Question for the Flip-Floppers
04-11-07 | 11:36 AM
#1
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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?
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?
04-11-07 | 11:43 AM
#3
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Originally Posted by yairi
Two fixed cogs 
I would say get a few teeth larger on the free wheel.
04-11-07 | 11:46 AM
#5
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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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04-11-07 | 12:07 PM
#7
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.
04-11-07 | 12:13 PM
#10
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From: illadel
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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.
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.
04-11-07 | 12:14 PM
#11
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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.
04-11-07 | 01:01 PM
#13
crotchety young dude
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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.
So, 1 tooth bigger.
04-11-07 | 01:54 PM
#14
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Why do they make flip-flop hubs anyway, just to save $X on not threading the freewheel side twice?
04-11-07 | 01:59 PM
#15
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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.
04-11-07 | 02:15 PM
#16
Originally Posted by jacobpriest
john kerry?
I'd put a larger toothed freewheel for the exact reasons the OP cited.
04-11-07 | 10:18 PM
#19
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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.
Last edited by morbot; 04-12-07 at 10:37 AM.
04-11-07 | 10:22 PM
#21
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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?
04-11-07 | 11:15 PM
#22
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Originally Posted by trimmedinred
wait what?
umm i think its just a difference in the threads, its not the hub thats freewheelin, right?
umm i think its just a difference in the threads, its not the hub thats freewheelin, right?
04-12-07 | 10:21 AM
#23
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From the Man himself:
(I know I should have looked here first, but it's more fun to poke a stick at BFSSFG.)
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.
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.
04-12-07 | 10:34 AM
#24
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From: bushwick, brooklyn
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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...
..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...