balindamood

Problem:

Have: 1970's Phil Wood 5-speed hub with 120 mm spacing

Need: 1970's Phil Wood hub with 126-mm spacing.

Bounds:

I do not want to cold set the fame to 120mm.

I do not want to buy a new (to me, at least) hub.

Fixable??

x136 

Send an email with pictures to Phil Wood. They can change it for you. If it's old enough to have press-fit axle caps, you might have a hard time changing it yourself.

pastorbobnlnh 

4-5 years ago I had to send my early '70s rear hub to Phil in order to have the spacing changed. The service requires new bearings. The cost was about $75 IIRC.

Chris W.

I have the same problem. The nice folks at Phil Wood said they woul swap out the axle for around thirty bucks, and if the bearings were bad, those would be around twenty.

Cheers,
Chris

miamijim

It's been a long time but if you remove the freewheel with sker holding the tool tight without the special Phil tool the axle may pull out.

LeicaLad 

Send it in. They also have a phone number, so you can call to get the ref # for service. They are exceedingly nice.

You'll be buying a new axle, DO replace the bearings, and then you're set for the rest of your life (with this hub, anyway)!!!

Iowegian

I've done it myself but it wasn't easy as I remember. On my hub there were multiple pieces to the axle and you had to have the right combination of parts for the desired spacing. The engagement of the axle stubs was only about 1/16" IIRC and it was a very tight fit.

If the hub is unlaced I'd send it in. If it's in a wheel you'll probably have to unlace it before sending it in. I think Phil's customer service is one of the great things about their products. They're very helpful.

Shimagnolo

They changed their rules a couple years ago. They will work on a hub in an assembled wheel for a few extra bucks now.

balindamood

Looks like a PIA as I am going to have to unlace the wheel. Merde'

dddd

This is an easy fix actually.

You'll just need a drive-side axle end-cap that's a few millimeters longer, determined by how much added width you want on the driveside.
I would try for the minimum, say 4-5mm longer, based on whether 4mm will give you enough clearance between your chosen freewheel and the frame, since pinching the stays together 1-2mm with the QR is a non-issue.
The availability of various exact end-cap lengths will have to be answered by Phil, after you call or email them with your hub type and existing end-cap details.

I would first remove the freewheel, and MiamiJim is right, you must not create an over-tension force on the QR skewer if your particular freewheel requires holding the tool in place with the skewer.

Remove tension from the QR nut AS SOON AS the freewheel breaks free, or you'll cause the bearings in the old Phil hubs to shift as the freewheel backs off and pulls harder on the skewer.
A Shimano, Sunrace, IRD or later Sachs/Maillard and certain other freewheels have the long spline type engagement and no skewer is ever needed, so no side-force ever pulls on the axle!

To remove the axle end cap, you'll drive it off from the opposite side using an old QR skewer thru the axle and cocked to one side so as to catch on the inside edge of the driveside axle cap.
I would have a hammer ready, but first shield the bearing seal with a couple of washers and foil and then blast the axle end cap with a blow torch for a solid 10-15 seconds before knocking the cap off with the QR skewer and the hammer.
This will minimize the force needed to remove the axle end cap, which will spare the bearings from possibly destructive side forces.

The new cap can then be compressed fully on, using a small bit of blue LocTite, by compressing the axle from both ends and with NO forces through the hubshell or spokes.
I have used a hammer with the opposite end of the axle on a sheet of plywood on the ground, but you might also be able to use the QR skewer for this with a washer on each end of the axle.

Lastly, the wheel will need to be re-dished.

Does any of this sound difficult or time-consuming? Ok, the re-dish SHOULD take a while if you get the tensions nicely equalized, so you might want to apply a mini-drop of light oil to each spoke nipple's threads at this time, to make the dishing job easier later. A drop of WD40 into each rim/nipple junction is also helpful without attracting much dirt later.