Is bigger always better? (Hub Quality)
 

So im practicing last night and when i do a small skid i feel the cog loosen. i already knew what happened because the same thing happened to the other side. i go back home and retighten the lockring in hopes maybe it can still be ridable and on my way to school again i do a small skip and gives away altogether(im so happy i wasn't riding brakeless on Old Davy) and almost run into a car. so now i need advice. does the more you pay ensure you won't get this to happen? im not looking for phil (but if i have to i will) cost but i know see i can't go cheap on a hub now. i pay'd $45 for it but i don't wanna trust Formula anymore. it wasn't a matter of bad installation because it was riding fine for 2mnths but the force i put on it is really what makes want me to have a real quality hub (i do seated skips to scrub speed). can yall suggest a hub that has long enough threads to get a really tight fit on it? also any cog-lockring-hub combo would be nice. right now i have a DA lockring and cog.

What i had: 36h Formula double fixed hub
What i need: a STRONG hub that is able to handle what i put out. i weight bought 180 but carry reg. 15-25lbs when commuting.

user error.

A good portion of this board uses Formula hubs daily without issue.

yea i really think it was installed wrong. even after 2 months of wriding.

I've rocked that same hub-cog-lockring combo as you for the pass year. You probably just installed it wrong. Try rotafixing the cog on.

edit: I'm the same weight as you too so thats not the issue.

i ride formula hubs weigh 185 and do all the things you say and i have had zero problems with mine ....

totally user error.

first off, if you feel the cog loosen, you should have tightened the cog back before even touching the lockring. you made no mention of it.

do you use blue loctite on the threads? it might be a good idea if you skip/skid so much (though trackbikes are really meant for going fast, not skipping..that's what a rope is for :D)

i didn't install. my bike shop did. guess i cant use him anymore for things like this. o well back to open pro's for now until i save up for the new one.

yah know I killed about 4 hubs in my day and have found three to four brands I can count on one of em being formula however I have always had bad luck with da cogs so....

+1. Mash, mash, mash the pedals (preferably up a hill, or just sprint hard from a stop), coast or brake to a stop (zero back pressure on pedals), THEN tighten the crap out of the lockring. done.

thanks alot. um is it possible to strip a hub by tightening? cuz ima take you for your word and put all i have into tightening the ring.

My formula has taken a beating for over a year and its in fantastic condition.

another ? is it better to get an old steel track hub or current days kind(don't know what they're made of)

i ride 32 hole formulas and weigh 200 lbs and am a mes.senger and have had no problems with em ever

Think of it this way: If your cog won't strip your hub from mashing on it, your lockring sure as heck won't strip it from turning it with a wrench. Your crank arms are like a wrench you can jump on. Yeah, yeah, cog has more threads than lockring, but still.


Now that I have said this, someone will tell me a story about someone stripping their hub tightening a lockring. I just know it.

If you use the rotafix method, then it is possible to overtighten.

I'm 220-230 lbs, and I've been rocking Formulas with DA and Soma cogs for nearly four years, and the hubs are in great shape. I've swapped cogs around several times, and have always thoroughly inspected and cleaned the threads, and they are still in perfect shape. I always Loctite.

This includes a couple years of long-ish commutes and messing in montreal, with plenty-o-mashing on the steep hills. I think blaming Formula for this is probably not appropriate. The hubs have a pretty bomber reputation.

As far as the install not being the problem because of the two month delay, that's not really a valid argument. All that means is that it was installed well enough to not fail *immediately*, which is possible with just about any hardware installation (bike related or not). It would not be impossible for poor installation to be a *root cause* in a failure perhaps even years later (although this would be a bit of an exaggeration).

DIY (assuming you're comfortable with your wrenching skills), and check it regularly.

yea i was a bit rash on my attack. thanks for putting things in perspective. i'll def take your advice.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is such a thrill!

That would be me. but I won't get into it... :)

Gyeswho, another data point... I'm 250+, have rocked formulas for a year, and they're still perfect. I mash up stupid-steep hills and ride through rough city streets.

Tony at IRO Built the wheels. Maybe that helped.

To go along with the mash mash away stuff, if the shop put the cog on, and it wasn't touched since... that would be a bad thing in my mind. Whenever I put a cog on, it and the lockring get tightened at least three times before I'll put much of any backpressure on them. First when installed, second after the mashing session and third after a few rides. I'm pretty set that it won't move after that, but do check it every month or so as the time spent is worth my life. I use a front brake and don't tend to skid/skip though.

I ride a formula back hub with DA cog and lockring and no issues at all. Just tighten the crap out of it, and throw a freewheel on the other side if it's flip flop. Just incase you happen TO strip the hub (**** happens) you can still get yourself to wherever you need to go.

i have a 20 toothcog on the freewheel side of my formula that i tightened up with the mash up a hill trick. tightened up a bb lockring on thee with channel locks n if been skipping n skidding all over the place. n i weigh 193 so i dunno. grease your threads?

Belts off, trousers* down
Isn't life a scream!?

*pants

So, since were sort of on the subject, what cog and lock ring come on the Langster and should I trust them? A friend just gave me the cog and lock ring from his langster since he never rides fixed anyway and I'm going to install them on my Formula hub.