Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Rotafix method?

what is it and how do you do it? I have read some post that talked about it but still dont know what it is.
I stripped my my lockring practicing skids.

I wouldn't trust a rotafixa'd cog if you ever want to skid again and can't put the lockring back on. Actually, it's not a good idea to go brakeless unless you loctite it on when rota-fixing it.
I use the method to tighten or remove cogs as I'm lazy/cheap to make/buy a chainwhip.

Here ya go:http://204.73.203.34/fisso/eng/schpignone.htm

BTW: Google is your friend. That's how I found this, as I'm lazy to describe it...


Oh, put a rag where the chain contacts the chainstay... I ended up with a series of little dents or scrathes on my brand new frame :mad:

somebody just posted this link in another thread a little while ago:

http://204.73.203.34/fisso/eng/schpignone.htm

it lays it out pretty simply with pictures. my housie's chainwhip was busted and this worked great. don't forget to rrrrrrrrrroll the first "r" when you're saying it.

ah, beaten to it. i put a lockring on as well after tightening down the cog - i don't see how even the tightest cog would stay on after enough stopping w/o a lockring right?

Yah, wouldn't trust that w/o a lockring.

FWIW, last time I installed a cog I screwed it on the wheel and then put the cog into a vice with thick wood in the jaws. The cog's teeth dug into the vice wood deeply as planned. I turned the wheel to tighten the cog and watchd in amazement as the cog rolled the wood blocks right out of the vice. So I guess it would work if the wood was actually attached to the vice by more than just pressure.

In any case, it was tight and we just finished it up with the cheapo nashbar chainwhip. lockiring followed with the cheapo nashbar lockring tool.


ah, beaten to it. i put a lockring on as well after tightening down the cog - i don't see how even the tightest cog would stay on after enough stopping w/o a lockring right?

ah, beaten to it. i put a lockring on as well after tightening down the cog - i don't see how even the tightest cog would stay on after enough stopping w/o a lockring right?
Thanks for the info. I will try to tighten the cog tonight but I will also use a lockring for street riding.

Have any of those guys had catastrophic failures yet? Ten to one they have. I bet there're crippled Italian hipsters all over the street.

? which guys ?

I have actually screwed my cog off a week or so ago, and I'm brakeless. Not fun at all. It was not rotafixa'd, just ridden, and a lockring was on, but only tightened with a craptastic short wrench, so it managed to screw off somehow.

? which guys ?
The rotafix chaingang, of course.

Oh, sure. I s'pose they don't ride fast and they don't skid so cogs stay on. Only the first month or so is dangerous anyway.

THe idea of riding without a lockring kinda scares me. Why not put some JB weld on the cog just to be safe?

"Have any of those guys had catastrophic failures yet? Ten to one they have. I bet there're crippled Italian hipsters all over the street."

i dont rotafix; but pretty close - put the chainwhip in a vice and use the wheel as the lever.

No lockring, no loctite, and havent unscrewed in 17 years of exclusively fg riding.

how much do you weigh, and do you skid?



"Have any of those guys had catastrophic failures yet? Ten to one they have. I bet there're crippled Italian hipsters all over the street."

i dont rotafix; but pretty close - put the chainwhip in a vice and use the wheel as the lever.

No lockring, no loctite, and havent unscrewed in 17 years of exclusively fg riding.

"how much do you weigh, and do you skid?"

155. ~generally~ dont skid but do plenty of backpedaling. 72 inches fwiw

I rotafixed mine... and loctited it... and JB Welded on a lockring... yeah... I trust it soooo much

Those guys ride brakeless and don't skid, so they must not ride very fast. Not that it happens all the time, but I like the option of bombing down a hill at full speed and skidding into a hockey-stop turn without worring about my cog unthreading in the process. Most people I ride with ride very aggressively and rely on their bikes withstanding tremendous force. If you are going to test your physical limits, doesn't it just make sense to have mechanical failure NOT be a main variable?

.. and it's not like lockrings are all that expensive.

Trackhubs are, compared to 5-year-old threaded hubs that were made to take a freewheel.

Word. If you must ride the suicide hub, please spend the $3.50 and loc-tite it on there. JB-Weld it if you want it permanent. And definitely ride with at least one brake. I shouldn't have to expound upon the fear that courses through you when a cog unscrews unexpectedly.

I am a suicide rider (think what you will), but I think it's a calculated risk. If you secure the cog using some fastening agent, and have a brake for backup, that risk is decreased.

"I am a suicide rider (think what you will), but I think it's a calculated risk. If you secure the cog using some fastening agent, and have a brake for backup, that risk is decreased."

its all about calculated risk. I choose to ride without a lockring (at least on my freewheel hub), others choose to ride without brakes.

It does make me laugh when people who chose to ride without brakes espouse how inherently dangerous suicide hubs (hate that term) are.