My Torker was there when I got home from work today. Woo - Hoo!! I live out in the boonies, so it’s not a big deal that they left it for me while I was out. I took everything out of the box to look at it; it all seems fine. But I don’t know the first thing about putting it together. I know it sounds lame because there are only a few parts, but I really think I’d rather have a bike shop do it. I could watch them learn a few things, and I’d be assured that I won’t fly off the thing because I put something on backwards… Whatdy’all think? How much would such a painless operation cost me?
Man, a box with a Uni in it waiting for you is 1000x better than the
‘We’re sorry we missed you, we’ll try the exact same time tomorrow even though you clearly won’t be home’ UPS sticker!
Enjoy the ride
Screw in the pedals, and slide the seat post into the Uni, pump up the tire and ride off!
tell us all the pieces in your box
is the frame attached to the wheel? (10mm socket)
are the cranks on the wheel? (14mm socket)
are the pedals on the cranks? (15mm wrench)
is the seat on the post? (10 or 11mm wrench)
get a pump…it’s a schrader valve (the big one)
I wouldn’t trust a bike shop any more then myself, in this case less. The problem is that they don’t know unicycles (unless they do, in which case ignore me). The main problem they are likely to make is to tighten bearing holders much too tight. That is a problem easily fixed. A unicycle isn’t all that hard to figure out how to assemble.
The main thing to look out for is the bearing holder has to be tight enough so it’s not loose, but loose enough that it doesn’t affect the wheel’s ability to spin.
The other thing to watch out for is making sure you have the right pedal on the right side.
Whatever you decide, enjoy your new uni!
Daniel
This is how it came in the box:
A bunch o’ loose little items including: 4 nuts, 4 bolts, 4 washers. And 2 things I don’t know but I assume are the bearing holders.
Your other questions:
frame is not attached to the wheel
cranks are on the wheel
pedals are not on the cranks
seat is on the post
I do already have a pump with a schrader valve.
A couple of questions:
How do I really know if I’ve tightened the bearing holders enough/too much? Or the seat post into the frame, or the pedals?
What tire pressure?
Sofa, if I have all the tools you mention, I assume I should be able to do this myself. But what if I don’t? (I don’t feel like searching the garage right this moment.)
Thanks! You guys are GREAT!!
Unicycle.com has some FAQ’s that cover how to assemble a unicycle.
Unicycle.UK.com FAQ
unicycle.com (USA) FAQ
You’ll need to visit a bike shop to pick up a few tools. Things you’ll need are:
Bike grease
Crank puller
Pedal wrench
Metric socket set. You’ll need a 14 mm socket for the crank bolt. A 10 mm socket for the bolts under the seat. And a few other sizes.
If you don’t have all of those tools you can have a bike shop put it together.
The tricky part with unicycle with main cap bearing holders is getting the bearing caps just the right tightness. It is very common to get the bearing caps too tight. You want the wheel to still spin very freely (no binding) when the bearing caps are tight. You want the wheel to still spin with no extra friction or drag from the bearing.
The other tricky part is learning how to tighten the cranks. The crank bolts need to be tight, but if you go too tight you can strip the threads. A bike shop can show you how tight is just right.
Put grease on the pedal threads before putting the pedals on the cranks. Make sure that you do not cross-thread the pedals on the cranks. Use your fingers to start the threads and get at least two revolutions using your fingers before using the pedal wrench. If the pedal threads are not started straight the pedal will thread on crooked and strip the threads due to cross-threading.
That’s about all there is to it. That and the FAQ’s should get you ready to ride.
One other thing I just remembered - in the top of the frame there are 2 places to put bolts in to tighten once the seatpost is inserted. One of these holes came with a bolt already in it (not one of the 4 bolts I already mentioned,) but the other hole was empty. Wouldn’t this part be required? I just checked the box for loose parts, but there weren’t any.
