John Foss wrote:
>For me personally, the best thing about an axle is that it doesn’t break.
>After that, it’s important that it’s machined properly so the cranks fit
>tightly without chronic looseness (you have to tighten them periodically no
>matter what).
One may have to tighten cranks a few weeks after putting them on, but if they
are made really tight, they will never have to be tightened again, ever! If you
are tightening cranks periodically, you are either never making them tight
enough, the hub and crank attachment surfaces don’t match or either the hub or
crank are defective!
Sincerely,
Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com
RE: Crank tightening [RE: Semcycle v. XL]
John Foss wrote:
>This may not be true in all situations. I think steel against steel (both crank
>and axle) hold together very consistently. But on my “piece o’Schwinn” MUni, I
>have long (6") alloy cranks against a steel axle. I think alloy cranks against
>a steel axle seem to have more problems staying tight.
The secret is making the cranks tight enough so there is no relative movement
(however minute) between the cranks and the axle while riding, without making
them too tight (stripping threads).
Three of my Miyata unicycles have alloy cranks (5" and 5 1/2"), but I’ve never
had to tighten them except once or twice right after putting them on or buying
the unicycle. These cranks have remained alsolutely tight through many years of
heavy use.
>But I don’t experience any problems except on my MUni. The long cranks and the
>amount of force that’s applied to them puts a lot more wear and tear than any
>freestyle riding I used to do. So I tighten my MUni cranks at the beginning of
>each ride, even though they probably don’t need it that often.
I always tighten my cranks very tight when they go on, so there is never any
wear that might cause loosening problems later. Furthermore, wear between the
cranks and axle may result in metal powder which acts as both a lubricant
(similar to graphite powder) between these parts and also makes it impossible to
tighten the cranks enough.
Sincerely,
Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com