Anybody break 4 Forks on Norco Unicycle in 8 years?

Re: My Forks on my Norco Unic are cracked again

Has anyone had their forks crack on their Norco unicycle?

I've had mine for about 10 years, and have had the forks replaced 3 times... and
now see its cracked again.

I weigh about 160pounds and ride in continual straight line ahead... no back and
forth. (I did in the past ride on snow in winter, and on grass in summer but
this last time I only drove on pavement)

I think the cracked fork is why I havent had such great rides lately. (I thought
it was just that I am out of shape, which is true

PS: still can't find anyone in my city with Stilts for sale (small pair to learn
with) I have pair of crutches but not sure how to mofify them

winnipeg don

Don Bayomi wrote:
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Re: My Forks on my Norco Unic are cracked again[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Has anyone had their forks crack on their Norco unicycle?[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> I've had mine for about 10 years, and have had the forks replaced 3 times...[/color]
[color=blue]> and now see its cracked again.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> I weigh about 160pounds and ride in continual straight line ahead... no back[/color]
[color=blue]> and forth. (I did in the past ride on snow in winter, and on grass in summer[/color]
[color=blue]> but this last time I only drove on pavement)[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> I think the cracked fork is why I havent had such great rides lately. (I[/color]
[color=blue]> thought it was just that I am out of shape, which is true[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> PS: still can't find anyone in my city with Stilts for sale (small pair to[/color]
[color=blue]> learn with) I have pair of crutches but not sure how to mofify them[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> winnipeg don[/color]

My friend has also cracked the forks on his uni. It's not a Norco (just a cheap
taiwanese one) but it cracked between the two bolts that hold the wheel and
bearing assembly onto the frame. With your weight and style of riding, it seems
strange that you're having so many breakages (are you sure your friends aren't
stealing your uni and going Muniing without you knowing?)

I'd suggest that you check your bolts and nuts each time you ride to make sure
that they're nice and tight. Also, if you've broken it 3 times, maybe its a hint
to buy a different model. . .

Nic
PS. My juggling club has made around 20 pairs of stilts. Mail me for more
information.

A number of members of the Unicycle Club of Canberra have cheap Taiwanese
imported uni's (via a supplier in Brisbane) and about 3 or 4 of us have had the
same problem with the forks cracking between the two bolts that hold the wheel
and bearing assembly onto the frame.

One way we've overcome this is to get some steel tubing that is bigger than the
frame. Next you cut a 2 small lengths of tubing (around 1.5 to 2 inches), one
for each frame. The tubing should be just large enough to slide over the outside
of the frame, and hence cover the cracks. Ideally the tubing should be a tight
squeeze to get on. You'll have to then drill a hole in the tubing where the
bolts go through (not while they're on the frame!), put the bolts back into the
thread of the the bearing assembly...do them up....and hey presto! you've got a
working uni!

This cracking happened to my uni about a year ago and I fixed it like this.
Since then I've had no problems with it and have played lots of hockey.....and
gone muni'ing as well.

Any other suggestions from people out there on how to fix this problem would be
greatly appreciated!

Hope you're able to fix the frame.....or as Nic said perhaps it's time to buy a
different model!

Cheers

Glenn

[color=blue]> ----------[/color]
[color=blue]> From: uNICycle Price[SMTP:unicycle@tartarus.uwa.edu.au] Reply To: uNICycle[/color]
[color=blue]> Price Sent: Sunday, 5 July 1998 17:50 To: Don Bayomi[/color]
[color=blue]> Cc: unicycling@winternet.com Subject: Re: Anybody break 4 Forks on Norco[/color]
[color=blue]> Unicycle in 8 years?[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Don Bayomi wrote:[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> >[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > Re: My Forks on my Norco Unic are cracked again[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> >[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > Has anyone had their forks crack on their Norco unicycle?[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> >[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > I've had mine for about 10 years, and have had the forks replaced 3 times...[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > and now see its cracked again.[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> >[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > I weigh about 160pounds and ride in continual straight line ahead...[/color]
[color=blue]> no[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > back and forth. (I did in the past ride on snow in winter, and on[/color]
[color=blue]> grass in[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > summer but this last time I only drove on pavement)[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> >[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > I think the cracked fork is why I havent had such great rides[/color]
[color=blue]> lately.[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > (I thought it was just that I am out of shape, which is true[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> >[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > PS: still can't find anyone in my city with Stilts for sale (small[/color]
[color=blue]> pair to[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > learn with) I have pair of crutches but not sure how to mofify them[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> >[/color]
[color={usenetquotecolor2}]> > winnipeg don[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> My friend has also cracked the forks on his uni. It's not a Norco (just a[/color]
[color=blue]> cheap taiwanese one) but it cracked between the two bolts that hold the wheel[/color]
[color=blue]> and bearing assembly onto the frame. With your weight and style of riding, it[/color]
[color=blue]> seems strange that you're having so many breakages (are you sure your friends[/color]
[color=blue]> aren't stealing your uni and going Muniing without you knowing?)[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> I'd suggest that you check your bolts and nuts each time you ride to make sure[/color]
[color=blue]> that they're nice and tight. Also, if you've broken it 3 times, maybe its a[/color]
[color=blue]> hint to buy a different model. . .[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Nic[/color]
[color=blue]> PS. My juggling club has made around 20 pairs of stilts. Mail me for more[/color]
[color=blue]> information.[/color]