I agree. It’s a good idea to use a thin film of bicycle grease (I like Phil Wood) on the seat post before you insert it into the the seat tube (again, just a thin film). Pedals neeed to be inserted into the correct crank (right to right, left to left). Spokes sometimes need to be tightened, but if you aren’t comfortable with this, find someone who is, or read up on it so as not to knock the wheel out of true. Have fun!
The tire will have a reccommended pressure on the side wall. If the cranks are on the wheel already, I don’t know why u would need to to do anything at all to them. I think that leaves you with the pedals and the bearing holders. The pedals screw in and there is a left and a right , they are marked on the ends usually. A search of this site for bearing holders will probably yield more information. As far as the seat post clamp goes, my old torker just had one quick release clamp with a nut on one side and the little handle on the other, I don’t know about this years models though. Sorry about my flippant earlier reply, I just got my weekend and was a bit overjoyed…
Don’t feel bad at all about not being able to do it yourself…or being skeptical. Sure it’s easy once you get the hang of it, but you can also wreck stuff just as easily.
If this is all brand new to you, you might want to take it into a bike shop and have them do it in front of you.
Bike store people are generally quite educated in matters of cranks and bolt tightening.
I wouldn’t want them to recommend a uni to me, but a unicycle is basically made out of bike parts anyways.
They will also be able to tell you what tools you need (like which size of spoke wrench, etc…)
Bike store people are great to get to know, they come in handy in a jam, and they all seem to get a kick out of unicycle riders!
Someone in my local unicycle club also ended up with one of the new Torkers with only a single functioning bolt in the two bolt seatpost clamp. I can’t remember if it was because the threads were stripped, the bolt was missing, or some other bit was missing.
If you got the uni from unicycle.com or from Bedford you should be able to contact them for a replacement. Another option is to go to a specialty fastener store (a fancy name for a shop that specializes in selling bolts and screws) and get a replacement bolt. I think Torker is using a standard hex bolt which should be easy to get. Bring the seatpost clamp with you so you get the right size bolt.
A single bolt in the seatpost clamp should work OK for now. But with two bolts it will work much better.
Thanks again, everybody. I plan on going home after work and search the garage to see what I have. Even if I have the right size tools, this time I think I’ll go to the bike shop and watch while they put it together. And I guess I’ll try to email someone at unicycle.com to get that extra bolt.
I had a socket set and a pedal wrench. Didn’t have a crank puller. After looking at all the pieces and how they fit together, and asking a couple of questions to the woman at Uni.com, I tried it myself. I ended up not even needing any sockets, because the seat was already attached to the post and other than the pedal wrench, the rest of the connections just needed an allen wrench.
The bearing mounts are the only thing worrying me a bit. I know I didn’t overtighten them, because the wheel is moving freely. But how tight is tight enough? The threads on the nuts didn’t go all the way through, only about half the inside of the nuts were threaded. So it seems like it’s not held together by much. Any thoughts?
One comment about Uni.com. When I asked her for an extra bolt for the seatpost clamp, she wasn’t sure what I was talking about. Turns out she didn’t know that the 2004 Torker LX does NOT have a quick-release seatpost. She said the manufacturer keeps changing the design and doesn’t keep them well informed. That didn’t sound so promising to me.
So it’s together. I tried sitting on it and it was way to high, even with the seat post in the lowest position. I know I didn’t order the longer seat post, but I guess even the standard size is too big for me (my inseam is about 28".) I’ll cut some off of it tomorrow, and hope it doesn’t feel quite so much the alien experience sitting on it for that split second did! Do any of you remember way back when you first tried it? It’s freaky!!!
Sorry for the lng post, just had to get out some energy.
john childs-stop being so damn helpful. just kidding, youre awesome
Harper’s post in that thread I linked to was more helpful than my post in that thread. Maybe I should contract out my technical writing to Harper. That would make my posts more clear and easier to understand. 
What was that? I don’t understand 