealed-bearing cartridge flip /flop track hubs in powder-coated colors. Formula hubs are not Phils, but they do have sealed bearings, and a set of of the high-flange flip/flop track hubs with 15mm track nuts costs $100 including shipping. They come in red, white, blue, or yellow. The advantages are that you won't be forced to eat ramen noodle soup for a month to pay off your wheelset, and you won't have to keep saying to your friends, "One minute. I'll catch up to you, I just want to make sure nobody has cut my Phil Woods off my bike." They are not Phils, but sometimes in the city, you need to have a wheel set and a bike that is not thief candy.
In my experience, Formula track hubs get the job done at a very reasonable price. You can use the same wheel set to run a fixed cog or a single-speed freewheel. So, you have some flexibility. The powder-coated finish looks pretty nice, and if they get crunchy, you can change pop in new bearing cartridges. If you are interested in a buttery smooth, strong, hand-built wheel set, email us and let us know your riding wants and needs. Decent fixed gear wheel sets range from about $260 to get you where you need to go all the way up to about $800 for a supremely strong and high-performing long-lasting set of hoops that laugh aloud at the punishment dished out by the urban landscape.
Photos by Wheelgirl. (The red looks great in the sunlight.)
