As the title says: what keeps the sprocket on my Torker TX giraffe in place is there splines or is it just tightened between two surfaces? My reason for asking is that I was riding down my driveway (kinda steep) and I heard a strange noise then the uni started rollin but my feet were not peddling and no I didnt convert my giraffe to a BC
that cant be good
It’s just screwed on tight.
In your case, not tight enough.
I used loc-tite Tit’en on mine and it hasn’t happened since.
Go to bike shop
buy 2 chain tensioners
problem solved
for ever
What are 2 chain tensioners going to do? the chains not jumping teeth, the sprocket seems to be slipping
The sprocket is threaded tightly on the hub. Then there is a lockring threaded tightly against the sprocket. The lockring is supposed to keep the sprocket from unscrewing. It is not a 100% reliable system. Enough backpressure on the pedals will eventually cause both the lockring and sprocket to slip and undo.
One option is to put it back together tightly with Red (high strength) Loctite. That will help keep it from slipping. But it is not a permanent fix and still not 100% reliable.
A more secure option is to weld the sprocket in place. Have the welder be careful not to get the sprocket too hot that it warps. This is permanent. 100% effective and reliable. The problem is if you ever break a spoke on the sprocket side you will not be able to replace it. But a small price to pay for a more reliable and safe giraffe.
Another option is to get a wheel made with the new UDC giraffe hub. The new giraffe hub has a sprocket that is bolted on. It is secure. It won’t slip. The new hub is on the Nimbus 5 footer. I really really like that new hub. A safe hub is a good thing on a giraffe.
To tighten the sprocket you’ll need a chain whip. To tighten the lockring you’ll need a quality lockring spanner that fits the lockring used on the Torker giraffe. A quality lockring spanner is important. The cheap ones will end up damaging the lockring when you try to tighten it up tight enough to keep it slipping on a giraffe. So a trip to the bike shop is in order to get the tools necessary to keep the giraffe in safe working order. And then a trip to the auto parts store to get some red high strength Loctite. You’ll need to bring the giraffe wheel with you to the bike shop so you can get a lockring spanner that is the right size and with the right tooth spacing.
And if you’re paranoid, a trip to a welder.
Ride some serious uphills, this will tighten the sproket. But seriously, this problem seems to come and go on my TX, not done it in ages actually, and I didn’t do anyhting about it the few times that it did happen.
Welding a CroMo sprocket to a aluminum hub doesn’t work very well. Not sure if the torker sprockets are Cromo, though–but my medium strength removeable loctite has lasted over 100 miles on my giraffe.
I don’t think any of the giraffe hubs have aluminum shells. However, that would be something to check before taking it to a welder. A quick check would be to see if a magnet sticks to the hub shell. If a magnet sticks then the hub shell is steel of some sort.
My Schwinn and Semcycle giraffe hubs are steel.
I think the only way someone would end up with an aluminum hub shell is if they had a customized giraffe and used a good track bicycle hub. A quality track hub with a quality track cog and a quality lockring are going to hold better, but I still wouldn’t trust it 100%.
I really hope that in the future that giraffes will not be sold with threaded on lockring hubs. It’s just not safe. Giraffe hubs like the new Unicycle.com safety giraffe hub are the way it needs to be done. Torker should do something similar for their giraffe hubs. It will be a good day in the giraffe world when the threaded on sprocket and lockring hubs go the way of cottered cranks.
Yes, it’s sad to hear that Torker is still using the dangerous track hub design for their giraffes. This design is fine if you only pedal in one direction, but not fine for unicycles. If you intend to keep using the current hub, I highly recommend you take the following steps:
- Listen to the guru of Loctite, John Childs. This is one of those places where you really want to use the red Loctite. A sudden slip of a giraffe sprocket can lead to broken bones or other injury.
- If you don’t have a chain whip, and/or the other necessary tools to do the job yourself, take it to a bike shop.
- DO NOT TRUST THE BIKE SHOP TO TAKE THIS SITUATION SERIOUSLY. I speak from experience with a set of Schwinn Giraffes I restored and re-sold in about 15 years ago. After having my local bike shop Loctite all the hubs, I took one outside to test it and immediately fell and almost hurt myself. I was not very happy, as they didn’t use RED, and they weren’t tight at all.
- So for best results, get it done by your local bike shop when you and they have the time to do it while you watch. Make sure it’s free of dirt and grease before assembly (you could do this part), make sure the Loctite is red, and most importantly, make sure your mechanic tightens the living crap out of it. Specific torque numbers are of course better, but “living crap” should work unless the guy’s a total gorilla.
- Test it real good afterward.
Another question on giraffes - I’ve just learned how to roll-mount my Torker TX. And let’s say that I’m… enthusiastic about it, and tend to roll-mount it dozens of times per day, because hot damn is it ever fun.
Aside from bending the frame (which is actually holding up really awesomely right now, it seems to be up to the abuse, although I guess if it were a 6’, there would be more concern), is there anything else, such as the lockring coming undone, that I should be worried about while doing this? I’m pretty good at falling, but it’s still hard not to hurt yourself when there’s a sudden equipment failure with no warning.
-Dave
Oh… Sorry
I though you were talking about the hub slipping in the dropouts.