Stripped my new hub?
 

I had been riding around on my DIY fixed wheel (I know, I know, but I was broke) and then it seemed to me that I had stripped the hub, so when I had saved up some cash I bought an IRO wheel, a Soma cog, and a lockring from Tony. Because I didn't have a chainwhip or a lockring wrench handy, I tightened the cog using the Italian Chaingang method (it's been linked to on this forum) and just tightened the lockring by hand - I rode this for maybe two miles or so before getting to the LBS so I could tighten it all up proper. That all went fine and then I rode it home and then later that night to a friend's house. On the way back, I tried to do a skid and the cog spun backwards enough to startle me. A minute or two later, it spun forward about the same amount. The next morning, I checked the lockring and it was a bit loose so I tightened it up. This morning, though, the same thing happened when I was applying some backward resistance while coming to a light at the bottom of a hill. However, it's not spinning like a freewheel, just spinning some of the time.

So my question for all of you is this: Is it possible that through some tom-foolery, I stripped my hub already? Or could it be a loose lockring? Or maybe even a chain skipping (I've had the chain since late February - it's a 1/8" chain, as the cog on the DIY wheel was that size)? Any and all ideas, mockery, and (un)constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated, as long as it's not about the old DIY wheel.

step one: buy a lockring wrench and a chainwhip.
step two: pull off the cog and lockring and look at the hub yourself rather than using the interweb for a bunch of speculation.
step three: fix the problem... (it's probably just that you aren't using your russel's muscles enough on the lockring and cog. i suggest more vodka. maybe you did strip your hub already though if everything wasn't tight enough and you're messing around skidding. i suggest more vodka.)

Either your lockring is loose or the cog and lockring don't mesh properly (there is space inbetween). Since you didn't tighten the lockring with a tool, IMMEDIATELY GO TO A SHOP (or to a friend with tools) AND HAVE THE LOCKRING TIGHTENED PROPERLY. You could get hurt riding with a loose lockring.

m.

I think your threads are ok but your cog is too thin. Check and see if there is a gap between the cog and the lockring. That would allow it to move back and forth.

You probably need a spacer between the hub and the cog. I assume that's a 3/32 Soma cog you're running. They're pretty narrow, so the cog may not be far enough out for the lockring to actually be pressing against it. Your LBS should have some sort of spacer to put between the hub body and the cog before you thread it on again.

Okay I missed that.

Second point then - the cog/lockring combo doesnt' fit together right with your hub as the last two posters said.

That, or your LBS people are assclowns who can't tighten a lockring.

m.

I had the same problem. Thought it was a loose lockring, but it tunred out I need a spacer btween the lockring and cog. You can tell this is the problem if the cranks slip about a quarter turn when you brake, but stops slipping.

OK, thanks for all the quick responses. My time on the computer is about to run out so real quick:

1. I'm a whiskey guy.
2. Tony called me after I posted this and suggested that I need to ride it around, without back pressure, and *then* tighten the lockring.
3. I'll check then to see if I need a spacer.
4. I'm the asclown that tightened the lockring - get to use the LBS tools.

I have an IRO hub, and 3/32 SOMA cog from Tony. I use a DA lockring. I've had zero problems with the setup, and even used the italian chaingang method to lock in the cog. Maybe you just didn't have it threaded on far enough? Mine's been perfect.

assclown.

So I had a similar problem except that I am fairly certain that there isn't a compatability problem between my lockring and cog.

Yesterday, I was sprinting across center city from a stop trying to get my speed up and i got out of the saddle to accelerate faster. My cog slipped. My original thought, as the cog wasn't freewheeling it stopped after about a 1/4 revolution, was that i leaned forward and caused the wheel to lose traction. I pulled off to the side, examined the bike. Everything seemed to be in order. Then i was on my way. When i applied back pressure to the pedals approaching the next light, the cog slipped back a bit (less than the original forward slip but still substantial).

Here is why i believe my case to be different:
I just bought a surly hub/mavic rim wheel from my lbs. However, my cog and lockring came stock on the 2004 Fuji Track. So the likelihood that the cog and lockring are incompatible is not very good.

This leaves two realistic options to me (because i don't think i stripped anything):

1. Is it possible that there is some minor incompatibility between my cog and hub that needs a spacer type thing

2. My legs are stronger than the LBS mechanic that transferred my cog from my old wheel.

thoughts?

you'd know if you'd stripped a hub...


figure out if you need a spacer soon... slip your cog around like you are for very long and you run a damn good chance of knocking the lockring off/stripping the lockring threads...

