For singlespeeding what is the benefit for a higher quality hub?

I may be looking for some Christmas/Birthday ideas and figured some quality wheels would be nice.

I am currently using Shimano 105 hubs (front and rear) and using a singlespeed spacing kit for the rear hub to get my straight chainline and using a freewheel for it.

I ride in the city mostly where I do meet up with railroad tracks, potholes, road work, etc., but do like to get out and ride on the open road/trail for long rides. So as much as I'm asking for, I guess I'm looking for the do-it-all hub that takes a beating, rolls super nice, and is serviceable friendly.

Opinions? I'm reading up on Phil Wood hubs, Paul Hubs, Chris King, etc.....and there are too few reviews to base a choice on (from what I googl'd).

Regards.

what is the spacing on a regular old BMX hub?
Why couldn't you build a 700cm wheel on a 36 hole BMX hub if you have no plans of ever going fixed?
Is the spacing just way too narrow to squeeze the dropouts down?
probably a stupid question, but I couldn't track down the answer

BMX hubs are much narrower spacing, 110mm. You can modify them to fit your dropouts by adding spacers/washers and they are threaded to accept single speed freewheels.

All the hubs you mentioned are of top quality and will last a lifetime. With the exception of Suzue entry level, any hub should last forever if you change out the cartridges when needed. It just depends on how much "cool factor" you want to buy. Phils are sexy, Kings will get looks... both roll round and round the same.

Kings BMX hubs are 110mm rear and their mountain single speed is 135mm. I asked King if they could put a longer axle on a BMX hub and was told no. Personally, I really like the King design. It makes more sense than a BMX freewheel. You can change cogs very easily with his system. Of course King won't allow you to fixed gear but if I was going to build my ultimate single speed bike, I'd use a custom frame(Calfee Dragonfly) with 135mm rear spacing and King hubs..

Phil=art
King=art with bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzz!

If you get the 135Phil flip/flop, you can fix it later. Then all your bases are belong to us.

The hubs (wheelset really) is more of an icing on the cake to my Surly singlespeed. I have been riding for over two months now and the bike shop has been very gracious in letting me try different things over others to acheive a very comfortable ride.

They recommended the 105s as 'good' hubs that can take a licking and are serviceable and cheap to maintain. They would have steered me into a more 'hi flange' track hubs ala Paul but at the time couldn't justify that kind of wheelset expense.

As the holiday's approaching along with my birthday, I've been wanting to try a nice wheelset to appreciate the difference as I've been riding daily now and I'm already appreciating the nuances. So a little splurge on a nice wheelset for an already relatively cheap but excellent build is icing on the cake for me.

I think I will be leaning more towards a reversible fixed/free.

they have decent bearings and you can get a flip flop hub from them for not too much, they would match your bike too.. i personally like the iro high flange hubs... www.irocycle.com im not sure which has better bearings, but i like the look of the iro's better than surly

they have decent bearings and you can get a flip flop hub from them for not too much, they would match your bike too.. i personally like the iro high flange hubs... www.irocycle.com im not sure which has better bearings, but i like the look of the iro's better than surly

I'm not sure why the bike mechanics weren't fond of the Surly hubs (that was my initial intent when building the bike, Surly frame...Surly hubs why not?). They didn't have anything negative to say about the Surly hubs other than for the pricepoint we were at, other hubs better served the purpose.

They did mention IRO as well...I'll research. Thanks for the link.

Suzue Basic. $20 at the right shop. Disassemble, drill a tiny hole in the middle for a greaseport, put it together dry with loctite on the nuts, and pump grease through the port. Ride like hell - it'll last forever if you're good for it.

I'm not sure why the bike mechanics weren't fond of the Surly hubs (that was my initial intent when building the bike, Surly frame...Surly hubs why not?). They didn't have anything negative to say about the Surly hubs other than for the pricepoint we were at, other hubs better served the purpose.

They did mention IRO as well...I'll research. Thanks for the link.

The IRO hubs are made by formula, and are also available in black, on ebay from bensbike (http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36144&item=7113690863&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW)

I just received a wheelset from them, and the hubs are quite nice. good threads and smoooooooooth.