Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - R.I.P. Suzue Jr.

I didn't listen to the naysayers. I thought I could overcome the odds. Really, I just listened to my wallet over reason. I thought if your lockring was cranked down tight enough there would be no problems. But tonight as you skidded your last skid, the cog gracelessly sheared the threads right off you and started spinning like a sticky freewheel as I had a sickening lurch into an intersection and oncoming traffic. Ah, Suzue Jr., what a brief few months of fun we had...you cheap P.O.S. I'll never touch you or your ilk again :mad:

...do I really have to shell out for a Phil hub to avoid having this happen again?

You could also go for one of the better Suzue hubs. Not everything they make is low end.

I haven't spun the treads off of any Surlys - they're fix/fix too!

Phil is tough enough. My pal shredded his Chub this way after just 3 months

That was such an cool wheel too, are you going to lace it that way again?

I like the Surly or IRO models myself. I would adise you to stay away from the MICHE hubs, mine died with in a couple of months and I never could get in touch with them for a new one.

at least you got a few months out of your suzie basic, mine only lasted a few weeks :( If you're looking for a fairly cheap, but quality hub, go with surly.

I've got a Suzie flip flop, is that a POS? This concerns me since I choose brakeless as well. So far no problems.

I've got a Suzie flip flop, is that a POS? This concerns me since I choose brakeless as well. So far no problems.

It only takes one time. The first fixed wheel I had was one of the entry level flip flops from Suzue (yea, Suzue - Suzie's a girl)

After a couple of months on it I spun it off just backpedaling on a downhill. Luckily there was a LBS a few blocks away that had a guy that rode fix, and he was able to kind of get the cog and lockring back on there, the threads weren't completely gone, but it wasn't safe either. Luckily, that was back when I still rode with a front brake - I rode it for a couple of weeks while I saved my pennies for a Surly. I think it's still in Goatmeals basement actually, waiting for the rim to get laced to a working hub...

I dunno - I just don't trust anything entry level from Suzue. When my new Surly dissappeared when my bike was stolen, I bought a wheel off of e-bay with a Suzue because money was tight. I only rode it for about 6 months, but it is pretty much toast (to be fair, it did start life in a Minnesota fall, then live through the winter) and I'm just going to use it as a winter beater wheel. The bearings are shot on this one, not the threads, but still...

havent stirpped my suzue basic but i'm a lightweight (130-40 lbs)

suzue promax seems to be a very good but not too expensive choice, surlys are good too

What kind of cog did you have? I've been running a suzue basic with a dura-ace cog for 9 months with not an issue.

What kind of cog did you have? I've been running a suzue basic with a dura-ace cog for 9 months with not an issue.

Same here. I'm over 200 lbs. Then again, I don't brake with my legs at all.

What kind of cog did you have? I've been running a suzue basic with a dura-ace cog for 9 months with not an issue.

The cog was a no-name cog fished out of a parts box at a shop in CT. I was running it with an aluminum spacer to correct the chainline and a Dura Ace lockring. According to my LBS, the failure was due at least in part to play between the spacer and cog and/or an insufficiently tight lockring. Humble pie moment. I take responsibility for either as I was the one who built the wheel and put the cog on. I didn't use a cheater bar to really tighten down the lock ring. Does anybody? The cog I used was skinny (not track?) and therefore had little thread contact with the hub, whereas I see the Dura Ace or EAI cogs have a flange to one side that gives greater thread contact and therefore might distribute torque better. Just surmising.

Given that operator error likely contributed to this, I should probably tone down my invective toward Suzue. This was my first crack at wheelbuilding, so there was some emotional attachment and pride involved. Also, I've changed my riding style since building these wheels--I skid and skip a lot where before I didn't at all. My previous wheel was an old 27" roadie w/ the cassette removed and the cog held on with a BB lockring. I was always a little leery of spinning the cog off.

I asked in my first post if I had to pay for a Phil hub to prevent stripout from happening again. At least part of the answer is that if I assemble things properly, the less expensive option should be ok. Just don't expect the same performance or lifetime from a $35 hub compared to a $175 hub. For every bike component there are both horror stories and satisfied customers. Sifting through old threads here show that the Suzue Jrs have a good dose of both.

My Suzue jr came with the wheel I bought. The setup also came with a no name steel cog. Fortunately, I'd also bought a Dura-Ace, and immediately noticed that the no-name was significantly sloppier on the threads than the Dura-Ace. I'd recalled that Sheldon Brown had problems with the cheap cogs so I decided to go with the better fitting Shimano part. Seemed wiser.

Anyone want a unused no-name steel 15t track cog? ;)

im also riding a suzue jr, with a dura-ace cog. at first i was skeptical about shelling out 27 bucks for a cog, but judging from testimonies, it was a sound investment

That eulogy almost brought tear to my eye.

Surly's have also been good to me.

I think it's still in Goatmeals basement actually, waiting for the rim to get laced to a working hub...



Didn't I tell you, I sold that crappy wheel on eBay months ago... Damn fools will buy anything...

Phil

Didn't I tell you, I sold that crappy wheel on eBay months ago... Damn fools will buy anything...

Phil

Nah, you didn't tell me... Good to know it's gone though...

I've got a Suzie flip flop, is that a POS? This concerns me since I choose brakeless as well. So far no problems.
I burned through one a season on my Surly for the past two years. POS...total POS. I would expect a wheel to last a little over 2 years (with maint.), but the friggin bearings tore through the cup/whatever and gouged them hard. I gave up on cheap and replaced the rear last week with a Surly.

This whole thing has got me concerened. I feel a little better about having the Dura-ace cog and ring on the Suzie flip flop but I got hills with stop signs at the bottom of them around here. I gues I'll have to put a break on :(