You've had your answer above.

You need to get a spacer.

Or it is too loose.

I dealt with this same problem.

First we got the cog on tight by me riding on it till it tightened up and then didn't backpedal to loosen it. Then we put the lockring on tight with a cheater bar. It still loosened up. Having established that we had tightened everything to maximum tolerance, we were satisfied that there was a problem with the width of the cog - it was too narrow. The LBS didn't have a spacer so I got a wider cog (EAI) to go with the surly lockring.

Occam's Razor states that the simplest explantion is the correct one. Please stop trying to come up with some mystery explanation to this problem, and take the steps mentioned above to solve it. If that doesn't work, then the less likely and more complicated step of replacing your stripped hub will be necessary.

Let us know what happens.

My question, and obviously i'll know more when i take it to the shop later (but I like to know more about my problems BEFORE i take it there), is not answered above. It strikes me that it is extremely unlikely that i need a spacer between the lockring and cog seeing as they came together stock. And rather than telling me that my question has been answered, try understanding the question (stupid as it may be) and answering it. I don't think it could possibly take more time than writing what you wrote to give a specific answer to my question.

here, I'll put it all by itself so you can understand:

since it isnt a space problem between lockring and cog, is it possible that a spacer is needed to plug a gap between cog and hub?

now, the other possibilities are up there. Either the cog was not tight enough on the hub but fine with the lockring or vice versa.

Incidently,

i see that R0cket answered spacer between hub and cog. But no one else speaks of it. Therefore, I am left to ask the question specifically to avoid confusion.

if there's a gap on one side, there's a gap on the other...
you could put a spacer on either side, chainline would be the only reason for putting it on one side or the other of the cog...

but the reason for a spacer would be an incompatibility between cog and lockring (according to this thread) not the space. So what I'm asking is whether incompatibilities exist between cog and hubs. Space can be fixed by tightening. But it seems, once again based on the thread, that it is common for cog-lockring incompatibility. I am wondering about how common hub-cog incompatibility is

yes. the incompatability is not always with the lock ring and cog. you have to take into consideration the width of the threading on the hub for the cog. if the cog is narrower than the threading, you will not be able to tighten a lock ring enough to hold the cog in place. but a spacer on either side of the cog should fix this problem.

That is what i've been trying to say.

My hub had lots of thread space so when it was tightened down it was real close to the spokes. But tightening down the lockring tight as coould be left it too far from the lockring to make a secure fit. I can't think of any reason other than a lack of tightness for that to occur, other than that same reason.

...

There is no such thing as cog/lockring compatibiity. Both have a flat surface on thier facing sides. The problem lies in the depth of the threads for the cog on the hub and the width of the cog. If the cog is not wide enough to extend beyond the cog threads then when you tighten the lockring you will tighten the lockring against where the lockring threads end instead of tightning it against the cog. This leaves a slight amount of room for the cog to unscrew before the lockring stops it. The spacer (usually on the hub side of the cog) takes up this extra space and allows the lockring to be properly tightened against the cog.
I have several 3/32 Soma cogs on an IRO hub and a no-name hub that came with my Mercier, I should probably make sure every thing is tightening together. I havn't had a problem singed I bought a good lockring tool but I usually use a brake to slow down instead of back pedaling.
Craig

ALL incompatibility of this sort is between the hub and cog...the lockring just sits there as lockrings do and keeps the cog from unwinding past the end of the cog threading. The issue here is whether the cog is wide enough to occupy all of the threads and thus not unwind a little bit before it hits the lockring. If it's not wide enough, you need a spacer (either between hub/cog or cog/lockring, as above, doesn't matter other than for chainline.)

There's not really any such thing as an incompatibility between cog and lockring, at least as far as this discussion is concerned. What you run into, though, are cases where, say, the threaded portion of your hub measures x mms, but the width of the cog is maybe (x - 1) or (x - 2) mms. So when the cog tightens against the hub, there's a gap between it and the step down to the lockring threads. No matter how thick your lockring is or how hard you tighten it, it's going to bottom out against the hub body before it contacts the cog. So you put a spacer between the cog and the hub, which makes it so the cog doesn't thread on as far, eventually moving it out far enough that the lockring will contact it before bottoming out.