I need a new cog since right now I'm pushing 48/16 and it's really killing my legs on long rides. I'm a college student so I'm kind of on a budget. Anyway, what are your opinions on the following cogs? Also, will I need a new lockring with the new cog?

Avenir Fixed Gear Cog 17 Tooth
Surly Track Cog
All-City 17t
Cobra Track Cog
Formula 17t

I've heard good things about Dura Ace but they seem to be 16t and under so I had to rule them out. Also, if there are any other cogs you guys know about that are good quality and around that price range, please point me to them. Thanks!

Go with the all city or surly. The others are generic junk.

You don't need a new lock ring.

i have an origin8(i think) cog with a stainless all-city lockring and it works great. yeah the same lockring should work. you'd just have to switch the cog. and u gotta have a lockring tool.


yep

I can't offer advice on one brand over another, but the good news is that you can re-use the old lockring, provided you haven't munged up the threads or flats.

If your knees are bothering you, you might consider going to an 18T cog as well.

Soma cogs are also nice and come in higher tooth counts, which sounds like what you're looking for. Retrogression stocks them and ships incredibly quickly.

edit: maybe Soma stopped making these and I spoke too soon? Regardless, essentially what Nagrom said.

word^ id go w/ the 18t

My favorite high quality value cog is the Soma. You can buy the black ones for $19 here >>> https://www.worldclasscycles.com/soma_track_cogs.htm

You can still get the Soma cogs. See my previous post.

Yep, seems like we all tried to post witihin five minutes of each other, ha. Did some interweb sleuthing and TT is right, they're still available. I don't remember the chrome-plated cogs ever being that expensive at RG though.

I'll echo TT's sentiment, Soma makes some damn nice cogs.

ive been using an origin8 one for a year and a half now and its perfectly fine, i also have a surly one and its just as fine

its a cog, its got threads and teeth and its made of metal. none of them are particularly special and none of them should cost you any more than $30

from what ive heard the EAI cogs are also good but ive never used them

I use a formula steel cog and it works just fine, hardly junk.

hardly alldasame. There's differences in the the hardness of the steel and precision of the machining, all of which can have a significant impact on the smoothness of engagement with the chain. Also, there are different tooth profiles, such that some brands seem to run smoother than others. I don't like the Surly cogs because my experience has been rough and noisy with them. YMMV.

I like my All City because it looks cool.

Soma cogs are nice but my two main preferences are EAI and All-City.

thats right i do have a soma cog (thanks for that upgrade [MENTION=164476]Scrodzilla[/MENTION]), but i havent used it enough to likely say that its samey and works fine

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Soma looks like a good deal but I'm not really sure about the retailer since I've never heard of them and they have nothing on the BBB. So is Soma really that much better than All City or Surly that I should take the risk? I'd honestly be more happy going with Retrogression or Ben's Cycles which is actually local to me.

I have a flip flop so I think I may want to run two different sized cogs. Would it be better to go with a 16 and 18 combo or a 17 and 18 combo? Also, right now I'm really mashing; averaging 65 rpm (maybe 70 on flat terrain) and am looking to try to get up to 80ish rpm so if that makes a difference... I also assume I would have to get a longer chain as well?

I've got a 48 up front with a flip flop 17T/18T, both are black all city cogs with cutouts for da lightweight. They're good cogs that seem to be machined well and they're pretty damn quiet! I live in a pretty flat area and everywhere I ride is flat but I have a fair bit of stop start traffic so I run the 18T most of the time. 17T would be good for long continuous rides but if your knees are hurting you should probably drop down to an 18T!

World Class Cycles (WCC) is 100% legit and I've done tons of business with them over the years. I'm not saying Soma is better than All City, just that I've had very good luck with Soma. For sure you'll be fine dealing with RG or Ben's, and I buy from both of them as well.

I've used Dura-Ace, Soma, All-City, Cobra, and $1 Scrod cog. All have turned my wheel equally well.

you wanna be averaging in the 80-100 rpm range, thats the sweet spot

get that 16 outta there and get an 18t, maybe 17t

If I was gonna run two, I'd make it 17-19 (also running 48t chainring).

That's what I run and it's absolutely perfect, if I need to do some climbing I slap on the 19 but about 80% of my riding is on the 17t. Plus odd numbers have more skid patches so you can impress the ladies.

Alright, last question before I place my order I don't have any knee pain as some of you have brought up. This is my first fixie and I'm a little wary about jumping from 16 to 18 since it's a 9 inch difference. Is this too much of a difference?
Although I'm sure this varies among people, how much will a 1 tooth increase change my cadence? How much does it change yours?

Thanks again guys.

I was riding 48/16 and switched to 48/17 a few months ago. It felt noticeably easier at first, but I grew accustomed to it, and now I actually prefer the new ratio. My reason for switching though, was solely for tire life in skid patches- I was totally happy with the feel of 48/16, and was hesitant to go lower. Based on my own experience with how much easier the 17 felt at first, I think the 18 may be too much of a leap, but it's really only for you to say. If skidding is at all a factor, the 17T will offer 17 patches, while the 18T will offer 3. For what it's worth I run EAI Deluxe cogs, ordered from Retrogression, and like them a lot.

it is a big difference, but in your case a good one

check this site out, it has a table for speed at cadence/cadence at speed so you can compare what you have now to your proposed gearing