In a message dated 10/24/03 12:24:52 PM Pacific Daylight Time, heine93@earthlink.net writes:
> Has anybody ever had a Phil move sideways? It happened on two Jack
> Taylor tandems (both within CR timeline!), rear BB. We noticed the
> right-side chainrings were grinding on the chainstay, grinding hard!
> In both cases, the lockrings were VERY tight, but not glued in with
> Locktite. Same BB, both times, swapped from one bike to other. BSC
> thread. Drivetrain is standard: from the offending BB, the right
> crank has a chain to the rear wheel, left crank chain to front
> cranks. It happened within 500 miles of installation.
>
> Is it a Phil thing, or a Taylor thing? I replaced the BB with a
> Ritchey (fixed cup), and no more problems. But I'd like to reuse the
> Phil, so I want to figure out what happened...
>
Something to bear in mind about Phil axles: They used to break with
regularity, I asked him about this at a trade show and his reply was "I'm almost all
the way through that material, after it's gone, there won't be any more breakage
because I now have better stuff". That's not an exact quote, but it IS the
gist. He had the same attitude about his collapsing hub flanges. He made them
wrong, did not recall them, and if you survived the crash, he'd give you a new
one. I realize he is no longer associated with the company, but this very early
and despicable association regarding quality (or lack of it) and the lives of
the people using it lives on. The only Phil Wood thing I will use is his
excellent spoke threader. I will not TOUCH a hub or bottom bracket without clear
memory of life threatening breakage that was common in the early days. Ask
yourself, how do you know you do not have an early axle prone to breakage?
A well regarded frame builder known to the list, knew someone whose (Campy)
crank broke while climbing a hill. He fell under the wheels of a car and was
killed. Parts that break are potentially deadly. I was appalled and disgusted by
Phil's attitude and regret that his parts are held in such apparent high
esteem by people who apparently don't know the past history of his parts. Caveat
Emptor. There are all kinds of better vintage parts available if you are
willing to search: Edco, OMAS, Stronglight, etc.
Stevan Thomas
Alameda, CA