Placid Casual

While changing cogs tonight, I took a good look at the cog I was taking off, and I noticed that it says "SOMA FABRKATIONS 18T X 1/8" CNC'D CRO-MO"

"FABRKATIONS"?

I never had any real trouble with it while it was on. The cog I put on today had it spelled right--"SOMA FABRICATIONS 17T X 1/8" (etc.)...and interestingly, I bought it from the same local shop where I had gotten the weird one.

Are there counterfeit Soma cogs going around, and did I get one? Or did Soma's provider make a boo-boo on a recent batch, or something?

(Yes, I know I could email Soma or call the shop. But it's ten o'clock at night, and you people know everything.)

danish

i dunno, we're all drunk already. you should call the shop in the mornin'.

sers

i have a 16Tx3/32 on my conversion and it's spelled with a "c"

same here


and on this pic from soma's website


Then again, they do call them Track Kogs...

deathhare

Yeah, theres a huge N.Korean counterfiet cog problem...theyre pumping this stuff into the west coast. Bastards.

Placid Casual

That's exactly what my 17- and 16-tooth Soma cogs look like. It's just the 18-toother with the weird misspelling.

I know, I know. It sounds silly. But...there's no denying that my cog has the actual name of the company misspelled on it. Like one of those "Sieko" watches or something.

deathhare

lol that reminds me. There were these fake Timex watches i saw in Vietnam. I forget how they were spelled. It was funny though. Something like Timeks or Timetz or something. I think it was different and more funny. Continue.

Serendipper 

I bought an Alfine stereo from the Flea Market when I was 16.

I really, truly thought I was the **** until I read the fine print when I got home.

That, and finding the truth about Santa pretty much disillusioned me for life.

LóFarkas

Wow, the cog proudly says "CNC'D". Do they think that riders don't know that forging would result in a stronger cog, but it would be a bit more complicated to do? It's not such a complex shape as to require CNC, is it???

deathhare

a CNC machine could turn those out like cookies.

LóFarkas

Well, yes... That's why Soma have them CNC'd. But it's not something I would shout out to the world: "Listen, everyone, we cut corners and had this cog made by a slightly inferior, but cheaper fabrkation method!!! Isn't that amazing!"

sivat

You can achieve tighter tolerances with a cnc machine than just forging. It could be cnc machined from a forged blank the way high end pistons are. Then you get the best of both worlds.

deathhare

which isnt really needed here. A cog doesnt need to be done to .00000001th of an inch to work well.

Sammyboy

I am abandoning the word fabrication, and replacing it from now on in my interweb based writing with fabrkation. I expect all of you to do the same. Thankyou.

humble_biker

^^^^Best reply so far^^^^
Long live the CNC machine!
And cogs aren't cut to specific tolerances the way a custom piston would be. CNC and mass consumption have killed cold forging.
Why would anybody go to the trouble of counterfeiting a bike cog, that's a bit like counterfeiting a nickle...

Placid Casual

Well, you can get a little bit more for a track cog than you can for a nickel. I dunno. I'm just saying it's weird, is all.

Boss Moniker

Well, Sma was in sme hard tymes bak when lazer-etchng kost mre than CNC'n. And it ws cheapr to etch a "k" than a "c" bkauz of the spline curv. And frg3t about "i's.


Seriously, though, do you have a photo? That's really kind of funny.

Oh also, those 'i's and 'c's weigh a ton. I took them all off my roadie a while ago and it weighed like four pounds less.

sers

phil cogs are cnc machined, then triple heat treated. eai cogs are machined as well. i would imagine that the precision that cnc offers helps prevent uneven wear and stress on the cog.

i would also assume that 13T-17T cogs are machined from one size blank, and 18T-22T are made from another. cold forging is really efficient when you're making a lot of the same thing, however it would require a ton of machinery to make 10 different sizes of cogs in 2 different pitches.

stainless steel is arguably a better material than cromoly for cogs because it is more resistant to corrosion,. However it is brittle and normalizing it with heat acts to prevent the cog from cracking under stress.

na975

so, how do u spell fabrications??

sivat

I assume you mean widths instead of pitches? Otherwise, I would agree with your comments.

Placid Casual

See attachment.

operator

The print on that cog ^ is way bigger than from the reference image - if indeed the reference image is suitable as reference.

Placid Casual

Somebody else got one. Unfortunately the picture is now gone, but check the text in the ad. He's in LA, too. Hmmmm...

(*goes several months without shaving*)
(*strokes new beard thoughtfully*)