I snapped a lockring tonight for the first time while tightening it down. The lockring has no brand mark on it and came on a stock bike so its quality is dubious. To its credit, though, the lockring threads on the hub are somewhat damaged and this could have contributed to its failure. Anyway, I need a new one (and possibly a new hub) so I was wondering which is the strongest. Surly, Profile, and Paul all look pretty tough. Am I forgetting anyone?

Dura Ace but it depends on what your brand of hub is or what brand of hub you are looking to get because there are different thread patterns for different brand hubs.

This particular hub is a Formula, english threaded. I'll probably end up getting a Surly lockring since they have those in the shops around here. But I'd like to get one of the Profile lockrings since they're so thick. I've read that the Dura Ace lockrings are strong, but they look kind of thin to me.

I've used Surly and DA lockrings on Formula hubs. The Surly ring is indeed thicker, but I've never had a problem with either. If you snapped a lockring, you were probably over-tightening it, which might also explain why your lockring threads are damaged. At this point, I would get the surly...not because its stronger, but because you will be able to engage more threads. Don't overtighten it! The Surly is thick enough to use all of the lockring threads...there is no need for anything thicker.

I use a Dura Ace lockring with a Surly cog on a formula hub. You shouldn't be able to over tighten a lockring unless you were tightening it with no cog on. Maybe the threads were damaged on the lockring or hub.

No. You can break the lockring if you crank on it too hard with a lockring wrench. I know, I've done it.

Dura-Ace. I use both, and the Surly is thicker, but the Dura-Ace is just feels harder & stronger. They're both made of steel, but I've never had the notches on the Dura-Ace get nicked up taking it on and off, which has happened to the Surly.

i run campy record everything.

..

my favrit bike mechanic told me dura ace is the bestest, so that's what i use

snap a lockring?
bizarre.
I've broken the edge of a notch before, but never snapped one.

not to go there, but have you considered the possibility that you're over wrenching your stuff? you shouldn't need to apply that much pressure. remember, the lock ring is reverse threaded, so over tightening doesn't prevent the cog from doing anything.
If you're concerned about a lock ring sliding off, thread lock > over tightening.

I had a feeling this issue would come up. When I tighten on a lockring I first crank it down as hard as I can with both arms and then give the wrench a pump or two with my foot. I do this because I ride on the street and slow down and stop by back-pedaling and/or skidding and figure I should tighten on the lockring with equal pressure as I might put on the cog by skidding. If I rode on the track I probably wouldn't tighten it that far, as I already rotofix the cog. Anyway, when I broke the lockring it was during the second foot pump. Still, I've changed cogs many times in this manner without breaking the lockring.

I identified the lockring as being made by Cyclepro. I picked up a new Surly one today. I'll pick up a Dura Ace lockring if I should come across one in the future.

Lastly, I'm a little wary of putting the new lockring on the damaged threads of the hub. However, I can't see how damaged aluminum threads could snap a steel lockring. If something were to break wouldn't it be the lockring stripping the hub?

i cant imagine anything being thicker or stronger than a surly....i would trust my life with mine (which you kind of do)

Why would you use your foot to tighten a lock ring. Now you know why it broke in the first place.

When you skid, you are putting the weight of your body, reduced by whatever gear ratio you are running, on the cog/lockring. That means that if you weigh 180 lbs and are running a 2.5:1 ratio, you are applying 75 lbs of force to the cog/lockring. Assuming that the lockring wrench is the same length as your cranks (which is approximately true), you should only have to put 75 lbs of force on the wrench in order to achieve the same force.

Its not as simple as that. Its possbile to apply a total amount of force on the pedals that greatly exceeds your body weight, but clearly theres no need to stomp on the lockring wrench.

everybody slows down by back-pedaling and/or skidding.

you'd rip through the threads on yr hub before you'd actually turn the lockring in the direction needed to remove it by stopping.
seriously, you'll get better results from a tiny amount of threadlock.
i know you've done it this way before, but this might be a good time to start installing it properly.
this isn't what you're asking about, but remember-- there's a reason the lockring broke. don't forget to consider that point. having f.ckups like this can be useful if you take a moment to learn from them.

from sheldon:

dura-ace. rotafix your cog.

Phils are great too love mine

wow that was a helpful statement!
he said he has a Formula hub.
or you just telling how bling you are?

never over tighten you ill probably ruin your hubs threads next time and that costs a lot more than a lock ring.

only because i have done this like a dummy.

profile lockrings are really robust.

i only use dura ace though

This man is close, but not correct in his physics. Standing still if you put your bodies weight on one pedal straight down, your statement would be correct, but because we're dealing with a moving bike, you don't have equal weight distribution on your pedals. One is pushing while the other is pulling, in most cases putting more than your own weight on each pedal with a negative torque. Also, because when you push down, the force is applied on the pedal, and when you pull up, the force is further away from your bb, so that creates a greater torque. There is a lot more physics to it that you have written is pretty much what I'm saying, and the end result is a lot more torque being put on your lockring than your cranks when you're going fast.

the point is still moot. no matter how much force is applied to the cranks, the necessary action required to loosen a lock ring cannot be created by the cranks. in one direction (pedaling forward), the cog moves-- "tries to", more accurately-- away from the lock ring; in the other (locking up, skidding, etc), the cog uses friction to tighten the lockring while the lockring is subsequently forced to "use" the reverse threads as leverage to tighten itself against the cog.

the only thing the cog can do to free itself is push the lock ring hard enough to rip the threads off of the hub.



correct me if i'm wrong.

i used dura ace and it was fine, but i got paul hubs and built some wheels up a few months back and that lockring just instills confidence in me... and, well, the hubs are pretty awesome too