Any experienced fixie string makers here? Can I glean info from you?

I would like to make some fixie strings that are actually worth a darn. All of my efforts thus far have been less than successful. The one that came with my eH is thin, and it activates the response perfectly.

I have to make mine THIC in order to get them to respond at all. What’s up with that?

Haaalp.

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I’m happy to share what I know! I’ve been making cotton strings for a while and they’ve been turning out really nice for me.

Type%206%20Cotton

These are type 6 cotton with about 12% reduction, pretty standard recipe. I use a swivel for the final twist to keep the axle loop as small as possible which I think helps with response a bit.

Apart from that it’s all about twisting, stretching and adjusting the string as you’re breaking it in. This is by far the most important part. Mine end up looking like this:

Broken%20in

This is just what works for me but cotton is super adjustable so you should be able to get most cotton strings working how you want them to with a bit of tinkering. :+1:

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@Kieran makes some pretty good cotton strings for sure, which is unique. I’m not sure I’ve seen any other boutique cotton string.

I’d like to get my Harbingers (and future new models) shipped out with them.

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Excellent my man! So, would it be too much to ask for you to share the brand of cotton you use?

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Just some cheap cotton thread I found on eBay to be honest, not sure if it even has a brand lol!
I’ll PM you the link :+1:

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Union City Skill Toys makes some. I haven’t tried it yet, but I want to.

@smileypants707 keep us up on how you make out with your strings.

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You know I will :wink:

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Necroposting this to see if someone will give me a recipe, lol. Found some forest green cotton/poly thread and want to make some super classy fixie string with it.

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make that classy string

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@adamantiumpops Unfortunately, I do not have a precise recipe. But start with a typical 10 to 12% reduction. As far as wraps go, I’m not familiar with that specific material, so I don’t know. Start with 6 wraps. Go up or down from there.

I would just make one string at a time, and carefully document the different variables with every string (wraps, reduction) so that when you find one that works for you, you have variables that you can replicate.

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Thanks! It’s actually really thick, so I started with 3 wraps (6 strands) then had to dial it back to 2.5. it’s not a good material, lol, but it looks nice!