Bicycle Mechanics - Problems with flip-flop hub?

I was hoping someone could help me with this problem I'm having. I just bought a Raleigh Rush Hour from a friend of mine. He was riding it free wheel but I prefer fixed so we flipped the rear tire around. Everything was going fine until I started skid stopping. It felt like something was skipping or turning to much (sorry for the cryptic descriptions). I would continue pedaling and its almost like it fell back into place and went back to normal. After that I did a particularly long stop and it felt as if my chain fell off. I was pedaling but it wasn't moving the rear tire at all. After that the only way I could move the rear tire was if I pedaled slowly without too much force. I dont really know whats wrong, Im still very new to this. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is that a common problem?

Your fixed cog is not secure. Check lockring, make sure everything is tight. Keep riding in this fashion and you'll strip the threads on the hub....not good. And use a front brake. :)

I was hoping someone could help me with this problem I'm having. I just bought a Raleigh Rush Hour from a friend of mine. He was riding it free wheel but I prefer fixed so we flipped the rear tire around. Everything was going fine until I started skid stopping. It felt like something was skipping or turning to much (sorry for the cryptic descriptions). I would continue pedaling and its almost like it fell back into place and went back to normal. After that I did a particularly long stop and it felt as if my chain fell off. I was pedaling but it wasn't moving the rear tire at all. After that the only way I could move the rear tire was if I pedaled slowly without too much force. I dont really know whats wrong, Im still very new to this. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is that a common problem?


I'm sorry to tell you this but it sounds like you just completely stripped your rear hub. Chances are, whoever put the bike together didn't check to tighten the cog and lockring on the backwheel before handing it off to you.

You will most likely need a new back hub now. Unless you are a fan of red locktite.

Yeah, it sounds toast. Next time make sure everything is tight, and use blue loctite for a little extra piece of mind. Btw, if your cog ever comes loose, stand on the pedals to tighten it and use your brake until you can tighten the lockring.

Well damn... that doesnt sound good at all, haha. So there isn't anything I can do at the moment then. I guess I'll call him in the morning and tell him this happened. Would it be my fault? Surely the bike should be able to handle more than a few skid stops? I usually do use a front brake and was tonight. Im just getting a lot better at stopping with my legs and got kind of excited about it, haha. (Im still pretty new to fixed gear bikes) How much would this repair run generally?

By the way, thanks for the incredibly fast and helpful responses.

If you're lucky you only stripped the lockring, which will cost a few dollars. If you're unlucky, you stripped the hub threads and will need to rebuild the wheel with a new hub. Depending on how you accomplish it, that might run as little as $50 or as much as $100.

Track cogs should be greased and tightened /hard/ with a chain whip. The grease allows you to tighten the cog far enough. Same goes for lockring. After installation, you should skid around and make sure there's no slippage.

Just as an update. i took it to my lbs and sure enough its a stripped hub. $150 for them to fix it. The guy I bought it from was cool about it and said to bring it back so he could see if the bike shop he got it from would fix it under warranty. Now Im not sure if Im going to buy it because its a bit big for me. I think instead I'll be a little patient and try and find a bike a little smaller, with a skinnier frame. Thanks for all the help though.