Hello, just saying hi, and am new to this forum. I just purchased a “used” Giraffe and experienced the dreaded crank spin first time out. Here’s the question:
Does the sprocket/chain reside on the right side?
Mine is on the left and will naturally loosen if more force is applied while peddling vs back peddling. All the videos I have seen on youtube show cranks on the right.
Thanks for the responses, and I have viewed the whole red loctite thread posts, and will definately take that approach.
It won’t loosen if it is left hand threaded and it should be if it is left hand drive, many bmxers use left hand drive so that they don’t smash their sprockets during grinds. I am curious as to whether your seat is in the right orientation, though, as left hand drive isn’t exactly practical in a giraffe. Well, other than being unique that is.
easiest way to tell would be by the notch on the seatpost, assuming the bottom bracket hasn’t been stripped and reassembled the wrong way round at any point
Some pedals have little lines in the shank of the spindle between the flats where the wrench goes to tighten it onto the crank. The lines indicate the left pedal, and the smooth shank is the right pedal. Unfortunately this isn’t done on all pedals, but if one of your pedals has the little lines it should be on the left side.
Also, some pedals have an “L” or “R” stamped into the end of the spindle. Some cranks have this as well on the inside of the crank arm if it is a two or three piece crank.
Many giraffes have a chain drive on each side, but that won’t help you if yours doesn’t!
Most bicycles have a right hand chain drive. Assuming it’s a cheapish giraffe, I’d guess it’s made with standard cheapish drive train components. That would suggest right hand drive.
Either way, look closely at the hub and see if there’s space for a lock ring.
Making the assumption the Giraffe decal is in the front, and thus the seat post tube “cutout” is in the rear, I am thinking the uni was disassembled completely sometime in it’s past and the one piece crank then put in with the gear on the left side.
jtrops, using your logic, it would agree with the bad assembly job and confirm the need for a right hand drive. Using the gear on the right logic, both pedals will self-tighen in this format. Great tip.
Easy enough to flip the crank around, and after pulling the hub cog off just now (prepping for loctite) what I found out is when I purchased the missing gear lock ring last week, my LBS ham-handed an obviously wrong threaded lock ring on the hub. My locking threads are now completely hosed.
I’m guessing I am now in the market to replace with NOS hub, or upgrade to some other 28 hole hub that does not use the threaded cog.
To be sure, loosen the pedals and see which way they turn. If it’s a one-piece crank, you can be pretty sure the chain goes on the right (like a bike). Otherwise, check the pedal threads to be sure. The right-hand pedal is the one threaded normally.
Why do you want to use a NOS hub or 28 spoke? To keep your giraffe “all original”? Does it have a proprietary Schwinn S-7 rim? When I built a new wheel for my giraffe, I wanted a standard 20" rim and a quality hub with 36 spokes for more strength.
…for the updates. I am traveling for a week and will pick this project back up when I return. Sure, it would have been nice to have kept it with all original Schwinn stuff. From here, I will focus on a new wheel setup.
If you can find a good 28-hole rim, the rest of your original wheel will be fine. I recommend new spokes and nipples of course, for something of that age. I still have my original wheel, but someday I think the threads on my hub may give out from years of using axle pegs. Then I’ll have to figure out if I want to make it modern, or keep it looking “classic” and try to scrounge a Schwinn hub…
However, after typing all that I remember you experienced the “dreaded crank spin”. If you have a screw-on sprocket down there, just replace the whole wheel. Don’t mess with the screw-on.
