Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - first crash/i hate performance bikes

so on my lager, my FW went to crap the other day, so i swapped to the fixed side and have been riding it. a couple days ago my lockring started slipping, and as i dont have a lockring tool (i didnt buy one as i was not planning on riding fixed), i took it to performance, which is where it was purchased, albeit in a different state by a different person. it took the tech an hour to figure out that i needed a new fw, and then he didnt even check the lockring, even though i asked him to. dude ended up spending another 10 minutes tightening the lockring and said, "cant get this thing any tighter bro" so i figured ok we're good. when i finally got done and left, everything was cool. i was riding, doing the "backpedal-without-skidding-to-slow-down" thing (wtf is that called?), skidded once or twice just to make sure everything was kosher, and it all seemed to be. on my way home from work tonight a cab darted in front of me, i skidded and hit the front brake at the same time and when i skidded the cog/lockring came undone and i went shoulder/hip first into the taxi, the back rim smacked the back tire of the taxi and is now bent, and i went helmet first into the ground. im fine, other than the mechanical failure and the rim, the bike is fine. however, i am super pissed because, IMO, the tech at the walmart of bike shops could have killed me through his incompetence. monday is payday. time to go get this thing checked out at the local lbs, or maybe just see if i can sell it and get a better bike. i dig the lager, but im having a lot of issues for a bike with barely 1000 miles on it.

sorry for ranting but im upset, my wife doesnt get why, other than the fact that i was in an accident, and all of my friends are sleeping. i just needed to vent i guess.

Go back to Performance, make them make it right. Don't go in all pissed off, though. Be rational and clear and chances are they'll do what they can for you.

Go back to Performance, make them make it right. Don't go in all pissed off, though. Be rational and clear and chances are they'll do what they can for you.

you're joking....right? go back with a molotov cocktail

Sucks to hear this man. I've had nothing but good experiences with my local performance bike shop. Sounds like a wheel/freewheel peoblem more than the overall bike

your front brake should have slowed you down without skidding, but glad you are ok.

It sucks that you were in a crash and I'm glad you're ok...but how is you not properly tightening your cog/lockring in the first place Performance's fault?

but how is you not properly tightening your cog/lockring in the first place Performance's fault?

probably because it was an inept performance mechanic that did it......

He states in his opening sentence that he rode fixed for a while and the cog/lockring was slipping before having Performance tighten the lockring. He could have very easily done some damage to the hub threads, making a proper tightening impossible.

you're joking....right? go back with a molotov cocktail

there are situations that call for that strategy, but this is not one.

He could have very easily done some damage to the hub threads, making a proper tightening impossible.

and the mechanic should have diagnosed this

the tech at the walmart of bike shops
This would be my first clue to not go to that bike shop. Fortunately we dont have a shop like that here.

True, but it was most likely user error in the first place which caused the damage. It always seems like whenever someone has a hub fail on them, the immediate reaction is finding someone else to blame.

I guess the moral of this thread (and countless others) is tighten your damn cog/lockring before riding fixed, kids.

I not trying to point blame, just saying a decent mechanic should have seen the problem.

True, but it was most likely user error in the first place which caused the damage. It always seems like whenever someone has a hub fail on them, the immediate reaction is finding someone else to blame.

I guess the moral of this thread (and countless others) is tighten your damn cog/lockring before riding fixed, kids.

Yeah, I have seen quite a few of these type threads too.

not to mention the bike isn't designed for that.

I think all this proves is that people should learn how to maintain their bikes and get the right tools to do so.

I not trying to point blame, just saying a decent mechanic should have seen the problem.

I'm not disagreeing. I'm referring mostly to the OP and the topic in general.

The additional moral(s) of the story are to have a front and rear brake even when riding fixed ? That and slow down because darting taxi's seem to be the worst drivers in the past couple of accidents reported ? If there is a higher concentration of taxi drivers in the area, it's on the cyclist to know the increased risks are there and ride accordingly (not saying it's right/sb that way, but a fact of life). There's a strip on Collins/A1A around NE 44th here in Miami, huge hotel and it seems to attract taxi's like crazy. It's the Fountainbleau. I ride ultra cautiously thru there, but often times I've thought it would be much safer to walk. This place:

http://blog.cvent.com/blog/cvent-blog-2/0/0/spotlight-on-fontainebleau-miami-beach

The taxi's are constantly parked on the side of the road going north, constantly pull in and out and they only care about pedestrians (paying customers). Most of the time they are competing to get the customers too. Cyclists and other cars are only in their way.

as stated, I didn't have the lokring tool because I hadn't planned on riding fixed. I only switched because of an emergency, whiich was the fw going bunk. When the fixed cog started slipping I rode as far as a train station and took it home. In my opinion, when the tech at a bike shop says this bike is safe to ride and everythings good, I'm inclined to believe him. I'm headed to performance now. Lets see how it goes.

Good luck..!! let us know how it went....

