Okay,

So I finally put clipless on my fixie, a big change from the platforms. I realized for the first time what it really means to be "one with the bike." For the first time I was able to power up hills, and do skids. Then, while practicing a skid, I spun the cog back. Since I was practicing in my driveway, I got off the bike, took off the wheel and tightened down the cog and lock ring. I need to confest two things: It is a very cheap no-name hub, and I did not use loc-tite.

So I got back on, and tried again. This time, I again loosened the cog while trying a hard skid, but instead of using tools to tighten it, I decided to power it back on by pedaling forward. Then it happened... It just spun. I took the wheel off, and removed the cog to find that I had stripped the threads!

Is this common with cheap hubs? I've accepted the fact that it's time for a good hub, but will my LBS be able to lock things down such that this won't happen again? What should I do to prevent stripping my next hub?

I guess I'll be taking the MTB to work tomorrow.

Any advice appreciated.

Chances were......it was not because of your 'cheap' hub. I would bet that your cog was not 100% compatible with your hub, thread-wise. For example, a Surly cog will spin on a Campy hub, but a Campy cog will not spin on a Surly hub freely......I think I got that right, I hope. Not all hubs and cogs are compatible, although most cogs can be spun onto most hubs with a bit of force.

I agree with george in that it was probably the cog and not the hub.

What kind of cog was it? I'll bet it was a cheap#$% Cyclo Gear one!!!

Same thing happened to me.

DO NOT BUY CHEAP #%@$ COGS!!!!

Live and learn and use the smoked hub for a ss.

I cannot determine the make/mfgr of either the hub or the cog. Both appear to be cheap. They came from guy who sells all the economical converted fixies on ebay.

Can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive pre-built wheel? I'm shopping around. Sheldon Brown (Harris Cyclery) has some in the $119 range. That's not too bad, but I'd be happy with a used wheel.

Thanks.

I have the basic Suzue Hub with the Dura-ace cog from Harris. It works great and I use my legs primarily for breaking.

Spend the cash and get a decent hub and cog b/c you can always switch them out on other bikes and build the wheel around it. Just my 2 cents.

I have a surley hub, lockring, and cog. They came as a set in my LBS for a little under a hundred, and so far, no problems with them. I second the expensive cog, if you can afford it (right now, I wouldn't be able to..). once a good bike part, always a good bike part, no matter where you put it.