For cassette rear hubs, will a BMX cog work better than a Hyperglide® cog removed from my cassette?
Yes. You can easily disassemble some cassette models and use one of the individual cogs (e.g. – Shimano Hyperglide® cogs) for a single speed conversion. However, these cogs are designed with profiled teeth that aid in shifting. When used on a single speed, the profiled teeth are more likely to allow your chain to derail. The teeth are also fairly short (in comparison with those on a BMX cog), which may lead to chain skipping under load, especially with small (< 16T) cogs with relatively little chain wrap. In contrast, BMX cogs are designed with a single gear in mind. The teeth are not profiled, and they are significantly taller than those on a Hyperglide® cog. Are you on a tight budget with your single speed project? Give a Hyperglide® cog a try if you have one with a tooth count that meets your gearing needs. Chainline and chain tension will be more critical in this case, but many people have used this setup successfully. If you do eventually run into skipping or derailing problems, a
