Stripped hub
 

I’m fairly new at mechanics.

I stripped the threads for the lock ring on a $50 bontrager wheel.

Is this a chance to upgrade the hub or just get a new wheel?

context: I bought the wheel bcs lbs told me that my purefix back wheel wasn’t safe riding fixed.

I’ve since upgraded to a Fuji feather which has better wheels.

But I like having some better quality parts on, especially since I ride brakeless in nyc.

If anyone thinks its worth it to upgrade the hub please Lmk why and what price range I’d be looking at to see some difference.

thanks!

If you are riding brakeless on a track, that is sensible you cannot ride with brakes. If you are riding brakeless in the completely unpredictable world in a major city like NYC then not really sensible.

You can buy better hubs but curious how you stripped threads? It could be a human error rather than the hub being at fault? Also using your cog, lock ring, chain and your body as the way to kinda "slow down" is not doing things any favors. If you damaged those threads the higher quality parts aren't going to necessarily correct that and could end up with a nicer hub damaged.

I know that a brakeless bike looks cool and certainly making brown stains in your underwear "skidding" makes people feel like they are earning imaginary cool points that aren't redeemable anywhere when you need them but I can assure you brakes are your friend even just a front brake could help ease up wear on your bike components and more importantly your body.

For whatever it is worth, use of a front brake on ALL bicycles has been required in the U.K. since 1936 or so. In 2017 a British court cleared a brakeless fixed-gear rider of manslaughter for striking and killing a 44-year-old mother of two, but he was convicted of causing bodily harm by "wanton and furious driving."

The brakeless fixed-gear fetish has long roots, back to the 19th Century, when early safety bike riders advocated the "flying dismount" as a means of stopping. Later, track riders on the streets would use track mitts with extra heavy palms, reaching UNDER the handlebar and using their forearms as fulcrums to brace against as they shoved the thickened palm the glove onto the tire, essentially creating a crude spoon brake - and those were history more than a century ago. The only U.S. cycling manual for adults from between the wars I can find advocated running a front brake on all fixed-gear bikes ridden on the public roadway.

The fact that we have no such regulation in the U.S. is more a relic of how bicycles have been relegated to "toy" status in this country.

veganbikes thanks much for your thoughtful reply.
I think it's likely I stripped it myself cross-threading. I've been tinkering a lot with the cogs.
So I wont take my wheel to LBS to upgrade the hub, but maybe I'll save it for a wheel building class ;)

I wont go into the brakeless argument except to say that I understand why it might piss others off and that it's not just about looking cool - there are very tangible benefits. I'm 46 and dont care about appearances so much that I would do something dangerous.
It's curiously similar to the leashless debate in surfing raging right now, where the first legislation in Australia has passed requiring them to the chagrin of many a proficient surfer.

That said, once when my lock ring came off recently it was a VERY sobering moment.
I am practicing using my shoe as a brake if SHTF again.

While I would never advocate going brakeless on the road, the afore-mentioned technique was taught for many years. The hand with the thickly padded glove goes forward under the handlebar and down, the arm locks with the muscles of the forearm bearing against the underside of the bar and one levers the palm against the top of the tire, functioning like the earliest bicycle brakes - maybe a little more effective, though, as the friction of the leather palmed glove will probably be greater than a rod-operated spoon brake on the tire tread. The last time I saw the "shoe-as-brake method" method illustrated, it was in an early edition of Tom Cuthbertson's Anybody's Bike Book -

https://scontent.fcae1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...qw&oe=64A9330F

Ahh yeah that can do it. Take your time when installing components and use the proper tools and you are less likely to destroy things. You will probably still need a new hub but

They do make actual brakes so you don't have to wear out both your shoes, tires, ankles and potentially other body parts.

It doesn't sound like it was a sobering moment more than a let's drink more Everclear because that worked last time. I would still highly recommend getting a brake, that would be the sober/smart thing to do but hey more dangerous ways to sort of slow down in an uncontrolled manner are I guess a thing.

Not really pissed just FYI just consistently confused by people who want to wear everything but some easy to replace and cheap brake pads and leave a brown stain in their undies. I guess you could do it for other reasons than cool points but not sure what other reason you would have to do it other than those cool points. Yes controlling the bike is cool but I can still practice that with brakes and be able to stop when needed.