"Lockring" conversions dangerous?
 

I'm looking to build out my first-ever fixie, and because I'm broke and have never ridden fixed, I'm looking to do it on the cheap... but a friend has warned me that lockring conversions (you know, redishing a wheel from an old 10-speed and then threading on a track cog and securing it with a BB lockring) result in wheels dangerously prone to failure. How dangerous are they really? Is this a valid concern, or should I be able to get away with it?

Thanks!!

-chris

back pedalling could cause the cog to unscrew under force, hence a lockring. since a bb lockring unscrews in the same direction as a cog, both could come unscrewed at the same time with enough pressure. that's why lockrings are left hand threaded: when the back pedal pressure makes the cog want to unscrew, that direction will only tighten a lockring. some people will locktite the crap out of the cog and bb lockring and use brakes to slow down more than their legs. i'm sure someone will say that setup works fine, but i think it's ghetto and dangerous. do it right the first time.

I've been riding with Campy Tipo's and a lockring since I finished my fixie with absolutely no problem. I don't ride brakeless so no skidding thank you. I do use my legs to slow and stop most of the time, and I can trackstand for long periods so I am bumping the cog in both directions. If you use a good quality hub I can't see any reason it would fail. I do check the lockring from time to time but it hasn't budged.

If you're concerned use some of the Locktite that can be removed to help keep it together. If you are into riding brakeless and want to skid then I might think twice about it because you're depending on the lockring for your ability to stop. Not sure it's worth the risk. But then riding anything brakeless is a tradeoff IMHO.

I've also got a redished rear wheel and a Surly cog with a BB lockring. I put a fair amount of the blue Loctite on both the cog and lockring and cranked hard when I screwed both on the hub. I run a front brake but try to do a fair bit of backpedaling to slow down/stop. I've yet to learn how to skid so no worries there. I check my cog/lockring set up every once in a while to make sure they're still locked down tight. I am hoping to build up a rear wheel myself using a Mavic Open Pro rim and possibly a Surly or Suzue hub one of these days...just need to decide on a hub.

i would go for and use the the BB lockring to see if you like it. Just keep a brake on it if tries to spin off. I rode my MTB SS for a month with just a cog (no locktite or lockring) and never spun it off but I had 2 brakes on it just in case. I'll bet within a month or two you will be shopping for a track hub and rim to do it right. You'll get hooked like the rest of us.

Cheers

"I'll bet within a month or two you will be shopping for a track hub and rim to do it right. You'll get hooked like the rest of us. "

people said that to me 15 years ago. Still waiting to see whats 'wrong' the way i did it.

couldnt you just JB-weld a cog onto a regular freewheel hub?

i didn't even go as far as a lockring or loctite, which admittedly is kind of scary. I just screwed the cog on, and it's offset in such a way that it's too wide to fit a lockring on there. I locked it down pretty well with a chainwhip. When I ride I pretty much don't use the brake; I usually skid or skip the wheel or something like that. No problems yet. Just remember to keep an eye on your bike.

It will work, and I have done it in the past...

Although I am still a little hesitant to suggest this as a means of fixed gear conversion. I say if you are thinking about trying out the FG world, get yourself a cheap wheel with a track hub (suzue, sovos etc). You will be quite a bit happier I would think...

Phil