What am I doing wrong?

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PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
Built up a low-cost fixed on old 531 frame.
Decided, after reading all the pros & cons, to go with "suicide hub" until I was sure I could handle fixed.

Rear hub is an old Miche loose bearing job (similar to Shimano) that I cleaned up & serviced, swopped the original hollow-axle for a solid axle.
Adjusted every thing nice & tight. Rotafixed the sprocket, and a BB lock ring.

Just a few 10s of metres yesterday, very carefully, as first time on fixed. Went for another go today.... cones are loose.

Oh well, can't have tightened them up enough. Re-adjusted, retightened, made sure the lock nuts on good & proper. Stopped just down the road.... check hub. LOOSE AGAIN.



Is this something to do with the different forces acting on a hub with a fixed gear? Have I done something stupid? Any obvious solutions (other than getting a proper track hub or an expensive bolt on conversion for a cassette hub)
 

RedBike

New Member
Location
Beside the road
The locking nuts on my fixie keep coming undone too. I've always assumed this is because I can't tighten them properly because I haven't got the tools to remove the SS sprocket. However, constantly tightening /undoing a nut on the outside of the axle instead of using a quick release does seem to cause them to work loose quicker than normal.

I assume you know that you need to effectively 'undo' the inner locking nut as you tighten the outer nut so that they 'lock' together.
 
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PpPete

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
RB...
I've got the tools for getting the sprocket on and off.
TBH that's where I feared I might have a problem... hence the rotafixing.

I've also got the cone spanners - and plenty of experience servicing and adjusting loose bearing hubs.

I'm wondering if it's to do with the change to solid axle, or the reaction torque from the fixed wheel, but either way the cones undo themselves to the point of being unrideable by the time I get to the end of my road, and there was me thinking nice simple fixed gear, nothing to go wrong.:blush:
 

Ian H

Ancient randonneur
A washer between the locking nut and cone might help. Use the thinnest you can find to keep the overall width as near as.
 

RedBike

New Member
Location
Beside the road
I don't see how being fixed wheel or having a solid axle would make any difference. Unless you're pedalling down the street backwards you would presumably have the same trouble with a single speed.

Not a big help but I would mark each bolt with a felt tip pen so that you can see which one has moved. It might help narrow down the problem.
 
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PpPete

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
RedBike said:
I don't see how being fixed wheel or having a solid axle would make any difference.

Nor me - my engineering knowledge stops before I get to rotational forces, precession & the like. I just know you get some weird effects.

RedBike said:
Unless you're pedalling down the street backwards

Nope.... but I'm not smooth on it , my feet & legs still resisting the "flywheel effect", which imparts a braking load on the sprocket which is transmitted to the hub....
 
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PpPete

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
Ian H said:
A washer between the locking nut and cone might help. Use the thinnest you can find to keep the overall width as near as.

Ian
There are tabbed washers in there already... actually there were 2 on drive side and only 1 on t'other. Today I swopped it so the 2 were on non-drive side (as my chainline was slightly off anyway). I then tightened everything up a lot more than I normally would, and took it out for another go. Only had time for a mile or so. When I came back it was loose again, although not as much as before.

This is pi$$ing me off.:wacko::tongue::tongue:!:tongue:
 
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