So i've been commuting for some time now with my super-loyal Nishiki, but the meet-ups i go to are almost 100% fixed gear cyclists. I always thought i didn't need one, but it won't hurt to build/buy one and it will add some longevity to my commuter. i love cycling, and i really want to explore the world of the fixie, take it to the velodrome, etc.

so how should i know which cog to buy? how do i figure out a comfortable gearing ratio?

i would probably like freewheeling more than ss b/c the kid in me loves to coast on the downhill!

any other info that might help is much appreciated.

thanks to all!

I coast on my fixed gear, it not like you have to put any effort into pedaling downhill, just make sure you have decent foot retention and let the feet spin.

As usual I recommend 46x17. Euro-Asia or Dura-Ace cogs are good.

i have a set of pedals with toe-clips that will likely be used for my new fixie. i will try it both ways, ss and freewheel. is it possible to swap between the two whenever i'd like? i'm sure SS at the velodrome is a lot more relevant.

i found the cog you mentioned (Euro-Asia), but there's an option of how many teeth it should be? my layman's logic tells me 46x17 means 46 is the size of the chainring with 17 teeth?

Just so you know, the term singlespeed means one gear with the freewheel mechanism, fixed gear is fixed gear. Easy to mix up I know. It is possible to swap if you have a flip-flop hub, which is readily available. You can get fixed/freewheel or fixed/fixed. Even though I think you can still mount a freewheel on fixed threads.

Yes on the cog business.

(46=46 teeth in the chainring and 17=17 teeth in the cog. people used fixed at velodromes. and yes, to switch between fg and ss you just have to get a hub that has threading for both ss/fg and flip your rear wheel around.)

figure out what ratio you like on your nishiki right now. the fg will be a little more efficient, but try to stay in the gear inches which you are comfortable. and plz, make sure you're putting a cog on a hub that has compatibility for a lockring.

I would like to add that if you're kind of on a budget and want to save some money (most people need to in times like these) [perhaps 50% on the internet], a generic cog compared to a NJS cog (which those 2 mentioned above are) makes no great difference performance unless you're a professional track racer. What you want to pay attention most to is the cog and chain ring size.

You also would want to pay attention to the topography of your location, as if you live in a hilly area, you would want a bigger cog for easier peddling up hills.

I don't have a budget, only because I don't have an income.

EDIT: True, my current 17t was $7 off ebay.

i dunno, man. cogs really aren't that expensive. a dura ace cog is $20. the most expensive cog ever is around $100 (for like a gold plated eai cog). just got a da cog.

Please don't feed them.

Marrzipan,

You live in Los Angeles, so this is a relatively easy one.

Bring your bike in to the Bike Oven, Bike Kitchen, or Bikerowave, and have them help you out with this. (You may need to order your parts elsewhere, but they've got all the tools and stands and make this a pretty easy process.)

For a singlespeed, basically you need to remove the cogset and add a freewheel, remove a chainring and put the chainring you keep on the side of the spider that makes the chainline straight, and maybe add a new chain. It's pretty cheap and easy.

For a fixed gear, you'll need a new track rear wheel, and maybe a wheelset, and since a straight chainline is really important, you'll probably need a new crank and bottom bracket. It's a lot more expensive than building a singlespeed, and it may be cheaper just to buy a fixie from BD.


Your gearing should be slightly less than 3:1 (Chairning teeth: cog teeth) for most L.A. riding (46:16, 48:17, etc.), but if you're going to the velodrome, you'll want a gearing that's slightly more than 3:1. You can find gear inch charts pretty easily via google.

the Euro-Asia cog was $60, pretty affordable after this week's pay, but for sure i will look at other one's, ask my LBS to compare them, etc.

How should i figure out what ratio i like on my Nishiki? there are a couple gears that put me in the sweetspot, right at my cardio zone, but how could i compare that gear to a single speed cog? count the teeth on my crank + the teeth on the gear??? man, sorry for so many newbie questions, but i am in fact very excited to get this project going! i feel the cog issue is the most important, everything else is pretty straight forward. seems easy enough.

topography is not an issue, i have a commuter for my everyday hilly ride (hill-billy ride?), but our meetups are usually in the downtown areas, nice and flat for miles.

and i agree, leave the trolls under the bridge

Thanx BigVegan. I was planning to attend one of those as soon as soon as i get my parts together.

I'm glad i know the obvious differences between SS and fixed now, and i think SS is better for me. It just seems more versatile, + easier to begin with. the Velodrome will be a once-ever-couple-months thing, if anything.

Thanks again BigV.

You can get two EAI cogs at that price...

He was referring to ones EAI has that comes with a carry pouch... the "super star" most likely...

LOL i did come across the super star cog in my searches. "comes with an orange wallet with EAI logo"....don't really care much for a carrying case anyway. Found some great ones for less than $20.

...and also, what is the purpose of the lockring? with or without, what is the difference? is it a safety precaution?

If you put any backwards force on your cog(skidding), it will unscrew itself. The lockring has inverse threads so this doesn't happen.

Lockring it is then....are they all the same size and compatibility?

No. Campagnolo/Miche/Phil use one spec;everybody else uses ISO.

You are getting a singlespeed, right? You don't need a lockring. You also don't need to be racing at a velodrome until you know some things about bikes. Also I'm pretty sure you won't be allowed to race in a 'drome with a singlespeed.

i know a thing or two about cycling...just not very many technical aspects of the fixie/ss world. The velodrome was just a novel idea, the outdoors one at Encino let's you rent out the track hourly for a price, so you could practice with your team, etc. But, like i said, it was just a novel idea.

Thanks to all for the advice, and not bashing on me... :/ I've got my frame and a few other parts, just need a wheelset with a flipflop hub, tighten a few bolts and i'm good to go!

That's dangerous. If you are going really fast downhill on a fixed gear bike it is much safer to pedal as hard as you can (with pressure on the pedals).