Another cheap Taiwan frame bites the dust

Hi all,

Just wanted to tell you another sad story of somebody whose unicycle is falling
apart, not due to any misuse, just due to bad design. We should not have to put
up with such shoddy products. It's up to us as a community to put our voices
together and make ourselves heard in regard to what unicycles are worthy and
which should be avoided.

Sunday I was at Paramount's Great America amusement park, in Santa Clara,
CA. Jacquie and I rode the new "Stealth" roller coaster, billed as the world's
first and only "flying coaster". Pictures to follow (naturally).

While at the park, I spotted a guy riding along on a unicycle juggling some
clubs. "Hey, do you work here?" I cleverly asked. It was Carson, a guy I'd met
at the Damento Juggling Festival in February. He's proud to be working full time
at the park, and trying to get other performers in. He had attended my
unicycling workshop at the festival.

Carson was riding a 24" Zephyr unicycle. The Zephyr has an excellent seat; the
kind with the foam ends that just bounce of the ground again and again. But it
suffers from the "weak" version of the Taiwan frame, the kind with bolts that go
in from the side to hold in the lollipop bearing.

The engineering stupidity of screwing a flat headed bolt into a round piece of
tubing is obvious. The bolt presses with all it's force on two small areas, and
no force on the rest of the bolt head. This over-stresses the metal where the
bolts connect, and if you actually ride the unicycle much and weigh over 100
pounds, the fork will eventually crack and fall apart between the two bolts.

Carson told me he wanted to have a bike shop look at his unicycle because
something was loose down there. Uh oh. I looked between the bolts and sure
enough, the metal was seriously cracked and deteriorated. It was only a matter
of time before the bearing holder would rip out of the end of the frame, not to
be repairable by any simple means. He wanted me to show him some pointers, but I
was afraid to do more than ride straight on his unicycle. I was determined not
to be the one riding it when it broke, and it was going to break soon. I hated
telling him the bad news.

There is no excuse for this kind of engineering. The problem is, people keep
buying these unicycles so why should the manufacturers change anything? This
kind is obviously cheaper to produce than the split block bearing types found on
the Semcycle XL and other better frames.

At most bike shops, you have a choice of one or maybe two brands of unicycle.
When there are two, it's usually a cheap Taiwan model and a Schwinn. With these
limited choices (or non-choices), most first time buyers go for the cheaper one.
Now with Web access, people have more choices and hopefully they can make more
educated choices of what unicycles to buy.

UnicycleSource (www.unicycle.com), for example, has a very wide range, from very
cheap to very expensive cycles. The side-bolt Taiwan frames are there, but
buyers have a choice and can select from better models. It's up to us to spread
the word, and help people determine what are the better unicycles and parts.

I hope you're doing your part.

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone (reply to jfoss@unicycling.com)
http://www.unicycling.com

NOTE: Views expressed in messages with this signature are exclusively those of
John Foss, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Unicycling
Society of America, International Unicycling Federation, or other
positions of responsibility John may occupy.

I recently purchased a United unicycle with side bolts as described. My reasons
for doing so were price and I wanted at least a 26" wheel. I couldn't justify
spending the extra money to buy a more expensive model. This uni replaced my
homemade unicycle which my Dad and I created out of a bicycle fork. Dad welded a
couple of U-clamps on the bottom of the fork, attached bicycle pedals to a bike
wheel and clamped the fork to the pedals. After applying plenty of axel grease,
this engineering marvel actually didn't work too bad. The seat was a two-by-four
shaped and nailed together with foam wrapped around it. At least my brother and
I were able to learn to ride on it. One of the pedals broke about a month ago
and I decided it was time for a "real" unicycle. After replacing the standard
seat with a Viscount, the new unicycle works beautifully. I love it.

My question would be, are there any suggestions for strengthening the fork where
the two side bolts are attached to the frame in order to avoid the cracking?
Perhaps a piece of metal rounded on one side and flat on the other placed
between the bolt and the frame. Has anyone tried something along these lines? It
may not make any difference for me since I don't use my uni for tricks, just
light riding (I accompany my wife as she walks).

