it was all going according to plan, got a 17t miche cog from condor and a chainwhip/lock ring tool, swapped the cog put on the lockring. rode it round a bit then tried to tighten the lock ring a little more just to be safe in case the cog had tightened more from pedaling... MISTAKE! the lock ring lost resistance and now just keeps turning. so i've stripped the thread right? unrideable? gonna need to buy new hub, so any suggestions? it was just the standard hub that came with the pista. how much does it usually cost to get a new wheel built up? would i be better off using this as a good time to upgrade? help please

What brand hub and lockring did you use?

was just what came stock on the bianchi pista

you'd know it if the cog 'tightened more from pedalling', the whole thing slips forward. or if not tight, it slips back if you skid. how much didd you tighten it?

if the thread has gone, i'm guessing you could rotafix the cog instead, not ideal, but i'm sure people said before that it's ok.

i tightened it pretty well with the chainwhip, was just trying to be safe and get the lock ring nice an tight. problem is cos it's a miche cog with the slot in adaptor thing it looks like you really need the lock ring to hold the cog there. the lock ring isn't spinning or anything and you can't just pull it out along the axle, but i imagine it's pretty dodgy

those miche carrier cog things are fucking shit, yes you need the lockring on for them to work.

check the thread on the hub and the lockring, hopefully it's only the lockring that's stripped

ah bugger. just went on what condor said when i went in the other day, though it seemed like quite a good idea. the thread on the hub is what doesn't look quite right. if it's totally stripped will there be nothing left? this is my first (and at this rate the last) attempt at mechanics. wanted to try and learn how to do stuff myself, learn and save cash. looks like might be more expensive this way!

it's always more expensive the first time around. the way you save money is by learning from your (or other people's) mistakes.

Still, how much is a new hub? Someone nice will help you rebuild it if you ask / buy beer...

i'm asking. i have beer!! what hub should i go for seems i'm on a budget?

It sounds as though you cross-threaded the lockring. Did you use grease on the threads of the hub/lockring/cog?

www.sjscycles.co.uk have cheap hubs, or get one from on-one. Cheap and good quality. Dogsballs will lace it up good n strong for a tenner. You'll need to buy spokes as well though.

If it's a bianchi pista doesn't it have a flip-flop hub? Or does the other side not have any lockring threads? Its been a very long time indeed since I had those wheels..

yeah i used grease on all the threads. it does have a flip flop but the other side is only for a freewheel. was just thinking if i'm going to have to buy new hub and spokes etc this is probably a good time to upgrade to something else as it looks like i'll need to spend about 60 quid anyway. what about those halo wheelsets on the blb site? do you know if they are any good?

I have a 28 hole pista hub you can reuse the spokes and save money.

Sounds like a fault in the hub really.. It's fairly hard to strip threads on hubs.

you could do it for less than £60. But you're right, you may as well upgrade! A good, cheap, solid wheel: Miche primato hub, dt swiss double butted spokes, brass nipples, mavic open pro/open sport (cheaper) rim.

I'd buy a £15 on-one hub, and re-use the rim and spokes.

The spokes will be the right length so long as you stay with same pattern and hub flange size.

thanks for the tips guys. i think i'll try and re use what i've got for the moment, until i can afford to spend a bit more and upgrade to summat nice and shiny. brucy how much do you want for the old pista hub? still tempted by the really garish neon yellow hi vis, halo set tho, hmm... all for safety of course.

what miro_o said, assuming an on-one hub has the same size flange as the standard shit bianchi hub. I dunno how much leeway you have in that regard actually...

so no rotafix with a different cog then?

When Emilie sees the title of this thread he's gonna think it's an instruction sheet! :)

I'd also avoid Miche lockrings, they're shit IME... Pick up a 2nd hand Campag one if you can, same thread...

can i axe then - are miche cogs/carriers seen as shit? i'd never used them before, but i put one on a build the other day. seems ok.

You get some play between the cog/carrier, so they're not great... Bitch getting the carrier off too... Unless bloody knuckles are your thing, I'd avoid them...

oh shit. oh well. hadn't thought about that, definitely a chainwhip job.

although - i guess you're not supposed to take the carrier off.

I'd expect this kind of comment from Ray. But you've really let yourself down mr.

right so am i right in thinking if i get a different 17t cog then i can put it on, rotafix it and then not even bother with the lockring? (crosses fingers and hopes hasn't got to cough up many pennies so far from payday)

Regarding the Miche cogs...

They're built to a fine quality, mine has worn less than a DA, and an Andell cog. But they're a pointless design unless you're at the track and swapping cogs all the time.

The carrier mechanism makes it a bloody pain (literally) to take the whole thing off.

Sorry 'rotafixing' is something i know nothing about.

Maybe read some Sheldon pages (if you can't sleep or something).

Don't you just loosen the lockring a little bit and then use a chainwhip to take off the cog and carrier at once? In other words, it should be little more trouble than a normal cog removal.

I used to use the Miche carrier and I don't remember any problems with it.

i think you're right, tiny bit slack, then stamp on pedals to release carrier.

but seriously, you shouldn't have to take the carrier off.

...unless your other cogs aren't Miche.

I got worried about trashing the thread for the lockring (the cog wanted to slip out over the carrier, pushing hard on the lock-ring). I used a hammer, a rag, and then a plaster on my finger. It's not my proudest moment.

I've been using Miche cog/carriers for ages with no problems at all. I really like them. come winter when I want to gear down it's a 5 minute job to swap the cog over. The cogs are cheap, hard wearing and nicely made. What more do you want?

I was told once that the splines on the carrier can develop a bit of play after substantial use - true?

Yeah, you don't have to take it off. I only remember doing it when I swap my cog with a normal one and when I sold the wheel.

Mine didn't get anywhere near substantial use so can't comment.. except I just did.. to say I can't comment like..

Maybe I got a duff one, I swapped it out ASAP... I could feel it engage when I pushed off on it... Nice idea but crap tolerances... Poor quality IME...

My lockring doesn't lock! I thought I had a stripped thread but on a closer inspection all seems to be fine. everytime I "do a skid" (when some punter yells at me) I end up turning my fixie into a freewheeler. I just can't seem to work out what is going on.

[I have even tried threadlock - much to the disgust o many on this forum I imagine]

Thing is I am riding a friend's charge plug whilst he is on holiday to see if I like the whole ss thing - after a week or two I flipped to fg and haven't looked back. I don't want to replace the hub as he rides free wheel and I'll be getting my own bike in a month or so. (What's the best otp for c.£400? - just jokes)

Any suggestions on how to get the lock ring to lock would be great.
cheers

Sounds like you are unwinding the cog. The cog isn't tight enough possibly knocking the lockring off, which probably also isn't on properly.

TIGHTEN the cog