eBay 36" Uni

Trading Post
1

I bought a 36"er off eBay from JCP Corporation out of Miami. The new wheel was only $279 INCLUDING shipping. What better way to learn if I really would like a big wheel than starting out with a good deal?

It arrives. I assemble it. I take it to my back yard to try it out. I step down on the right crank to mount the new toy and… Wait… The crank moved without the wheel moving. Did that really happen?

I try it again. Yep.

I sit down, put the wheel in my lap, and torque the cranks with my arms. Yes, the wheel can move separately from the cranks. This is a problem.

I call JCP. They are very kind, very apologetic. We agree that I’ll try to fix it here first.

I TIG weld the flange to the axle. It holds. All is good.

Until…the left crank won’t stay tight. I travel everywhere with a socket wrench. I finally try LocTite and J. B. Weld. This holds for only 2 weeks. Aargh!

I call JCP. They agree to ship another wheel. I’ll return the old one in the shipping box. They will pay for shipping.

The new wheel arrives. I’m excited. I assemble it, step on the crank, and…

You guessed it - the crank moves a bit before the wheel.

  1. Has anybody else had this problem with the Chinese 36" unis? If so, what?

  2. I’m thinking of getting help from a bike store. Any thoughts?

  3. I’ve considered getting a new hub, 100 mm bearing-to-bearing, 66 mm flange-to-flange, 36 hole. Any thoughts on replacing the hub?

I want to point out that the company has been VERY nice, very accommodating and very apologetic. They seem to be very sincere folks. It is just too bad that I have gotten two defective units.

I’d rather be riding than repairing.

Any ideas?

Jeff in AZ

2

If it was me I would be thinking myself very lucky that JCP are responding promptly. I wouldn’t be considering a third replacement - I would be aiming for a refund.

3

i would take the cranks off and look in the hub and stuff to see if its all broken or anything. Good luck! And if all else fails buy a new one.

4

If you don’t mind rebuilding your wheel, I would suggest to JCP that a good permanent solution will cost them $25+shipping, and have them buy you a UDC wide CrMo hub. According to UDC the flanges are 71mm center to center, and so this makes only a 5mm difference. When you figure that over the length of the spokes on a Coker wheel, I just can’t imagine you will need different spokes.

As for your crank falling off, it sounds like the taper is worn. If they are really cheap cranks it is possible that they will wear out with no help from you. I haven’t seen cranks that bad since the Korean bikes started coming with cotterless cranks in the '80’s; however, since it’s happened before it could happen again. In that case you might want them to add a pair of quax cotterless cranks.