So i bought a BD Windsor "the hour" about 3 months ago. The cog kept coming loose while I was learning to skid, so I rotafixed it, and now, the next day, the cog is stripped.

Is it my fault, or was it just a cheap hub? I'm 180 lbs and a fairly strong rider, but I was just barely learning to skid, and i've only owned the bike for a few months.


Can anybody recommend a strong, cheap rear wheel? This is my rain/commuter bike, but I still need it to be strong. I presume that the rim/spokes are too cheap to warrant a rebuild on a new hub, but I'm open to that option too.



Thanks,
B.

If im not mistaken those bikes come with formula hubs. If your cog kept coming lose maybe the lockring wasn't tight? Did you check that? I've had formula hubs on one of my bikes for 3 years and haven't stripped it yet. So it is your fault. And I skid a lot, no brakes.

lockring was tightened many times

well bad luck? You could just buy another rear hub, they're cheap. Unless you like you said you want something "stronger"? I'd suggest just buying a new formula and lacing it yourself back up to the wheel you already have if its a beater.

if the cog kept on coming loose, then the lockring wasn't tightened to the cog. or the lockring and cog didn't make adequate contact. repeated accidental loosening and tightening of the cog chewed up the threads - additionally problematic if it was a cheap cog with threads that are more likely to chew up a hub's threads.

Did you tighten the cog and lockring with their specific tools, or did you use some other form of tomfoolery to tighten it down?

Also, hope is not lost. You can thread a track cog on the freewheel side of your hub, and tighten it down with a bottom bracket longring ($1 or so at most bike shops). As long as you tighten like the dickens and use a brake, you'll be fine.

QP, that sounds about right. thanks....

i've never built a wheel and can't afford the downtime, so I think it's going to be a new wheel for the time being AND a new hub for wheelbuilding fun.

The downtime for rebuilding you wheel with a hub is the time it takes for the Formula new hub to arrive, and two or three hours to strip down and rebuild the wheel. Building your own wheel is extremely rewarding, and in your chase, cheaper than buying a new one.

the windsor ships with formula hubs, but they are very distinct from the kind sourced by IRO and friends and are inferior in quality. just fyi.