I'm not asking for a legal opinion, just your opinion based on experience.
I recently had a pair of wheels built for a single-speed. The rear hub is an NOS flip-flop with an aluminum body. I am running 16t fixed cog and 17t freewheel. Chainring is 46t. The hubs are 32 hole, never even built up before. No shop wear.
Anyway, today I put them on my old Ross Signature and took a ride. After just a few miles, I was riding up a steep hill - about 10 or 12 %. I was out of the saddle, working hard, when the fixed cog stripped.
Hoping it was just the cog and not the hub, I walked it home. But of course, steel cog, aluminum hub body - the hub threads are stripped. When I pulled the cog off, I noted that the shop mechanic who assembled the wheel for me did not use any lube on the hub threads or cog threads.
So here's my question: who is at fault? Should I get a refund from the manufacturer (who is still in business, and I bought the NOS hub from them on their website)? Or should I have my local shop, which built the wheel, pony up the dough for a new hub? In other words, did it strip b/c the cog was not lubed, or did it strip because the hub threads were too soft?
For reference, I am 6' 2" and weigh 170 lbs. I am a strong rider, but not close to pro level (I usually average 20 mph or so on rolling local rides). Weather (if that matters?) was 45 degrees F.
So who's at fault?
Duncan Granger
Mountville, PA