The idea of bolt on cogs for fixed gear riding has been around for ages.
Personally, I like the idea. The cog will be much more secure and since they are held onto the hub by bolts, much easier to change than traditional screw on cogs.
The downside is that this system is not common.
Are Cycle Underground any closer to having their bolt-on cogs in production? Not indicated on their website as such. Last time I spoke to John they were “about 3 weeks away”, that was late last year…
tomity and londonfixie also do them…
level components make a great hub for them. i know at least one that has been through a lot of street abuse and is still going strong.
it has surprised me that some of the fixed gear freestylers havent jumped on the idea yet.
the biggest drawback AFAIK has been that the cogs are relatively hard to come by (and lets be honest… nobody is hyping the idea).
now for the shameless plug… a good friend of mine is currently prototyping his own version of a bolt-on track hub. the guy behind it would have some great materials/mechanical conversations with Blakey and has been riding mtbs and bmxes hard for two decades and fixed for 4 years. he also regularly puts in 900+km months of just commuting/errands… and once had to gmap a skid he did to establish its length (~950m, it was in light snow down a hill, he had had to release the skid when the corners got too tight).
im looking forward to see how they turn out… he is not looking to take over the phill woods of the world, just see if he could bring an idea to fruition and maybe contribute something to the bike world.
Its a great idea… but what’s the point? Is a front hub with disc mounts cheaper than a track rear hub?
If it is… then hell, my next rear wheel is going to have a mtb hub.
if cost was everything then phil wood and chris king wouldnt sell much… quality comes into it somewhere.
ive seen and heard of a lot of stripping/crossthreading of cheaper hubs, add in the additional robustness/serviceability of the bearings/seals on mtn bike hubs and suddenly what you get for the price might be more attractive.
add on top of that being able to change your own hub without a chainwhip (or skinned knuckles)…
Ok… so how does it compare to a Phil wood. Is the quality there? What’s the price difference?
If you’re looking for something cheaper, but will last as long as a Phill Wood. Is it an option to consider?
from what i’ve read into this stuff since finding it. They are pretty ballsy hubs and are relatively cheap. would be good to see if cycle underground could get there act together and get one out complete.
You’re missing the point. It’s not about the cost savings. It’s trying to develop a better way to attach rear fixed cogs to rear hubs. Like I said … it’s a good idea being that using bolts on a disc hub is a much stronger attachment than using screw on cogs. A big advantage to folks that like to ride hard/skid alot/ride off road/do tricks etc etc. A different version of this is the new White Industries cog/hub which uses a spline interface + lockring to hold the cog to the hub.
Because the idea hasn’t developed very far, you’re currently limited to afew suppliers of cogs and DIY rear hubs or proprietary stuff from Level components or White Industries. If bolt on rear cogs were as common as say screw on ones, than you would then have all sorts of qualities to choose from at different price points (i.e. from cheap as formula to expensive Phil Wood).
There’s a Spin trispoke front wheel on ebay at the moment with a MTB bolt on disc hub. So potentially, you could bolt on a cog and use as a rear, yeah? I mean if the size was the same (25" vs 700c).
1 or 2 of you have really been really missing the point and justification of bolt-on or splined hubs. The point is that it is safer and more reliable to avoid track hubs with lock rings if you are going to use the rear for any of your braking. They just don’t have the problems.
The justification $$-wise is that if you will actually be riding the bike fixed regularly over at least the medium term, you will strip hubs. The first one that is stripped, by the time you have replaced it you can look back and say you would definitely have saved money with one of the non-threaded options from the start.
The White ENO hubs are very good and provide a single source packaged solution, but at a couple of hundred bucks for the hub plus the sprockets, a lockring (to hold the sprocket on the splines but not take any real force), and maybe the service tools it is a bit expensive. I’ve got one that came with a MTB-size wheelset, but now looking at whether I need the White Industries tools it’s a bit over the top.
The Velosolo setup uses XT M756 front hubs (which I scrounged for about $30 each unused on ebay) and then you just chase up a solid axle, some spacers to take the hub out to 120, 126, 130 or 135mm from the original front 100mm (I’m lucky to have my brother’s lathe available), track nuts, 6 bolts and a cog/ If you buy the whole lot from them it’s about $140 delivered here, and a bit cheaper if you chase up your own hubs and do some DIY like me. You couldn’t complain about the quality of the XT hub (someone will now!), and they go well at the back as they start out as 10mm through the guts of them - just milled down to 9mm where the old hollow axles stick out to go in 9mm fork ends. When you convert the 10mm solid axle fits perfectly at the back. Not sure if other lower range Shimano 6 bolt hubs also have this 10mm/9mm arrangement. Anyone know?
Epic thread dig up…
Also, afaic, ifyou want to use a bolt on cog because you strip thread on cogs, either stop buying cheap shit or learn how to use the tools / install them correctly, I have never striped / threaded a cog in 8 or so years of riding track bikes. Its not that hard.
win
co-signed. i do think that bolt-on cogs have a purpose, but nate is entirely correct that they arent a substitute for bad toolwork.
It’s interesting that comments on non-threaded hubs raise such feeling - I’m relatively new to this forum and fixies in general. I’d just observe that having a couple of threads stressed against each other and then stressing the smaller thread in a way that it was not designed to withstand (on the track) is optimistic in the longer term. For the fixies that my 3 teenage sons and I use, I put 2 caliper brakes on the bikes with threaded cogs. It only takes one failure…
Well that’s just not very fashionable now is it. Where’s the fun in being able to calmly slow to a gradual stop?
Arguing that track sprockets and lockrings aren’t ideal for long term use on the street is like arguing that a lightweight track frame isn’t ideal for the street. The thing wasn’t really built for it, but if you use your head and are careful with parts/tools etc, it can be well worth it.
I think bolt-on cogs are a great idea, but until I have a problem with the old setup, I wouldn’t think about switching.
No you’re right, fashion doesn’t have a part to play in my attitude here - I’ve invested too much time in them.
Another dredge up.
I’ve just ordered a 1/8 steel jobby from velosolo for a 63xc inspired beater build. Will be mating it to the stock formula hub(rear) that the bike came with. Updates and maybe a pic to come in the next coupla weeks.