Could I be jumping a tooth?
 

I am running a 44T chain ring and a 14T cog. When I try to stop extremely fast, or when a lot of torque is applied (especially when climbing a hill), it almost feels as if my chain jumps a tooth, then continues on. Any suggestions on what could be happening? Everything on my bike is brand new (literally 3 days of use).

how tight is your chain?

My god 44/14?
really?
that's nearly 85 gear inches.

Your cog is slipping. Tighten it, and then tighten the lockring. If you don't, you could ruin your hub.

You know... that is what's going on. I put it on the freewheel side and everything was golden, so I'm positive that is what it is. I'll take it to my lbs and have them tighten it up.

You should invest in a lock ring tool and chain whip so you can do this yourself.

That 44:14 is a fairly extreme gear and you might find the bike will become a lot more spin-able and smoother if you swap that 14 for something like a 16-17... and your drive will last longer too.

I should have asked if it is making a mechanical noise or a quiet slipping... if it is quiet, then cog slipping. You know when a chain slips/binds, it is loud.

did you mean his drive (time spent on a ride) or drive train will last longer?

Yes.

The amount of load / stress on smaller chain rings and cogs is much higher than it would be if larger chain rings and cogs were used and engaging as many teeth as possible for a given drive ratio is optimal.

My road bike runs a 52:18 for nearly 75 gear inches and the drive is as smooth as butter on glass and the drive train life has been exceptional vs the drive train life one sees when they run a 14 in the rear with a smaller front ring (I think a 44 corresponds here).

A smoother drive train is also a more efficient drive train and once you drop below 14 teeth in the rear you begin to lose efficiency due to the low number of teeth that are engaged.

Besides that... having a 48 or 52 tooth ring up front will really impress your peeps... :D

My Phillip's 20 rocks a 52 and a 14/16 combo in the rear which gives me a 65/70 gear inch range and I find the 16 to be far far smoother... one is limited a little with these smaller wheels as you have to run some pretty extreme ratios to get useable gearing with a ss/fixed gear.

If this was a 700c bike that 52:14 would be 100 gear inches !

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ronglight2.jpg