I don't get how the they both came unscrewed I thought they were oppositely threaded so that wouldn't happen? If the sprocket should start to loosen up, it will try to turn the lock ring counter clockwise...but that only tightens the lockring. As a result, the sprocket cannot be unscrewed by the chain, no matter how hard you fight the pedals. Only thing I can think of is that the threads for the lockring are stripped allowing the sprocket to unthread itselt completely off the hub. I don't get how you tell the lockring was slipping? Didn't you notice the sprocket unthreading itself first?

Henry, I honestly didn't notice it slipping. However, I had just ridden 20 miles and worked 12 hours, so I probably should have taken the train anyhow. Also, you're right. Hub stripped completely. Also, fugazidave, you were right too. I went in and was really cool and chill about it. In return, I'm getting a replacement wheel with a shimano fw and surly lockring and cog. The tech was super apologetic, and said that it may be his fault because he had forgotten his glasses saturday and therefore couldn't really see what he was doing. Whatever the reason it happened, it is getting taken care of. However, I am probably gonna find a good local shop and go there. Performance is good, but somehow I het the impression that they are taking care of it more so I give them money and less that they actually care.

Wait, they're giving you a replacement wheel with freewheel and cog, for free?
And you're not going to give them any more business after that?

Wow. Kinda a dick move. I mean, you're free to take your business anywhere you want, but the shop is going the extra mile to make things right and that's apparently not good enough. If this was an independent LBS instead of a national chain, you'd probably be praising them right now for owning up to their mistakes, and talking about how they've earned a customer for life.

Performance is good, but somehow I het the impression that they are taking care of it more so I give them money and less that they actually care.

I hate to break this to you, but no shop is any different. I mean, they may also care, but at the end of the day, their efforts are aimed at keeping your business rather than your together time.

And fwiw, the stripped hub obviously indicates the mechanic didn't fail to tighten the lockring. To be fair, it sounds like it may have become cross-threaded or partially stripped earlier if it wasn't behaving, and perhaps he should have noticed. But at the same time, it doesn't seem likely he did anything wrong, and if I'm understanding correctly that they're giving you whole wheel for free, Performance is doing more than I can imagine from any other shop, and frankly far more than I would consider "fair." I'm not a big fan of mega-shops, but it sounds like they've done right by you, and then some.

If he was "super apologetic" he made it right on his behalf. You're lookin at this the wrong way. I don't think an indi lbs could afford to give you all that for free

Yeah it's the fact they are a "superstore" that you are getting a new wheel and stuff I would say. Your hub was screwed prior to the mechanic touching it.

Yeah it's the fact they are a "superstore" that you are getting a new wheel and stuff I would say. Your hub was screwed prior to the mechanic touching it because you rode on an improperly installed cog and lockring.

fixed it.

Always, always, always get your lockring tightened after the first ride. You can tighten down a cog so much more upon your initial ride than you can with a whip-tool. You put all your weight down on that cog and it probably moved a millimeter into the hub creating space from the lockring that needed to be dealt with.

Also, by your account, you skidded and then hit your front brake? Meaning you had to have been leaning over the handlebars, correct? Hitting a front brake with that much forward weight is sure to throw you over the bars. Why did you skid? Why not just break? Even on a FG you could have stopped.

No wonder your drivetrain failed. You must have been going a decent clip and the act of putting on that reverse force on your cog in an effort to skid you must have started to unthread the cog.

Even with the cog unthreading, if you had just relied on your break as the main stopping agent, had you just leaned back and let your legs move with the pedals, you'd have stopped just fine.

I'm sorry you crashed, but if PB is going to do all that for you as reparations then I'd lighten up on them.

yeah, I have been thnking about it, and perforance is definitely going the extra mile. I talked to a friend that only deals with a high end lbs here in town, and he said they wouldn't have done anything beside sell me a new wheel. I'm not gonna say customer for life, but I'll probably be there for a while. And yeah, I tried to go into a skid, that didn't work so I leaned back and grabbed the brake, but by that point I was too late. I really wasn't moving that fast, as stated earlier, I had ridden a lot (for me), and worked 12 hours in a physically demanding job. I was cruising. If I had been in ss instead of fg I would have been coasting. Thanks for the help everyone. I know I'm new around here but I dig this forum. Lots of helpful people and constructive criticism.

Just double check that when you use the same Performance mechanic in the future, he's brought his glasses this time.

yeah he was wearing them when I dropped it off an when I picked it up. Everything is cool now. I don't have the $$ at the moment to get a lockring tool so I'm not riding fixed until I get one. Recommendations? I'm thinking about the pedro trixie. I like all in one things.

I too am pre-lockring tool at the moment. Last time I changed to a bigger cog I used some tools at the local shop. They had these: http://www.outsideoutfitters.com/p-15280-hozan-lockring-pliers.aspx, which were the absolute best at loosening/tightening the lockring. Any of the one-pronged tools just stripped the hell out of the lockring.

I don't know why buying a $40 tool is such a hangup for me, but I have yet to buy it for myself. The shop dude wanted me to buy a tool first before I could use any of theirs, which I did (chainwhip), though he didn't realize it was a 3/32" until I made many failed attempts to use it, at which point he felt embarrassed for his mistake and refunded my money. It was a fairly awkward experience.

