# Fixed cogs: mount dry or with grease or antiseize?



## hu-man (Jan 13, 2004)

Converting an old frame and parts to a fixie for fun in the city, no off road. I get differing opinions from the LBSes about how to mount the cog:
- clean and dry, no grease or other stuff
- grease and lots of it
- anti-seize

What say you fixed riders? The parts are inexpensive - Formula fixed/fixed hub and Shimano cog. 42:16 (cause that's what my commuter is geared at), 700c wheels. I will be using brakes. City is Vancouver Canada. For now, its a fun ride so good weather only, but if it becomes my commuter then it will be ridden in all weather (lots of rain)


----------



## weather (Jan 12, 2004)

both ok as long as you use true fixie hub. anti seize tend to work better in the long run.


----------



## 1speed (Mar 23, 2004)

*no grease here*

i don't use grease on my cog but i suppose it depending on conditions/weather you will be riding in and style of riding. are you using brakes or skidding to stop your bike? i have had my cog come slightly loose once while skidding, but complete re-tightening seemed to do the trick.


----------



## FTM (Sep 14, 2004)

You can't properly tighten the cog down if you don't use grease/anti-seize. Plummer's Teflon tape also works well.

Always, repeat, always, grease (lubricate) every threaded part when assembling your bike; dry assembly is just asking for trouble.


----------



## AteMrYeats (Oct 26, 2004)

FTM said:


> You can't properly tighten the cog down if you don't use grease/anti-seize. Plummer's Teflon tape also works well.
> 
> Always, repeat, always, grease (lubricate) every threaded part when assembling your bike; dry assembly is just asking for trouble.


Damn right. Use anti-seize or thread-locker when needed, but always lubricate.


----------



## Adirondack Blues (Mar 4, 2004)

If it's a suicide hub I'd use red loctite and rotofix the cog. Keep at least a front brake. Works for me. :thumbsup:


----------



## Treybiker (Jan 6, 2004)

Are you using a lockring? Make sure you at least have a front brake. I made the mistake of not having either and found out the hard way flying across an intersection with both feet on the ground. Thank god no cars were coming.


----------



## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

Who ever is telling you dry, don't ever ask their advice again. Few shops in Vancouver know much about fixed-gear riding. I know this because I'm a wrench in one of the few shops here that actually has folks that ride fixed gears every day. The back office guy and I both commute daily on fixed and 3 others ride Burnaby regularly. Since you're using a fixed/fixed hub you should also be using lockrings as others have said. 

The way I mount the cog is one or two rounds of plumbers/teflon tape and then a bunch of grease. Doing it this way you'll always be able to get your lockring and cog back off the hub when needed. Teflon tape also helps on hubs like the Formula that have poorly cut threads. The tape fills the gap that creates a more secure hold to the cog, lessening the chance of stripping the hub under large loads.

Environments like Vancouver require that you use lubrication on threaded surfaces, or at the end of winter commuting season your stuff will be fused and corroded together. 

Also you've picked a good sized gear for around here. 70" is pretty good if you're already in good cycling shape. The test I tell people to use is to ride the 10th street hill to UBC from Alma all the way to the top and then spin down it. If you can make it up to the top and not spin down try one less tooth on the cog or 2 more teeth on your ring. If you can't make it up try one cog tooth larger or two ring teeth smaller.
best,
MonkeyB


----------



## hu-man (Jan 13, 2004)

*Thanks for the local wisdom*

What shop do you work in?


----------



## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

hu-man said:


> What shop do you work in?


La Bicicletta at 233 W. Broadway, right near MEC.

Also make sure to check out the new Super Champion shop at the bottom of Main. Tyler and Trevor have a nice little shop specializing in fixed on the road.
best,
MonkeyB


----------



## rep (Sep 7, 2004)

Antisieze! For God's sake, use antisieze! From a man who just removed a cog.


----------



## anthony.delorenzo (Aug 17, 2006)

Another vote for grease. Like others have said, the only time you shouldn't grease any bike threads is when you are using loctite or anti-seize: never dry. 

Of course, I just spent 20 minutes last night trying to get a cog off a fixed gear hub. It was installed a month ago on super clean threads and well greased. Even with me (250+ lbs) stomping on the pedals the whole time, it wouldn't budge. But, I did manage to change the cog once earlier this year. 

I might try the Teflon tape next time around, along with the grease.

Regards, 
Anthony


----------



## buffal0b1ll (Jun 18, 2004)

For years, I've only built up suicide lockrings and/or had cogs drilled for disc hub mounting to get my fixs on.

I'm finally building a dedicated fixed w/lockring wheel. I'm at a crossroads!

I'm leaning toward the grease only camp, but I'm thinking of the [email protected] pipe that I need to get enough leverage to pull a greased SS freewheel off a hub. 
I'm going to give Teflon tape and grease a try (but I'm skeptical because from my BB experience Teflon tape tends to ride up the threads during installation).
If the Teflon tape starts squishing out while installing cog, then in the end I'll have a hard time not taking Sheldon's advice...."It is a good idea to use a thread adhesive, such as Loctite."
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/fixed-sprockets.html#surly

Then the question will become....how should I mount the lockring? Grease or locktite???????


----------



## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

since its not a suicide either grease or a.s. will be fine, but NOT DRY! you dont need to loctite cogs or lockrings if both are properly installed.

also, check out the miche track cog system if you are going to be changing gearing much. it uses a carrier that is installed like a normal cog then the actual cog simply slips onto the carrier. this way when you change gearing you do not have to unthread anything other than the lockring. this minimizes the risk of damage to the hub. the cost is comparable to normal track cogs.

the first pic is of the carrier. the second of the cog. the third is the cog on the carrier.


----------



## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

The Miche is the nazz, though without "the god given ass." I'm currently working on a new track frame for this winters season and going to build it up with the Miche track group. I've got a bunch of folks running these right now with good results. At the shop we seem to sell the Miche cog set-up to folks that ride velodromes and the Dura-Ace cogs to those that are urban fixed.

This is understandable since urban riders don't change their gears very often, but track riders might change gear ranges 3-4 times an evening. I've tried the Suntour, Shimano, and Campagnolo cogs and keep coming back to my old T.D.C. cogs. Alas, the T.D.C.s haven't been made is like 50 years, so I need to try something different. The Phil Wood cogs look sharp and well made (like most things made by PW), but I haven't tried them.

I should also say that the Miche set-up would totally be the way to go for fixed off-road riding. Keep a couple of cogs in your pocket and a hook tool and you're ready for anything.
best,
MonkeyB


----------



## anthony.delorenzo (Aug 17, 2006)

buffal0b1ll said:


> 'm leaning toward the grease only camp, but I'm thinking of the [email protected] pipe that I need to get enough leverage to pull a greased SS freewheel off a hub.
> 
> <snipped>
> 
> Then the question will become....how should I mount the lockring? Grease or locktite???????


The first time I took a cog off, I just took my lockring off and used the cranks to get it off. However, I had one that wouldn't budge, even with me being 250+ lbs. I tried out this rotafix method and it worked great, not much straining at all to get the cog loose.

Grease the cog and lockring, loctite isn't needed. Just check your lockring after your first few rides, as the cog tends to tighten up and you need to snug down the lockring.

The lockring doesn't need to be super-torqued, it just needs to be snug enough that the cog can't slip around at all.


----------

