My cog is slipping a little when I put a lot of back pressure on the cranks. I think the lockring needs to be a little tighter, but I don't have the proper tool. What's the best way to do this? I tried putting a screwdriver into the notch and whacking it with a hammer, but it was phillips and kept slipping out. Also felt like this could damage it.

I'd hit it a few more times. Hell, the Fonz would do the same. Eeeehhhhh!

Have you tried harsh language yet?

scrounge up a regular head screwdriver. ya gotta have one of those. then try the hammer, just be careful you don't strip it.

Why arent you busy getting the right tool already?

Why don't you just go to your LBS have them tighten it for you? While you're there, get a lockring tool (and a chainwhip) and have them show you how to use them. There's a point at which DIY isn't an option for the given cyclist (if posts to this forum are any indicator, the track/fixie community is waaaaaay too much into the DIY/get it used from someone you know outside the LBS thing- but I can't say for sure), and if you're trying to tighten a lockring with a phillips screwdriver and a hammer, perhaps you don't need to be wrenching on your bike just yet. No insult intended, whatsoever, but my suggestion is better than having you strip your hub trying to fix something you don't have the tools to fix. A bike is not a toy. Especially a brakeless track. It can very easily get you killed if it isn't working properly.

you should get the right tool but slipjaw pliers work good

this post reminds me of the multiple times my fixed gear newb friends have destroyed their hubs by riding around after having improperly installed cog/lock ring... one of them even HAND TIGHTENED the lockring and thought it would be fine... wtf???

hey - do any of you chicago folks have a lock ring tool this kid could use?

lock ring tools are expensive for something you (hopefully) won't need that often but they are the only way to get that thing as tight as it needs to be. i understand the temptation of doing a quick fix to get you back on the road but you could ruin your hub (not cheap) or get hurt (which hurts) if you don't get that thing on right.

(edit: no offense ... i call my parents kids: nice and gender non-specific)

I think most people on here change gear ratios more often than they change pants. Just get one, its worth it. I mean come on it has japanesey words on it!!!

that sounds like a great poll topic. while i don't change my pants that often, i've never changed my ratio ... now i have something else to feel inadequate about.

what's that over there, lurking under the bridge?

You folks really believe someone would be stupid enough to use a phillips screwdriver for christ's sakes? Or that someone that bass ackward in the head could use the internet to ask for advice?

Your LBS guy will be happy to tighten your lockring for you, and 99.99999999% of the time it's free. Though we grumble less if you got the cog, lockring, and wheel from us. And if your LBS guy is me, i get to make out with your girlfriend. she wants me anyway.

man, it sounds disgusting, but i really do rarely change pants. I wear the same cutoff cargos for a week, unless i'm going somewhere, then its jeans. Underlayers get changed more often.

strangely enough though, your girlfriends still want me.

Wow, I want to work at YOUR shop!

Standard Labor Rate: 30$ per hour or one game of tounge tennis with your woman.

What if my girlfriend looked like this? (attached)

When I installed my cog and lockring, I used the italian way (or whatever its called) where you wrap the chain around the cog and tighten with the wheel itself. I got it as tight as I was comfortable with. Then, to install the lockring, I tightened it by hand.

Then I got a big huge flat screwdriver and a light hammer, and tapped away at it until I felt it was "tight enough". Very scientific, I know. But, I've been riding for over a week without a hint of problems. BTW its important to use a very sturdy flathead screwdriver. Your normal household variety will probably just absorb the shock of the hammer instead of transmitting it properly to the lockring.

And that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

If you can't get it tight enough by finger strength alone, you are too weak to deserve a fixie YOU SISSY PERSON YOU!!!!

what underlayers?

a pipe wrench works great.

Don't forget to tighten the cog first.

Also, I am all about working with what you have (pliers, a flathead, and a hammer can do a lot on any job), but I am trying to figure out how it would even be possible to hold the wheel, line a screwdriver up, and hit it with a hammer?? I'm laughing trying to picture it actually.

If you really can't buy the tool right now, just head to Higher Gear on Fullerton and have Brooks tighten it, or Rapid Transit on North and have Bob do it for you. They have both tightened lockrings for me without too much fuss.

If you really want a laugh, imagine me trying to remove a bmx freewheel using only a peanut butter wrench.

I did it, but I can't say I enjoyed it.

hahaha this thread is great.



yes, don't forget to tighten down the cog before you tighten the lockring. and i also am a proponent for going to an LBS and asking to get it tightened with the proper tool. it is a 5 second job and you really don't even have to take the wheel off or anything.





about a week ago the cog/ring fell off my bike in the middle of a commute. i got off, turned my bike upsidedown, and threaded the cog back on via "the italian method." i read about it here:

https://204.73.203.34/fisso/eng/schpignone.htm

then i rode by semi-working bike (very careful to not put any backpressure on the pedals) to the nearest bike store, borrowed the right tool, and locked that bastard of a ring down.

quick, easy, and free. three words i like.

there's nothing that can't be fixed with a 6-inch adjustable wrench and a blowtorch.

I like bob. he's a good mechanic – worked on my bikes for a year now. adrian is also a good one at rapid transit, though I haven't seen him around in a while. those guys are pretty lax about charging for labor.

I used epoxy. works great if you don't get it to your fingers.

I believe it was Marcus who said to file down a set of needle-nose plyers and you instantly have the best lockring tool you can find. hella/abstnr/[165]/et al should correct me if I'm wrong here...