Curtis

_____________________________________
Do you know for sure you are going to heaven?
http://www.swordofthelord.com/sure.htm

The best in conservative Christian music: http://www.asaphmusic.com

John Foss <john_foss@asinet.com> wrote in message
news:631B3F1D150FD3118E4D00A0C9EC1BDA2274EB@SERVER...
[color=blue]> Hi all,[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Just wanted to tell you another sad story of somebody whose unicycle is[/color]
[color=blue]> falling apart, not due to any misuse, just due to bad design. We should[/color]
not
[color=blue]> have to put up with such shoddy products. It's up to us as a community to put[/color]
[color=blue]> our voices together and make ourselves heard in regard to what[/color]
unicycles
[color=blue]> are worthy and which should be avoided.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Sunday I was at Paramount's Great America amusement park, in Santa Clara,[/color]
[color=blue]> CA. Jacquie and I rode the new "Stealth" roller coaster, billed as the world's[/color]
[color=blue]> first and only "flying coaster". Pictures to follow (naturally).[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> While at the park, I spotted a guy riding along on a unicycle juggling[/color]
some
[color=blue]> clubs. "Hey, do you work here?" I cleverly asked. It was Carson, a guy I'd met[/color]
[color=blue]> at the Damento Juggling Festival in February. He's proud to be working full[/color]
[color=blue]> time at the park, and trying to get other performers in. He had attended my[/color]
[color=blue]> unicycling workshop at the festival.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Carson was riding a 24" Zephyr unicycle. The Zephyr has an excellent seat; the[/color]
[color=blue]> kind with the foam ends that just bounce of the ground again and[/color]
again.
[color=blue]> But it suffers from the "weak" version of the Taiwan frame, the kind with[/color]
[color=blue]> bolts that go in from the side to hold in the lollipop bearing.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> The engineering stupidity of screwing a flat headed bolt into a round[/color]
piece
[color=blue]> of tubing is obvious. The bolt presses with all it's force on two small[/color]
[color=blue]> areas, and no force on the rest of the bolt head. This over-stresses the[/color]
[color=blue]> metal where the bolts connect, and if you actually ride the unicycle much and[/color]
[color=blue]> weigh over 100 pounds, the fork will eventually crack and fall apart between[/color]
[color=blue]> the two bolts.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> Carson told me he wanted to have a bike shop look at his unicycle because[/color]
[color=blue]> something was loose down there. Uh oh. I looked between the bolts and sure[/color]
[color=blue]> enough, the metal was seriously cracked and deteriorated. It was only a matter[/color]
[color=blue]> of time before the bearing holder would rip out of the end of the frame, not[/color]
[color=blue]> to be repairable by any simple means. He wanted me to show him some pointers,[/color]
[color=blue]> but I was afraid to do more than ride straight on his unicycle. I was[/color]
[color=blue]> determined not to be the one riding it when it broke, and[/color]
it
[color=blue]> was going to break soon. I hated telling him the bad news.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> There is no excuse for this kind of engineering. The problem is, people[/color]
keep
[color=blue]> buying these unicycles so why should the manufacturers change anything?[/color]
This
[color=blue]> kind is obviously cheaper to produce than the split block bearing types found[/color]
[color=blue]> on the Semcycle XL and other better frames.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> At most bike shops, you have a choice of one or maybe two brands of unicycle.[/color]
[color=blue]> When there are two, it's usually a cheap Taiwan model and a Schwinn. With[/color]
[color=blue]> these limited choices (or non-choices), most first time[/color]
buyers
[color=blue]> go for the cheaper one. Now with Web access, people have more choices and[/color]
[color=blue]> hopefully they can make more educated choices of what unicycles to buy.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> UnicycleSource (www.unicycle.com), for example, has a very wide range,[/color]
from
[color=blue]> very cheap to very expensive cycles. The side-bolt Taiwan frames are[/color]
there,
[color=blue]> but buyers have a choice and can select from better models. It's up to us[/color]
to
[color=blue]> spread the word, and help people determine what are the better unicycles[/color]
and
[color=blue]> parts.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> I hope you're doing your part.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone (reply to jfoss@unicycling.com)[/color]
[color=blue]> http://www.unicycling.com[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]> NOTE: Views expressed in messages with this signature are exclusively[/color]
those
[color=blue]> of John Foss, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Unicycling[/color]
[color=blue]> Society of America, International Unicycling Federation, or other[/color]
positions
[color=blue]> of responsibility John may occupy.[/color]

