I'm late on this thread too, and what I'm about to say might be of absolutely no use, but...

You said that this is a recent conversion; are you new to fixed gear altogether? Was this your first time riding in the rain? Are your tires thin and/or slicks? If so, you might have just been skidding.

I've got two fixed gear bikes: an IRO Mark V and a converted Schwinn Sprint. For some reason (probably due to the differences in geometry (the Schwinn is really big on me (I found it in the trash))), my Schwinn will skid with very little backpressure on the pedals in the rain. I can even skid with ease while seated. It feels a lot like coasting, especially if one has become used to riding fixed and hasn't actually ridden a free-wheeled bike for a while. Longer cranks, which are probably what you have on your conversion, will also make skidding easier.

My suggestion: once you make sure everything is mechanically sound, dry reproducing the coasting when it's dry. Also, try locking the cranks the next time it rains and see if the resulting skid is the same coasting sensation that you're talking about.

You just did. Its not tight enough...


Or you already stripped it.

Thanks a ton! I spat coffee all over my monitor at work. ;)

It would help permanently eff up your hub and ruin a cog.

get it tight? ROTAFIX!!!
http://204.73.203.34/fisso/eng/schpignone.htm

**** up the paint on your bottom bracket shell? ROTAFIX!!!

need a snarky comment? SHANTS!!!

as for rotafixing... golly... i GUESS, just MAYBE, MAYBE it would be possible to tweak the procedure JUST a little bit. i mean, I'm not sure if it would even be POSSIBLE to put a handkerchief or a piece of tape on the BB shell so that you don't scratch it... MAYBE. aaaaahhhh, no, i'm not even going to try. who's ever heard of there being even a remote possibility of ever protecting a paint job anywhere on a bicycle???

This was my first thought upon reading his story, too.

I know who you are!!!!

First part, perhaps true. Second part, not.

Twas not illegal. At all. Period. End of story. Have a nice day.

I had my bike sealed in an acid-free mylar sleeve like people do with comic books.

Great for the paint, but it does make it a little hard to ride. But we all know the bike is to be looked at, not ridden, right?

Sorry i've been lax on the responses but here we go:
1. no denial on it being the cog/lockring... just ignorance and an interest in exploring all possible causes of the problem to correct said ignorance :-)
2. I am new to the fixie revolution but have been riding for almost two months now rain and shine (and snow) and have been skidding in all types of weather and this was definitely not a skid... complete loss of power transfer to the back wheel was what it felt like
3. managed to lossen and tighten the cog without touching the lockring so either the lockring is not tight enough or the cog is too small... I'm off to purchase a lockring tool right now to see which it is
4. Hoping like hell its just a need to tighten everything down. The wheel is under warantee (spell?) and the guy who owns the shop is super cool, but i don't wanna miss even a day riding my fixed.

I'll update again once i've tried tightening the lockring...

Oh and I'm not touching that one with a 40 foot pole. At all. Period. End of story. Have a nice day.

Good luck sorting it out jedi_steve. Even the simplest of setups can have their quirks, but it sounds like you are on the right track...bike.

I demand public hanging of proponents of the ROTAFIX method.

why's that? ROTAFIX is da bomb!

I actually love it for getting cogs on and off - but I still put the lockrings on. It may not work as stated on the website for riding without a lockring, but as far as leverage and being able to get things tighter than a chainwhip, it's GREAT!

Hang me if you must.

It is the lockring part that annoys me.

"Use this method so you don't need to use a lockring!"

This can't be good advice to anyone.

If it was touted as the ultimate way to get a cog on and off I have no issue with it.

Originally Posted by William Karsten
First part, perhaps true. Second part, not.

Twas not illegal. At all. Period. End of story. Have a nice day

Nice! Jedi, All sarcasm aside, I hope ya solve the problem quickly and easily.
WK. Wow. It's hard to argue with such compelling evidence, so I won't. This is hardly the place to do so anyway. Not nearly enough room here to re-write history..................... ;)
Seriously, have a nice day :)

Can we shoot them first?


'nuff said.

Sure!

I believe the people that originally came up with it were saying you don't need a lockring on a track. Perhaps we should come up with a new name for using the method while still using a lockring on the street? Because it does get your cog a LOT tighter than a chainwhip. Which probably would have prevented the OP's problem in the first place...

[QUOTE=HereNT]I believe the people that originally came up with it were saying you don't need a lockring on a track. Perhaps we should come up with a new name for using the method while still using a lockring on the street? [QUOTE]


That be good! Or a warning label!

Or, as previously mentioned, a public hanging to serve as a deterence!

Not true ... the spectacle of punishment only made the masses more resentful towards the cruelty of the whole thing, just to awaken sympathy for the punished person. Moreover, once the novely of knouting or flogging wore off, people stopped percieving the spectacle as the ceremony it was supposed to be to just be another usual spectacle. Another factor that has to be taken in consideration is that the lack of trained experts to give torment made the punishment less effective, and not even the punished was impressed after the administration of the torment.

Ok ... I got it down now ...

Back to write my presentation

I'm a little late on this too. But I always use the ROATAFIX method, and i use a lockring. i see it as the absolute best way to protect your cog and hub. and if your conserned with your paint job ive used old innertubes, bar tape, and old frames. you'll never be able to get this much torque with a chain whip. plus some people don't own chain whips