"Modern" is a relative term, in time and perhaps locale. I started haunting the upper-end bike shops in Chicago, building up good-bike lust, in my second year of high school, which must have been 1968. The sexy big hubs on 10-speed (2 front 5 rear) bicycles were termed high flange, by the shop staff and the not commonly available sales literature. Bike brands under discussion here are Raleigh, Dawes, Peugeot, Gitane, Mercier, Fiorelli, Cinelli, Atala, Holdsworth, Witcomb (UK), and the odd Herse or Singer. Few Japanese machines were in this market at that time.
This style of hub was largely out of the shops sometime in the late '70s, I think. I regained active interest in bikes in the early '80s, and all hubs visible had the smaller flanges. Lower weight was the argument, and that the "HF is stronger" claim had been refuted. Such at least were the claims coming from the mouths of shop workers.
I well recall the recommendations that 36 spokes was standard for road or city wheels, 32 for lithe and skilled road riders, and anything less should be track only. For top bikes Campy Record hubs were the gold (or Elektron?) standard, with odd anomalies found on French bikes and the few Brits (early Raleigh Competition) that imitated them.
Perhaps this is a US lexical anomaly, relative to the UK. But a term in common use in a large market beginning at least 40 years ago can hardly be called a modern fashion. I do agree that "large" is a better descriptor than is "high." But I wish you luck in changing at elast 40 years of common US lexicon.
Again, this was before Japanese products were common and their quality recognized, at least in Chicago.
On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 5:47 AM, barrie carter <barriemgracer@yahoo.co.uk>wrote:
> Kevin is right, it was largely a fashion. The hubs are called Large Flaange
> and not the modern intepretation, High flange, and were the provence of the
> track and TT rider and only became the Road mans choice after the war.
> I know they were supposed to build a stronger wheel, but I was a sprinter
> and I can tell you it never made an ounce of difference. Track men were
> never seen on small flange hubs and even though Campag were around, Brit and
> most continental track riders used Airlite, which had a slightly higher
> flange, but by the mid 60s this fashion also faded and the trackmen were by
> and large on Campag. I see the fahion is now creeping back with the fixie
> boys and we are now getting a mixture of small and large on the same axle.
> As far as holes go, track men used 28s and road men 32/36 or, as I n my
> case, srinters used 36/40, though I can safely say it didnt make a zits
> diference. I won a hard road race on arough surface in a bunch sprint with
> some mad descents on a pair of 32s once and didnt even know until my wheel
> builder told me after!
> Its all a fsshion. I use large flange Campag on my Sper Corsa, but small on
> the Colnago, they both look good and were all to old to use them to their
> utmost! so use what you want and feel good.
> Incidently. I have a 70s Colnago Sport,211/2 in old money, better condition
> than that one that sold for loads of mullar, any one interested?
> Barrie Carter, Roundham, UK
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> _______________________________________________
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--
Ken Freeman
Ann Arbor, MI USA