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Old 09-09-06, 09:12 AM
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lhbernhardt
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 2,073

Bikes: Rodriguez Shiftless street fixie with S&S couplers, Kuwahara tandem, Trek carbon, Dolan track

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Originally Posted by The Fixer
I would assume this is in case you throw your chain?
Yeah, when the chain used to fall off. Actually, my first cycling coach back in the 70's was an ex-pro 6-day rider. He said the pros never use a lock ring because they never backpedal. Backpedaling is "bad for the legs," and if you ride the track, you learn to avoid sitting on the wheels of guys who backpedal to slow down. The smoothest trackies use the banking to adjust their speed.

I learned that if the chainline is perfectly straight, the chain can be run extremely loose before it will fall off. If the chainline is slightly off, just the eccentricity in the ring and cog, plus a little bump at high speed are enough to derail the chain. The chain will normally come off the chainring and get stuck between the tire and chainstay. If you don't have a lock ring, the rear cog just spins off and you just coast. If you have a lock ring, the rear wheel will lock up and you start fishtailing all over the road or track.

As long as you tighten the cog with a chain whip (or VAR cog tool - much cooler), it will not come off due to "floating" the pedals down a long, steep hill. If you thread on the cog by hand and depend on pedaling to tighten it, I guarantee it will come off. You simply cannot apply enough torque by pedaling alone to sufficiently tighten a fixed cog.

I also disagree with only mounting a front brake on a road fixie, but then I live in a part of North America where the roads sometimes get icy and I do not want to lose front wheel traction, plus I never backpedal.

- L.
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