The reason not to spend $40 on a lockring tool is that you're probably not riding on the track, and if you're not riding on the track there's not much reason to be changing your cog all that often.

Get one of the $12 combination chain whip / locking tools and call it a day. Sure the 1-prong things might not be as easy to use as the pliars, but if you're just a little careful with it they work fine.

The Pedro's tool is a decent for general home use. While you may only need to use it once in a blue moon, it's good to have the tools to maintain your bike.

I've always found that a chainwhip is not the best way to tighten a cog. The best way IMO to tighten it is by installing the wheel on the bike and standing on the forward pedal with the front wheel pressed against a wall. Then remove the wheel and tighten the lockring. I only need the chainwhip when removing the cog.

^ +1

The Pedro's tool is a decent for general home use. While you may only need to use it once in a blue moon, it's good to have the tools to maintain your bike.
I've used mine plenty of times and it works well. So yeah, it's good to have as just a DIY street rider

this thread is very relevant to my frustrations. yesterday i went to a very reputable shop that ive never had any problems with before. paid top dollar to get a new cog and have them put it on. a few skids later i can feel it slipping...got off and had to walk it home...

Like someone said before chances are the hub is shot from riding with the lockring loose and thus the cog free to spin on and off a couple threads, and probably stripped them. A good mechanic would catch this, an amateur mechanic would catch this. Sounds like your "mechanic" is dumb as sh*t and the store shouldn't be allow him to be working on peoples bikes if he is as inept as you made him sound. Go back and settle this with performance, you could have gotten seriously hurt or killed because the mechanic, employed by a large company nonetheless, was unqualified.

my home tool is a trixie.

I've always found that a chainwhip is not the best way to tighten a cog. The best way IMO to tighten it is by installing the wheel on the bike and standing on the forward pedal with the front wheel pressed against a wall. Then remove the wheel and tighten the lockring. I only need the chainwhip when removing the cog.

See my post above. You always get more tightening action from some of your initial mashes on the pedals. Also, upgrade to a steel ring... aluminum lockrings are ****e.

the day after I picked up my ride I had a major accident. I'm just having a run of bad luck I guess... I was on the lakefront trail here in chicago, and at one of the crossings a car stopped as I was pulling up (the roads have stop signs, the trail has no signs or slow signs, depending on where you are.) and I thought the driver was going to remain stopped so I kept going. She pulled away from the stop as I got 10 feet from the car. Panicked, locked up the rear brakes, hit the front, still didn't stop in time and used my left shoulder and hip to turn her rear door into one big dent. A dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs, bent front rim, and 2 vicodins later I realized that my $20 bell ukon saved my life.looks like I'm taking a couple weeks off riding. In the meantime, I think I'm gonna get a new bottom bracket and maybe a crankset. I currently have FSA Vero cranks and whatever BB it came with. Any suggestions?

FYI, it took me 10 minutes to type that. I hate only being able to use one hand...

Dude...maybe you shouldn't be riding a bicycle.

Do you ride all year? At this rate you won't last till spring.

On the upside here's your shot at a matched set of wheels.

I see a new shirt in your future
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n139/its-loud-dude/random/Shirt.png

scrod, my wife agrees. Dan, no I don't. I have actually only been riding in an urban environment for around a month. Before that I hadn't been on two wheels in about 9 years. I think I just need to get back into the swing of it. BB advice?

That sucks about the crash. I had a car almost do something similar tonight. They had a stop sign I didn't but they pulled up really quick and I could see the guy whip his head left and right really quickly so I figured he may not of seen me so I kept an eye on him. Sure enough he goes to pull out and does the whole fake pull out then slam on brakes thing. Well I'm thinking he's about to run me over so I swerve outward and almost got clipped by a car on my right.

I hate cars... and cyclists who use the sidewalk (especially when there is a bike lane along the street they are using.)

yeah, I had a quick decision to make: swerve left and possibly hit the car stopped behind her, swerve right and nail the lady pushing a stroller, or go straight and try to stop in time. Well, I think next time I'll take out the kid. On the plus side, I got my first night off work in 2.5 weeks, insurance is paying to fix it all, and my bag is gonna be replaced (old ampac that got the strap ripped off). I enjoy biking too much to quit because of a run of bad luck. There have been other things too, not involving bikes. September always seems to be the month that my negative karma for the year cashes in. I enjoy the freedom, the exercise, the community of it all.

So about the bike, what is it and do you know what BB it has? A common example would be 68mm with English threads.

Are you in for a new Crank and BB or just the BB?

I see above you have the FSA Vero. Is it the Track crank with the 42t ring?

You should've went with the kid.

http://www.guyswhocuttheirownhair.com/images/uploads/skid7.jpg

I kid, I kid.

Get a Shimano UN54 with something like Pake, EighthInch, Origin8 crank set.

If your looking for a better than JIS style BB the SRAM Courier is nice if your frame will take the cups. It's a much stronger spindle design that's self extracting with a single allen wrench, an 8mm IIRC
http://cgi.ebay.com/SRAM-S-300-Courier-Track-Cranks-175mm-BLACK-w-GXP-BB-/300454358987?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item45f479afcb