I'm getting a new rear cog. Should I go Surly or E.A.I.? I'm getting a 16 tooth, so the drilling done on the larger surlys is not an issue.

Eai.

why not da?

what is the drilling on the surlys for?

I would say EAI. Surly has a slightly wonky thread pitch and I have heard stories of them being prone to stripping threads on cheaper hubs. It happened to me as well, but I puyt most of the blame on the suzue basic hub rather than the cog. Still though, if you have the choice EAI is pretty much the best cog out there. Surly just has all the sizes.

They claim it makes the cog lighter. Obviously it does, but is it enough to matter? Not on my heavy ass bike.

holy crap someone from Long Beach, CA!

Eai 100%.

EAI or Dura Ace...

I have EAI, DA and Soma cogs.

I have examined Surly cogs at my lbs.

I like the quality and finish of the EAI cogs, the best.

That said, take the various cogs and put them on a table top, next to each other.
They each have a different height, or offset from the table.
This means each of them supports a slightly different chain line, with a given hub.

I think chainline, more than aesthetics, should govern the choice.

I would go with whichever EAI, DA or Surly cog that gave me the best chainline, and feel good about it.

The newer Surlys have a slightly larger footprint for greater thread engagement. I am guessing that because of the added material they drillled them to keep the weight down to what it was originally.

eai, no question bout' it.

phil?

only if you've ever won the lottery.

they're only $5ish more than EAI's
but i dunno if they're even making 16Ts right now.

i love my phil cog. really well built. it has nice chainline with phil hubs too haha.

I just went with the Surly because of the greater thread engagement. I may go with an EAI when I get together enough dough to buy a new crankset, and upgrade the whole drive setup.

Eai on the road and off road.

Aren't EAI's the cogs that are prone (well... more prone) to breaking in half? That said, I ride a surly at school and a da at home and neither has failed me.

personally, i think you're absolutely fine with either. if price and gear size werent issues, id go with the EAI i guess, because of reputation. i doubt you'll have a problem with either though.

I'm using an EAI and a Surly right now. Both are good, but the Surly is cheaper and shinier. Advantage, Surly.

I'm currently trying to make this decision also. I'm running a Surly at the moment, on my stock Fuji track wheel. This wheel's about to die, and I'm popping spokes every week. The drillings in the Surly are really handy when you can thread a spoke through them and not have to take off the cog. I think I'll go with the EAI for my next wheel, though.

eai ..or dura ace

I am using a surly and I like it no problems so far

Holy crap this thread got popular! I decided to go with the EAI. Mostly because of the sheldon brown recommendation. Perhaps if i decide to get another size, I'll try surly and compare. Bikage, where do you ride?