[color=blue]> My question would be, are there any suggestions for strengthening the fork[/color]
[color=blue]> where the two side bolts are attached to the frame in order to avoid the[/color]
[color=blue]> cracking? Perhaps a piece of metal rounded on one side and flat on the other[/color]
[color=blue]> placed between the bolt and the frame.[/color]

Exactly. You might be able to order some of these from Tommy Miller at The
Unicycle Factory (765) 452-2692 (no web site). He made some for Brett Bymaster's
Pashley, which suffers from a similar engineering problem.

The addition of those will go a long way to curing that design mistake. The
question is, why aren't they included when you buy the unicycle?

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone http://www.unicycling.com

"Matter matters" - Mike Anderson (of Anderson Solone Inc.)

I've taken the liberty of copying your question to the unicycling newsgroup,
hope you don't mind. I put your email address in BCC so your privacy is intact.

[color=blue]> I own a CycleDesign 20" unicycle and was wondering whether it had the same[/color]
[color=blue]> flawed design as the Zephyr you describe below. I'm not very mechanically[/color]
[color=blue]> inclined, but my frame appears to be welded to the top half circle that[/color]
[color=blue]> surrounds the axle and presumably houses the bearings. The bottom half circle[/color]
[color=blue]> is bolted to the top one on either side (front and back) with vertically[/color]
[color=blue]> oriented bolts. Is this the flawed design?[/color]

Everybody please note: It's important to remember that the brand name on most
of the unicycles from Taiwan is not a direct indicator of the specific
components it includes. Cycle Design, Zephyr, Cycle Pro, Summit, Norco and
others are mostly made with a mix of the same parts, from the same
manufacturers. They change from time to time without notice, so you do not know
what kind of seat, frame, pedals, etc. a person is describing when they just
give the name on the sticker.

But the good news is, the cycle you described above is the "good" kind. It's the
same bearing attachment as found on the Semcycle XL, Coker, and others, and will
not fail from normal use. The main thing to keep in mind with that bearing
attachment is to check the bolts perodically to make sure they aren't loose
(they may fall off), and also to make sure they're not too tight. Depending on
the quality of fit, the bearing holders may bind on the bearings if too tight,
causing the wheel not to spin very well.

Here are some pictures of this type:
http://www.unicycling.org/unicycling.../qdesc/cd.html Click the pictures to
see closeups.

Unfortunately, the Unicycle Models web site doesn't have pictures of the "bad"
fork design. All the cycles listed there use different attachment methods, and
most are older than today's designs. They don't make 'em like the used to.
http://www.unicycling.org/unicycling...sc/models.html

Here's a picture of the bad kind. This was Ken Estes' unicycle at the first
California MUni Weekend in 1996. He had to walk out due to frame breakage. This
is from Craig Milo Rogers' MUni Weekend site:
http://democracy.isi.edu/staff/roger...96/broken1.jpg See the rest of
his coverage: http://democracy.isi.edu/staff/rogers/uni/ca-muni96/

[color=blue]> On a lighter note, your Soviet Union website was really enjoyable. My[/color]
[color=blue]> wife liked it too. Your fiancee is very pretty. I hope everything goes[/color]
[color=blue]> well for you guys at the wedding and on the honeymoon.[/color]

Thanks!

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone http://www.unicycling.com

"Matter matters" - Mike Anderson (of Anderson Solone Inc.)

John Foss wrote:

[color=blue]> My question would be, are there any suggestions for strengthening the fork[/color]
[color=blue]> where the two side bolts are attached to the frame in order to avoid the[/color]
[color=blue]> cracking? Perhaps a piece of metal rounded on one side and flat on the other[/color]
[color=blue]> placed between the bolt and the frame.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]

I know a method that works great. Have a couple of 1/4 inch flat washers welded
over top of the holes in the frame on each side of the fork (four total). This
method works even if your fork tubing is already completely split at the ends. A
small MIG welder works well on the thin tubing, and also fills the gaps easily
between the tubing and the washers.

Chris