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Question for the Flip-Floppers
Bigger cog on the freewheel? Same size? Or bigger cog on the fixed?
Thinking about getting a freewheel (seems a shame to waste all those nice threads on the other side of the hub) and I could see how it would be useful for riding the long hills up around Tahoe. I was thinking that I'd probably go a tooth or two larger on the freewheel since you don't have to spin down and then it's easier climbing when it turns back up. How do you flip-floppers do it? |
Two fixed cogs :D
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Originally Posted by yairi
Two fixed cogs :D
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I have a flip flop on my old rig and to be honest I never used to free wheel! :) I would say get a few teeth larger on the free wheel.
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If you have brakes, I wouldn't sweat it. That being said, I usually use the same size freewheel as the fixed side.
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My freewheel is 1 tooth larger than my cog.
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Originally Posted by caloso
I thought of that but I'm not confident about putting on a fixed cog without a lockring, particularly if it's hilly.
As long as you have a brake and rely on the brake for slowing and stopping, a securely mounted cog will not spin off. You could do without a lockring. I've never had a problem with a cog loosening, even when applying back pedal pressure when scrubbing off speed. |
larger for the freewheel.
You don't have to worry about spinning out on descents and it'll be even more useful when you are really tired. |
john kerry?
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i wouldnt use a fixed cog without a lockring.
i probably wont ever use a flip-flop hub ever again since the only difference between fixed-fixed and fixed-free is that you have LESS options with FIXED-FREE. unless a quarter inch of threads is aesthetically unappealing...go with fixed-fixed. on my other bike i have the free cog 2 teeth larger (about 10 gearinches less) and i love it. your intuition is right...less gear inches on the free side lets you spin when you want and coast when it gets to be too much. |
sometimes I think maybe go a little larger with the freewheel... then I think maybe the same size... then I think maybe a little smaller... then again, a little lower gearing would be nice when I can coast... on the other hand once i've got used to spinning, who needs tall gears... Oh hell I don't know... I can never make up my mind.
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+2t on the free side.
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Yeah, if you wanna use the freewheel as a bail-out sort of setup, then I'd go 1 tooth bigger. If it's just for downhill coasting, stay same size or 1 tooth bigger.
So, 1 tooth bigger. |
Why do they make flip-flop hubs anyway, just to save $X on not threading the freewheel side twice?
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That's a good question. Since you can put a freewheel on the fixed side, it seems that a fixed-fixed hub makes the most sense.
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Originally Posted by jacobpriest
john kerry?
I'd put a larger toothed freewheel for the exact reasons the OP cited. |
I use the same size cog both sides - free and fixed. I like to swing both ways :)
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suicide on the flip side
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it seems to me like people in this thread are confused, if it's a fixed/free hub, you don't need a freewheel, if you put a fixed cog on the free side of a hub, it is a freewheel, and doesn't need a lockring since it's never going to have any forces that would unthread it.
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Originally Posted by caloso
That's a good question. Since you can put a freewheel on the fixed side, it seems that a fixed-fixed hub makes the most sense.
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Originally Posted by morbot
it seems to me like people in this thread are confused, if it's a fixed/free hub, you don't need a freewheel, if you put a fixed cog on the free side of a hub, it is a freewheel, and doesn't need a lockring since it's never going to have any forces that would unthread it.
umm i think its just a difference in the threads, its not the hub thats freewheelin, right? |
Originally Posted by trimmedinred
wait what?
umm i think its just a difference in the threads, its not the hub thats freewheelin, right? |
From the Man himself:
Originally Posted by Sheldon Brown
You can also use two different sized fixed sprockets on a flip-flop hub. Generally I would recommend only one tooth difference in this case. I run 14 & 15 with a 42 front myself on a couple of my own bikes.
Most flip-flop hubs are only threaded for a lockring on one side, but the sprocket/freewheel thread is the same, so you can screw a fixed sprocket onto the freewheel side. I'd put the smaller sprocket on the side without the lock ring, because it's less likely to come unscrewed. There are double-fixed flip-flop hubs, and, to me, this is the most desirable configuration. This arrangement is the most versatile, because you can set it up either with 1 or 2 fixed sprockets, or 1 or 2 freewheels. Any standard track hub can also be used with a single-speed freewheel just by leaving the lockring off. The thread is the same. Sometimes people worry because the hub thread isn't as deep as a freewheel specific hub, but this is never a problem with a single-speed freewheel. |
i have fixed on both sides of my fixed/free hub..the 18t is on my lockring side, the 16t is on the freewheel size locktited on ;)..I can't skid with the 16 anyways...so Im not too scared I'll unscrew it..and I only use the 16 to go faster in flat places since its sorta brutal on hills...
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Does having different size cogs on either side effect chain length? If so, do you just hope that the dropouts will handle the change?
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