Today I finally got my bike back from one of the bike shops in town; I needed help putting a break on/drilling some holes a little bigger. So anyway I was riding around today and my gear ratio was really bothering me, plus my wheels felt out of true. So I stopped into the bike shop in town (the one I’ve heard shady things about), and the mechanic was really nice and showed me how to true my wheels/just dropped what he was doing. Well anyway when we went to take the lockring off it wouldn’t budge, and the mechanic tried everything. I’m probably going to take it back to the other bike shop tomorrow and see if they can do it. I’m a little freaked that they won’t be able to get it off either. Does anyone have any tips? This mechanic was a big guy too, and he even tried carefully using a hammer and the bugger wouldn’t move. On the plus side I might have a new part time job out of the visit I made. But yeah tips are needed because I’m spinning my legs right off.

Be careful... I stripped my locking threads on my old surly hub because it was stuck

just to check, is it a track hub, and if so, you know the threads are reveresed, right?

i had a lockring that i jb-welded on; got it off by cutting the ring into pieces w/ a dremel and pullong them off with vicegrips.

not elegant, but effective

You might try some wd-40 and using a cheater bar ( carefully ) and if you can try removing it while still on the bike. More leverage.

was he turning it the right (right not left) way?

I imagine that the shop initially used red loctite on the lockring. Heat it up with a torch..Last time I switched cogs, I used my creme brulee torch to heat the ring, and then it came off with ease.

assuming you have a track hub and the lockring hasn't been treated with any loc-tite the following story might help:
the first time i tried to have my cog replaced at a small LBS that darn lockring sucka would not come off. after a tri flow bath, some minor tapping, and numerous attempts to take it off with brute strength. the mechanic on hand (aka climbinrocks) and i put the lockring wrench in a vice that was securely fastened to the shop workbench. we then lined up the stubborn lockring and both of us tried to slowly turn the wheel. viola!

yes its a track hub and yes we were turning it to the right. oh and i forgot, we even broke one of his lockring wrenches trying to get the damn thing off. when i brought the bike into the other shop to get help with the brake i asked them to check to make sure the lockring was tight, so hopefully they can take it off again.

-terrapin, there shouldnt be any locktite on the lockring (or maybe im just misunderstanding you)
-stet thanks for your tip, that might work.

b.a.- i've actually had to employ that method a second time with equally positive results. for further clarity the wrench and wheel should be horizontal to the ground. good luck.

Okay, I am a little confused about this vice thing. I get that the the wrench goes into the vice, and then you spin the wheel. But what holds the wheel onto the wrench while you spin it? I am very confused.

Long answer:

First, put the lockring wrench in a sturdy vice mounted to an even sturdier table.

Second, line up the lockring on the hub (while holding on to the wheel by the tire) with the lockring wrench mounted in the vice.

Third, slowly rotate the wheel, with your hands gripping the tire, clockwise.

Short answer: You hands

^^^ gravity... pushes things in a downly direction...

heh heh... downly direction. lucky c's description is dead on. not to sound condescending, but if it's still unclear i could draw you a picture (it's what i do).

Wait gravity pushes things down????

Yeah I figured out why i was finding it confusing, and surprisingly enough it had nothing to do with gravity or having to spin the wheel with my hands. I just wasn’t visualizing the set up of the vice and wrench properly.

Oh a picture is always welcome, even though i think i have it.

it's not worthy of popular mechanics or anything, but here ya go.

oh ho hooooooo even i didn't visualize it like that. right on.

i think the louve should replace the mona lisa with that drawing, personally.

I had problems getting a BB lockring off, it was stripped where the spanner grabbed it. I ended up using a strap wrench. Gives you more purchase without the damage of the spanner slipping. It would be a two person job. One holding the wheel on the ground, and the other turing the wrench.

Maybe try spraying some of this on it and letting it sit for a while before trying again.
Supposedly, it penetrates threaded connections to loosen stuck parts.

I had to use the DREMEL solution on a lockring a few months ago...We simply used the dremel to re-notch out the lockring so we could use lockring pliers on it....we stripped the notches originally with a normal lockring wrench...kept slipping off...

that vise doesnt looky worthy of a REAL bike shop

If you really want to get a stuck lockring off, get a pair of channel lock pliers. Those puppies will grip harder than anything, and their seratted steel jaws won't slip.
It'll bugger your lockring though....

Had a stuck lockring issue a couple months ago. Couldn't remove it with a Park lockring wrench and a huge cheater bar. So I held the wheel and the mechanic took a hammer and chisel/punch to it. The lockring was already in rough shape and that destroyed it for good. But it worked. A good last resort method.

I am guessing the cog is cross threaded. This happens when you put a cog on and not thread it correctly. You can get it on because the hub threads are soft aluminum and the cog is steel. If this is the case, the hub is done!