Don wrote:
[color=blue]>Has anyone had their forks crack on their Norco unicycle?[/color]

I know many people who have had the same break on their unicycles with the same
fork design. This is Zephyr in my area, and used to be Cycle Pro and many other
brands. Note these companies are all distributors. A single company in Taiwan is
making these forks, and also several other fork designs that are all better
(including the Semcycle XL).

[color=blue]>I've had mine for about 10 years, and have had the forks replaced 3 times...[/color]
[color=blue]>and now see its cracked again.[/color]

You've been admirably faithful to what is basically a poor design. It's
definitely time to consider something else.

Apparently Crown Wheel, which I believe is the name of the company in Taiwan,
will continue to manufacture that bad design as long as distributors buy it.
Perhaps we can improve the situation by urging buyers to avoid that fork design
until it goes away.

Screwing a flat bolt into a round tube places tremendous stress on the tiny
spots where the bolt contacts. This is why it cracks. Making the bolts real
tight probably only hastens the cracking process, and riding off road will
really speed it up. At the first MUni Weekend in 1996, one of our riders had one
of these forks break on the trail.

So if you see a unicycle for sale with the round aluminum bearing holder and two
bolts on the side of the tubular fork, avoid it!

But what if you already have one and don't want it to break (or it already did)?
Here are two ideas:

1. Get special washers made. Believe it or not, the Pashley Muni has a similar
bearing attachment method. But at least their bolts go all the way through
and press on both sides of the fork. Brett Bymaster had Tom Miller make him
some "washers" that are round on one side and flat on the other, to spread
the force of the nuts & bolts evenly on the tube. Any machinist should be
able to make some of these. Crown wheel should make them in the first place.

2. Replace the two bolts with a seat post clamp. This could work on a broken
fork as well. You might have to do some cutting to make a slot so the tube
can contract onto the bearing holder. You might also have to use shims to
make the clamp fit. But a good, alloy BMX seat post clamp will provide a much
stronger grip than two cheesy bolts!

Good luck,

John Foss

I'm not sure what a Norco Uni looks like, but if it is a cheap model from taiwan
- get used to the fact that they are a "false economy" item (cost more in the
long run than a quality item). If it is the same as most of the cheap taiwanese
models this may be a problem. The taiwaneese model that I have has two bolts on
either side of the frame to hold on the bearing housing. Due to a loose fit of
the housing into the frame vibration causes the bolts to work loose. The frame
will also crack near the bolts due to this loose fit - the bolts are holding the
bearings instead of the frame itself. One possible solution is to put a properly
fitting shim over each bearing housing, then putting the bolts back on with
loctight. The other solution would be to buy a Sem, a DM or a Miyata

Hope this works.

Wayne van Wijk wvanwijk@gil.com.au
----------------------------------

----------
[color=blue]> From: Don Bayomi <bayomi@mbnet.mb.ca> To: UNICYCLING@winternet.com Subject:[/color]
[color=blue]> Anybody break 4 Forks on Norco Unicycle in 8 years? Date: Sunday, July 05,[/color]
[color=blue]> 1998 7:13 AM[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Re: My Forks on my Norco Unic are cracked again[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Has anyone had their forks crack on their Norco unicycle?[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> I've had mine for about 10 years, and have had the forks replaced 3 times...[/color]
[color=blue]> and now see its cracked again.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> I weigh about 160pounds and ride in continual straight line ahead... no back[/color]
[color=blue]> and forth. (I did in the past ride on snow in winter, and on grass[/color]
in
[color=blue]> summer but this last time I only drove on pavement)[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> I think the cracked fork is why I havent had such great rides lately. (I[/color]
[color=blue]> thought it was just that I am out of shape, which is true[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> PS: still can't find anyone in my city with Stilts for sale (small pair[/color]
to
[color=blue]> learn with) I have pair of crutches but not sure how to mofify them[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> winnipeg don[/color]

Don Bayomi wrote in message ...
[color=blue]>Re: My Forks on my Norco Unic are cracked again[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]>Has anyone had their forks crack on their Norco unicycle?[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]>I've had mine for about 10 years, and have had the forks replaced 3 times...[/color]
[color=blue]>and now see its cracked again. don[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
All I know for sure, is that I have had my 24" Schwinn for 20 years. It has been
to HELL and back!!! and I have never cracked a fork. The only damage that ever
happened is a slight dent to the rim. (That 7th stair was the hard one) hehe!

Gregory Poche' ICQ# 3809180 <<<< If you don't have it, get it www.icq.com