SS spacer kits?
 

I have been running a Nashbar steel CX bike as a SS with the 9-sp rear wheel that came with the bike + Surly Singlator and have been happy with it. I have been using cassette spacers with a cog out of a cassette, but would like to go with a little more formal setup with a thicker cog (to avoid digging into/damaging the hub body).

I see that I have a few options with SS spacer kits:

• Chris King - Looks like they still make these; King Cog with spacers for $120.
• Surly - Spacer kit then have to buy a Surly cog separately - $70-80 for spacers and cog.
• Wheels Mfg. - They have a tapered kit that looks quite nice (cog is included but looks to be skinny - $35) and a kit that is just spacers ($25)

The King kit would be sweet but hard to justify the cost. I'm deciding between a Surly setup and the offerings from Wheels Mfg. Does anyone have any experience with both and can comment?

Thanks!

Been running the Surly spacers/cog on my Cross-Check for about 6 years now on a wheel built up on XT hubs. No issues at all in many thousands of commuting and fitness riding miles.

I really liked my Surly cogs when I ran mountain bike as a single speed. I DIYed the spacers for my bike but I like the Wheels Mfg spacer kit. No need to pay more than necessary for some spacers.

Go with the wheels mfg or the plain spacer kit, the money saved could be used on a good SS cog. No real need to go overboard and pay 120 for spacers.

Probably cost more than a basic kit - but the Endless fibonacci spacer kit is great. That's what I used on my 10s -> singlespeed mtb conversion,.

I've never seen what advantage a kit has over a stack of cassette spacers.

I've used copper pipe cut to fit each side of the cog - almost any type of pipe will work, the forces on the spacer aren't significant.

If your freehub body is steel, which it is on many cheaper hubs, a cassette cog won't dig in.