fitting fixed

madmix

Might sound like a silly question but what do I actually need to install a fixed cog?
got track hubs with h/dropouts but building from scratch and realised that I'd never actually fitted a fixed sprocket before:

I'm thinking it can't be that different from standard geared bike:
sprocket
lockring
chainwhip

anything else I need?

any help appreciated
madmix

meagain

Nowt else of which I can think! In fact only the first is "essential"! The other two items mere added luxury. Depending on chainline and sprocket design might need to consider whether shoulder goes to inside or out?

Oh and some copper grease a good idea IMO/E.

SamWise72

That's the lot! Well, a lockring TOOL is a good idea. Put the cog on, tighten it as hard as you possibly can with the chainwhip. Then fit the lockring, and tighten that as tight as possible (if you have the Hozan pliers, pretty tight!). The put it on the bike. Now go up and down the road, accelerating as hard as you can, but slowing down with the brake (not resisting the pedals). Then go at the lockring again. Most times, you'll find you've tightened the cog further through riding. This means that if you didn't retighten the lockring, then under hard deceleration or skidding, the cog would slip round, and quite possibly strip your hub. It's not hard, but it's worth doing right.

meagain

"a lockring TOOL" AKA a drift and 'ammer!

madmix

thanks guys

SamWise72

meagain wrote:

"a lockring TOOL" AKA a drift and 'ammer!

Not in my workshop you don't! I've got the Park lockring tool, and whilst I could probably wallop it round just as hard with a hammer, I don't fancy mishitting and taking a chunk out of my vintage Campagnolo track hubs! The Park one has a single point tool on one end, for hub lockrings, and a different one on the other end, for BB cups. Well worth the money if you spend time working on bikes.

If you can get some, Hozan pliers are the shiz niz - less likely than anything else to slip out of the holes:

meagain

Very nice kit. But I'm strictly an amateur engineer!

AndyGates

Lovely kit, but what's all this "drift" nonsense? This is what those £1 slot screwdrivers from the pound shop are for!

As you can tell, Madmix, you've got all you need but we can still get aspirational over the toys ...

SamWise72

£15 for this. Not aspirational really, if you plan to keep riding:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... %20Spanner

meagain

"if you plan to keep riding:"

Nope, ain't got one. Never stopped me riding - nor building/rebuilding LOTS of bicycles.

SamWise72

Think I might have miscommunicated. I'm not saying you can't/won't be able to ride if you do it that way. I'm saying that if you're going to ride and care for a lot of bikes, surely spending a little money on the right tools is worth it? I'd love to have the Hozan pliers, but I haven't invested the £50 or so to get a pair. The £15 for the Park tool seemed welll worth it, since I used it every time I mess with a track hub or a BB. Take cotter pins for example. I can remove them with a hammer. Mostly. Sometimes I mushroom them. Then I can usually still get them out with a hammer and a punch. If not, I can always drill them.

Now, on one occasion, I spent 3 hours getting the cotters out of a set of Stronlight dual ring cranks without harm. On another, I spent the same amount of time on a set of Williams cranks on a Claud Butler, and I managed to destroy them.That was the moment I knew it was time for a cotter press from Bikesmith designs. Cost me £25, but if I'd had it before, and it had saved those Williams cranks, it would've paid for itself in one. Now removing and refitting cotters takes 2 minutes, plus 80% of the time, the cotters are still in a position to be reused.

Yes, you can do all the jobs on most bikes with 3 adjustable spanners, a set of allen keys, a screwdriver and a hammer, but why would you? If it's your hobby, why not invest a little in some tools to make the job easier and more enjoyable? I estimate that I've put around £100 in bike specific tools (I bought the same toolkit SJS charge £40 for for £15 at Lidl, then I've got that lockring wrench, a pin spanner/headset spanner combination, a cotter press, and two crank extractors (one in TA size). Those tools save me a huge amount of time, energy, and tears. On top of that, all that comes out of my toolbox most times is a decent set of spanners, screwdrivers, allen keys (actually, they're in the lidl toolkit) and side cutters. I have a 3 leg puller that's handy when I strip a set of cranks, too.

If I had one bike that I rode for commuting, or if I could afford to use the LBS, then it would make no sense, but I spend time every single week working on bikes. Anything else that I'd work on that often, I get the tools for.

SamWise72

For those who don't like spending money on tools, you could do a lot worse than pop to your local Lidl on Monday and pick up one of these tool kits or £20. I bought one two years ago, and everything is still working fine, except the chain tool. You get a headset spanner, cone spanners, pin spanner, lockring tool, chainwhip, pedal wrench, crank extractor, chain tool, allen keys, Shimano BB cup tool, and other stuff - bargain. Everything you need for that fixed cog install for instance. You won't get a chance to get outfitted with the right tools for less any time soon.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages ... Pieces.ar6

krakow

I'm hoping to do the rounds of my local Lidls on Monday to try and pick up this tool kit (and maybe some of the other cycling stuff - anyone use the wireless computer/hr monitor?). Thankfully Lidls are ten a penny round here.

SamWise72

Get there for opening, and you'll get whatever you want.