Phil Wood Pro Front Centerlock Disc Hub
The Phil Wood Pro is the top of Phil Wood's range: the same San Jose, California machining and full-contact sealed bearings as every Phil hub, with Carbonyte low-drag bearings, a 7075 aluminum axle and end caps, titanium bolts and RLR multi-drilled flanges that let one hub be built in several spoke counts. It comes in road rim-brake, 6-bolt disc and centerlock disc versions, and it is the Phil Wood hub for riders who want the durability without the touring hub's weight. This page covers the Phil Wood Pro Front Centerlock Disc Hub.
The Phil Wood Pro comes from us only as a finished wheel: pick the rim, spokes and nipples, and we lace, tension and true it by hand in Georgia before it ships.
Design and construction
Phil Wood's bearings are the point. They are full-contact sealed cartridge bearings, meaning the seal rubs the inner race rather than floating above it, which adds a little drag and keeps water out completely; packed with Phil's own waterproof grease, they run for years in the worst conditions. The touring hub uses a 6061 axle and 6902 bearings, with a Carbonyte low-drag bearing upgrade available, and the shell is machined thick because a touring hub is not where weight is saved. Wide flanges give the rear wheel lateral stiffness under a load.
A front hub is a bearing carrier with flanges, and that is the whole job of the front Pro: two sealed bearings on a stiff axle, end caps for your fork's standard, and flanges spaced to give the spokes a good bracing angle on the rotor side. There is nothing to engage and nothing to swap. Everything written about freehubs and engagement applies to the rear hub only; what you get up front is the same shell quality and the same seals without any of the moving parts.
How it rides
It is the hub for a road, gravel or light-touring wheel that the customer intends to keep for decades, on an HED Belgium, Velocity Quill or Mavic Open Pro.
On the road or the trail the front hub's job is to disappear: spin freely, keep water out, and hold the flanges still so the wheel tracks where you point it. The front Pro does that with the same bearings and seals as the rear and none of the rear's complexity, and because a front wheel carries less load and no torque it stays true longer than the rear on the same rim. When the rear finally needs a look, the front usually does not.
Specifications
| Position | Front |
|---|---|
| Axle options | QR 5x100mm Front, Thru Axle 15x100mm Front, Thru Axle 15x110mm Boost Front |
| Drillings | 24h, 28h, 32h |
| Spoke head | J-bend |
| Brake | centerlock disc |
| Left flange diameter | 66 mm |
| Right flange diameter | 66 mm |
| Left center-to-flange | 19 mm |
| Right center-to-flange | 34 mm |
| Spoke hole diameter | 2.6 mm |
| Weight | 247g |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Finishes | polished, black |
About this listing
What sets this listing apart from the other Pro versions: centerlock rotor mount, QR 5x100mm, Thru Axle 15x100mm, Thru Axle 15x110mm Boost, 24h, 28h, 32h drilling, about 247g, in polished, black. Pick the one that matches your frame and rotor and the rest of the hub is identical.
This is the centerlock Pro: the rotor sits on a spline and a lockring holds it, which saves weight over six bolts and makes swapping rotors a one-tool job. If your rotors are 6-bolt, a centerlock adapter fits them, or choose the 6-bolt version of the same hub.
Sizes, fit and compatibility
The Phil Wood Pro Front Centerlock Disc Hub comes in the drillings listed on this page with the axle and brake options shown in the configurator: rim brake in 130mm, 6-bolt or centerlock disc in 135 and 142mm. J-bend spokes in any gauge; we build most Phil Pro wheels with Sapim Race, Laser or CX-Ray spokes or DT Competition and brass nipples.
It pairs naturally with the HED Belgium R and G, Velocity Quill and A23, Mavic Open Pro UST, H Plus Son Archetype and Boyd Altamont. Pick your bike type and weight in the configurator and it recommends a spoke count and lacing pattern.
Build a wheel around it
Offered for gravel and road disc, track and road single-speed, touring, mountain bike, MTB single-speed and fat bike builds in our Custom Wheel Program. Start with the Phil Wood Pro Front Centerlock Disc Hub and the configurator pins it for you, then checks each choice you make against it.
