Clicking noise after dropping

Hi all,
I was out riding the 36er today and after an unexpected dismount (seat head butted the floor) I found that the unicycle was clicking lots, felt through the right pedal.

I do have some loose spokes which was my initial concern, however after a while of riding the clicking disappeared. I’ve also experienced this on another unicycle.

Had anyone experienced this before?

Usually something around the hub is loose, either a frame, crank, or a spoke in my case. Check the bolts and that everything is snug. If it doesn’t continue I’d not worry about it.

I’ve always found that kind of clicking is in fact play in the saddle’s mounting bolts. And would tally with the drop you mention. You feel it everywhere as it kind of reverberates throughout.

Worth checking saddle bolts as they have a habit I find if getting lose. That is if you’ve the standard type of saddle and not the Fusion One kind.

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If you’ve got a Fusion One kind (especially the Fusion Zero) then it’s extra important to keep that bolt tight as you’ve just got the one holding things together, and in the case of the Fusion Zero it’s well known for snapping if a little loose.

Good call on that one, I just suddenly dawned on me after my first previous and first big ride on the 36er that I noticed one of the saddle bolts has fallen out.

Will give all these suggestions a check this evening.

Cheers

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If continue to have problems, check out this:

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I found the clicking in the end, and it was the cranks I fitted recently. I don’t think they go on far enough as when I used the crank extraction tool using just finger power of turning the extractor was enough to pop off the crank. I can also so (i think) where there is slight wear where the crank has been moving ever so slightly.

If they are ISIS cranks you may be able to use a thinner spacer washer to tighten the cranks. Spacer washers of different thicknesses are available from UDC.

The standard instruction for determining the required spacer thickness is to push the crank on by hand and then select a spacer about 3 to 5mm less then the space from the bearing to the crank. With the correct spacer the crank will fit tight on the tapered ISIS spline and against the bearing when the attaching crank bolt is tightened.

I’ve always gone with 2-3mm. 5mm would cause unnecessary wear to the crank interface (as tends to happen to cranks when installed on the older Schlumpf hubs that don’t have crank stops).

UDC UK previously said 3mm in their video:

I agree, the 5mm does sound quite large. However from the ISIS Group webpage:

How much pre-load should I design into my cranks?

This depends upon your crank material. For most aluminum alloys we have found a pre-load of 3-5mm is ideal (as measured according to drawing sheet three). The individual crankset manufacturer will have to determine their required pre-load for themselves, based on analysis and testing.

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Ahh yes, I knew I’d read that somewhere.

Cranks do seem to be moving to stiffer and stiffer alloys, probably facilitating a smaller pre-load.

Problem fixed - if was the cranks. Fitted a new pair which were nice and snug and the problem no longer exists.