cogs and lockrings!
 

Just purchased a 300 dollar windsor from BD, don't flame, should be enough for commuting, but i do want to smooth it out as much as possible and i've heard that i really need to replace whatever comes in stock because its too soft (and 48x16 is a bit too innapropriate for the street).

So far cheapest i've found is about 24 for a surly cog and 20 for a lockring? That seems somewhat expensive, is there anywhere specific i should look to find a 17t cog and a lockring of decent quality?

I'm also curious in what you guys suggest i replace after my bike gets here, i'm up for upgrading it a bit (won't touch the wheels for awhile, they're formulas and i'll wait for them to die on me before replacing)

thanks!

Better to go with the Surly cog and expensive lockring than the cheap, no-name **** that will wear fast, damage your hub, possibly cause a lot of noise, or kill you.

$40 is about right for the set. You also might want to get a lockring tool and a chain whip (or learn how to rotafix). So you can change the cog yourself.

Who on earth is charging $20 for a lockring? You can usually get them for $8 or $9. Ben's Cycles has ok prices on cogs. I like EAI.

For $24, I'd sooner go with EAI than Surly. Or you can get comparable quality to both for even less money with Dura Ace. But yeah, whatever you do, make sure you buy a quality cog.

I do have the tools, and i was definetely looking at quality but i don't think i need a professional level 25 dollar surly cog on my 300 dollar windsor just to make sure it doesn't crap out on me. I'll look into EAI and bikeisland.com was charging 20 for a surly lockring i think.

Anyhow, what else should i upgrade? :D

For everything else, just wait until it breaks or you decide it's uncomfortable. Cog and lockring are the only "prevention-based" upgrades you really need to make.

Oh, and make sure that your cog thickness (1/8" or 3/32") matches or is smaller than that of the chain.

Glad to hear you are going to run 48x17. Its my fav all around flat gear. I recently got cocky and went to 49x16 during a drive train overhaul and now I'm regretting it.

Why not get the dura ace cog? It's the same price or even cheaper than the surly one.

DA tops off at 16t, and I believe he wants to get a lower gear.

Soma makes bigger than 16, I have a 19. DA lockring too.

and somas are 22 bucks, even from soma.

I too use a Soma cog with Dura Ace lockring and have had no trouble whatsoever (as long as they get installed correctly). Highly recommended.

Bikeisland wants $17 for a surly lockring, Soma wants $16 for theirs, that's kind of stiff either way. Dura Ace are $9-12 and as good as it gets.

The only cogs that aren't good are ones that come on cheap bikes, you really can't go online or into a store and actually buy a junky stamped cog any more. I mean, I'm sure there are shops that have old crap in the drawer or whatever, but all of the current brands are fine. Shimano/Dura Ace, Surly, Rockwerks (same as Surly), EAI, Soma, Milwaukee, Phil ($$$), Miche (not what you want), I may have forgotten one. The only weird name I've seen out there is "Cobra," Ben's has them and they're kind of scary cheap ($12), I'd skip them unless someone knowledgeable on here has seen them.

If you want to save money, get a $20 Milwaukee cog and one of the $9 lock rings from Ben's. I'd skip their $5 econo lock ring, not exactly the place to try to save $4. Otherwise, go to a local shop and pay a little more, but they will probably install it for free.

I just bought my first singlespeed yesterday, and it came with 48/16. It didn't kill me yesterday afternooon and this morning, about 35 miles total, but I will definitely consider going to 48/17.