Testing, standards and warranty at Phil Wood
Phil Wood & Co. states it was founded in 1971 and that its products are “completely designed, manufactured and assembled in San Jose, California”, machined from US-produced materials on CNC machining and turning centers with diamond-tipped tools. The company says a front hub shell passes through seven production stations before assembly, and that it specifies every bearing it uses, many made exclusively to its specifications. It publishes no load, fatigue, salt-spray, or ISO/EN figures.
Phil Wood states its Standard bearings are stainless steel cartridge bearings with a 100% Phil Waterproof Grease fill and full contact seals; Carbonyte bearings use a 30% Carbonyte grease fill with a partial contact seal and are not recommended for year-round mountain biking or touring. Shouldered axles position the bearings so no adjustment is required. Shells are 6061 aluminum with 7075 axles and end caps; the front touring hub weighs 202 g. Rider-plus-bike limits are 280 lb / 127 kg (Classic) and 190 lb / 86 kg (Pro).
Phil Wood's videos
Certifications
- Made in USA — “Our products are made in the USA- they are completely designed, manufactured and assembled in San Jose, California”; “All of our manufactured items are machined out of US-produced materials” (source)
- Lifetime limited warranty — Original owner, manufacturing defects; one-year guarantee on bearings and on Classic stainless cassette bodies / Pro aluminum parts (source)
Sources on Phil Wood's site:
- About Us - Phil Wood and Company
- Warranty and Return Policy - Phil Wood and Company
- Bearings - Phil Wood and Company
- Hubs - Phil Wood and Company
- Touring Hub Front - Phil Wood and Company
Everything in this section is published by Phil Wood. ProWheelBuilder is the wheel builder, not the tester, and the hub reaches us as the maker ships it.
Building it at ProWheelBuilder
Phil Wood makes the Pro; ProWheelBuilder is an independent custom wheel builder in Georgia and not the manufacturer. We measure the rim before we cut a spoke, bring the wheel up in three or four rounds with a gauge, stress-relieve it between rounds and true it last, then tape it and fit a valve if you want it tubeless.
Only compatible hubs and spokes appear in the configurator, impossible combinations are struck through rather than hidden, and the price is live.
Warranty
Phil Wood's warranty. Phil Wood & Co. gives the original owner a limited lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, with a one-year guarantee on bearings, stainless cassette bodies and aluminum Pro parts. Proof of purchase from an authorized dealer is required, and bearings that fail from contamination or lack of maintenance are not covered.
ProWheelBuilder. If we lace this into a wheel for you, that wheel also carries ProWheelBuilder's own one-year warranty, which covers broken spokes regardless of cause and all wheel-related labor, including truing and rebuilding, for a year from purchase. Where a rim or hub is covered by its maker, we make the manufacturer's claim for you and coordinate it; where it is not, we offer an eligible replacement rim or hub at 25% off current retail. Shipping to and from us is the customer's. This cover does not extend to wheels built from components you supply yourself.
Full terms are on our Policies & Warranty page.
Pro Front Centerlock Disc Hub questions
Will my rotors fit this hub?
This is the centerlock version, so a splined centerlock rotor drops on and a lockring holds it - one tool, no six bolts to torque or lose. If your rotors are 6-bolt they will fit with a centerlock adapter, or take the 6-bolt version of the same hub, which is a separate listing.
What is RLR drilling?
Phil's multi-drilled flanges, which carry more than one spoke-hole pattern so a single hub can be built in several spoke counts.
What are Carbonyte bearings?
Phil Wood's low-drag sealed bearings, which keep the full-contact seal but roll with noticeably less resistance than the standard bearings.
Pro or touring hub?
Pro for road, gravel and light touring where weight and drag matter; touring hub for loaded touring and tandems where strength is everything.
Which axle spacing does it fit?
QR 5x100mm Front or Thru Axle 15x100mm Front or Thru Axle 15x110mm Boost Front. Measure between the inside faces of your dropouts if you are unsure, or text us.
Does it need special spokes?
No. It takes standard J-bend spokes, which the configurator offers in every gauge and finish we stock.
How long will the wheel take?
Build time comes down to parts availability rather than bench time. The estimated ship date is shown in the configurator before you check out.
Not sure? Text or leave a voicemail on 470-253-0929 or email info@prowheelbuilder.com — you will be talking to the people who build the wheels.
