hey everybody.
I am getting a new uni tommorow and I told my dad that I’m not going to let him set it up. Due to the fact that he ruined my first uni and almost my second.
Anyways, if anybody would post a quick setup of a unicycle that’d be great:D
I feel your pain, my dad didn’t screw my pedals on all the way and now my crank is partially stripped >.>
dido,
my did put the left cranks on the right side and the right cranks on the left side, so I eventually (before I actually got into unicycling and knew anything) bought bike cranks and they feel really weird.
oh well, it was only a Torker CX
Father knows best!
Most unicycles come with a set up guide.
Um maybe its just me, but I didn’t find the unicycle set up to be too hard. Nothing a 12 year old couldn’t figure out anyways. The cranks are labled so that takes care of the “which side” question. The pedals can only thread into their intended crank so that takes care of itself.
Other than that I can’t really imagine anything your really need to do when setting your uni up. Uhhh, grease your cranks?
Well, the seat can go onto the seat post any way. Assuming you have the standard 4-bolt post and seatbase.
Of course, the frame should have a slit cut into the seat tube, this is the rear of your frame, and knowing the front and back of your frame, it should be common since for everything else.*
The front of the seat should be facing the same way as the front of the frame. And now that you know where the right and left of your uni are, put the cranks on.
The cranks will have a R for right, and L for left (Duh) engraved into the crank, or at least stickers on them. The pedals are the same. They will have a R and a L engraved on them, and/or stickers on them.
Unicycles are simple machines, and really, just make sure right crank and pedal are on the right, and left crank and pedals are on the left.
- Frame direction really doesnt matter either, cause quite a few people have their frames on backwards, but their cranks and pedals are on the right sides, so its all good.
But not at both ends. Greasing the pedal threads is good, greasing the tapers is bad (it can allow you to screw the cranks on too tight, which can cause them to crack).
This is assuming a standard square taper axle, of course.
Check the assembly when it’s done. Make sure the pedals are on the correct sides, and they’re screwed on really tight, tight as you can. Bearings, on the other hand, should not be too tight. You didn’t say what unicycle it was going to be so it’s hard to give specific advice. There are some assembly instructions here as well:
https://www.unicycle.com/FAQ.asp
Lots of other useful info as well.
hey everyone,
I just got my Nimbus 20" trials cycle and I need your help setting it up.
Questions:
I got 4 bolts and 4 washers, I guess I don’t neet nuts, but I was wondering,
"Does it matter which bolt you put in the bearing house? I got four bolts, and I know that you connect the frame to the bearing house with them, but does it matter which bolt you use? In other words If I put “this” bolt “Here” will it strip the bearing house or frame?
No it doesnt matter which holes the bolts go in.
For standard square taper (aka cotterless), the received wisdom is that both the square hole in the crank and the taper on the axle should be cleaned, then greased. Then there is a recommended torque for tightening the crank nuts. I don’t remember how much because I don’t have a torque wrench anyway (maybe it was 40 lb.ft?). I know they should be “quite tight”. I don’t think you would easily crack the cranks by greasing and then overtightening them, never happened to me anyway.
What’s more: too little tightening of the crank nut is a potential cause of failure, since the crank can work loose during riding.
Advice for hungry4uni: after mounting cranks, check the tightness of the nuts regularly, as the cranks need to ‘set’ on the axle. Especially with aluminium cranks, you need many tightenings before the cranks stays on permanently. And: don’t ride with a loose crank! You will probably ruin the crank, or worse still: the axle.
Or, worse still again, your knee. Cranks and axles are easily replaced.
13 years ago I rode 5 miles on a loose crank. I was able to replace the cranks and axle, but I had twinges in my knee for several years afterwards. Even now I get a sore knee if I cycle more than about 70 miles.
Which way do I turn each pedal to take it off.
Someone help. I Just got some blue twisted pc’s
On pedal or crank with “R” you unscrew normally. On the “L” side you turn the other way. If unsure, start gently before applying excessive amounts of force.
The big thing to note about pedals, other than L and R, is that you should always screw them in at least two full turns by hand, before using a wrench. Especially on the aluminum Qu-Ax cranks, which are supremely easy to cross-thread and strip.
And just to be sure: what John calls 'normally", is if you turn the pedal counterclockwise when looking at the pedal from the “outside”.
This is what I do because I can never rember which one is counter clockwise and which one isn’t. Ohhh, and don’t tighten it real tight when you put it on, it will tighten itself.
One thing to remember is that both pedals turn in the same direction, when looked at from above. So I just stand over the wheel, and tighten/loosen the pedals forwards or backwards.
As tholub suggested. It is a good idea to start your pedals - and I believe all machine bolts - by hand at first. By starting your bolts by hand you can “feel” if they are screwing in correctly (easily at first) or if they are binding at first (not screwing in at all or very hard) possibly stripping.
There are three key things to remember when screwing things together.
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Don’t force it. If needed, back it out and try again or try the same bolt in a different hole.
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If more than two bolts or screws hold the same piece down/together don’t tighten one all the way then the others. Tighten them together. (i.e. your two bearing housing bolts… tighten one about 1/4 of the way… then the other about 1/2 way… then re-tighten first. Back and forth until it is tight. This spreads the load out and keeps you from bending a bolt or making it difficult to put the second bolt in once the first is tight.
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Apply the proper torque. Some things require more torque than others. This is really learned from experience or by using a torque wrench(if you know the proper torque for the bolt) Don’t stress about this too much… but just realize if you screw down a piece of plastic really hard… it might crack(so take it easy sometimes)… and don’t just lightly tighten your cranks like they are a plastic reflector(they are strong connections, designed to take a heavy load, and need more torque) Generally, the bigger the bolt, the more torque the bolt may need.
As someone else said… don’t over tighten your bearing housing bolts.
Good luck and check all the nuts and bolts to make sure they are not loose after/during the first few rides.