new nimbus 36" creaks like crazy

[2pac]

I recently got a nimbus 36er (not the deluxe, the one with the steel rim and the wider spokes). I replaced the cranks with 125 mm lightweight cranks, and made sure everything was as tight as it could get. My bearing cap bolts and pedals are also very tight, and everything is all nice a lubed up. But when accelerating, or putting huge amounts of torque on the cranks by climbing up hill it sounds like absolute shit. Sometimes, even while cruising I can hear and feel it creaking away, and I have no idea whats creaking. It truely creaks so bad that I feel like it's just going to just fall apart while riding.

This is the first time i've had a coker..so maybe it could just be the flex of the wheel and the spokes rubbing together or something? Like i said, everything is very tight and solid..it just creaks bad and I can't help but worry about it because i'd rather not be going 25 km/h and upd because of something breaking.

Other than that, im thoroughly enjoying my new nimbus 36er

[pdc]

Sounds like a loose wheelbuild. My stock steel wheel back in the day was heavy and weak but quiet.

[kington99]

Have you checked all the seat bolts? My nimbus has bene pretty quite, but the berings holders do come loose.

[2pac]

yeah, the seat is tight. I can feel it creaking with my feet as I ride.

[keg]

Originally Posted by 2pac

My bearing cap bolts and pedals are also very tight

I hope the bearing caps aren't very tight. With a large wheel it is easy to crush a bearing, yet the wheel feels like it turns freely due to the inertia, unlike a 20" which would stop spinning fairly quickly if equally crushed.

No promises this is the source of your creak

[underdog]

I'd check the spoke tension. Some bike shops have tensometers that can give a specific tension value but it's pretty unneccesary. I just whack each spoke with a wrench to check whether it has a nice clear "ping" sound or a dull "thud." If you don't have a spoke wrench (cheap tool) you'll end up going to a bike shop anyway.

Also, even if the seat clamp is tight, it could still be the seat post creaking. I've had this happen before. It was driving me insane and I asked the local bike mechanic about it. He suggested putting a light coating of grease on the seatpost. That fixed it for me.

Good luck.

[2pac]

Well not like extremely tight, they're tight enough. Like if I turn the uni upside down and spin the wheel it doesn't have much resistance and continues to spin for a while. I didn't put like 80 ft pounds of torque on them or whatever...I probably put less than the recommended 45 inch pounds on them. I meant it's tight enough that the wheel doesn't move from side to side and up and down

[pdc]

Make sure your cranks are tight. You'll ruin your hub if they're loose. Also make sure your pedals are tight. Could also be bad pedal bearings.

[2pac]

^
they're definitely tight. Every ride I check them, and even during rides I get off and check to see if they're staying tight..due to cranks always loosening while riding on previous unicycles.

[onelesscar]

Originally Posted by pdc

Sounds like a loose wheelbuild. My stock steel wheel back in the day was heavy and weak but quiet.

yeah, it might not hurt to go around the wheel and check spoke tension...maybe tighten each spoke a little.