I just picked up a trials uni from a guy in the Dallas area. Its got the following:
Bedford frame
KH saddle (looks like fusion)
Luna tire
KH hub (8-spline?)
Wellgo pedals
Alex DX32 rim
My questions are:
The rim, at the seam, is starting to split. Will this need to be repaired/replaced, or is it ok to ride?
The hub looks like the KH/Onza on my KH24, but doesn’t say onza. Does that mean it’s the older, 8-spline KH hub?
Also, the tire/wheel makes a squeaky sound when its ridden, especially when turning. It sounds like rubber rubbing against the rim maybe. Is this a problem of any sort?
Thanks for any input.
I’d add pics, but I can’t find my camera cord. Here’s a pic the dude sent me of it:
In refference to the rim, if u just use the uni for riding then i wouldnt worrie bou the rim but if ur gonna do trials or and sort of hoping at that, i would deffinatly get a new rim, you could wait till it goes kaput but that could end in a nasty way…
yeah it does look bent, the hub sounds like the one on my Muni, i think it is lust an old kh one, if the rim is splitting i would avoid big drops or just replace it but a wheel rebuild sounds quite awkward.
agreed…i reckon this uni has had a heavy hit somewhere along the line, hense the bent seat post and the damaged rim.
I no one to say but i reckon it been flogged for these reasons.
The seatpost was bent on purpose. Puts more weight on the butt…like what a rail adapter does. Its definitely had a lot of use, but the seatpost was bent on purpose.
Not sure what I wanna do with the uni yet, but it was fairly cheap so I figured why not.
Also, the tire/wheel makes a squeaky sound when its ridden, especially when turning. It sounds like rubber rubbing against the rim maybe. Is this a problem of any sort?
my Muni was squeeking and creaking when i got it, take the cranks and bearings off and regrease it then make sure every thing is done up really tight. it worked for me but if it doesnt help then i dont know, i hope you didnt pay much for the uni
It has obviously been through lots of damage, but if you replace the seatpost, and maybe the frame, you should be okay. As for the rim, I really can’t help you there.
How badly is the rim splitting? The DX32 rims are pinned not welded so there will always be a crack that is noticeable at the seam. If the rim gets flatspoted or otherwise out of round the crack can enlarge on the sides or in the middle but the pins are still holding the rim together so it is not a big deal. If you are really concerned about it you could bring it to a well equipped bike shop and see if they could fix it for you.
Unicycles with old splines that have been ridden a lot tend to squeak. Cleaning, greasing and re-tightening the crank interface might help. You aren’t hearing the squeak when you spin the wheel by had because you aren’t putting enough force into the cranks for them to shift ever so slightly on the splines.
about the rim. the same thing happened to me on my torker 24…just go tot a b*ke shop and get the rim pulled back into true…it will pull the seam back together.
The rim split isn’t that severly, maybe 1-1.5mm, at the sides of the rim.
How much is enough to warrant concern, Sask?
The squeakiness happens when I roll uni along the ground, as well as when I ride it. It squeaks less on smooth concrete as opposed to road pavement. It squeaks almost equally as much when I ride it.
Also, the squeak sounds like the squeak when you roll a bike along the ground with its tires completely deflated. I was just wondering if this was indicated some sort of rim problem. I am 95% sure its not coming from the cranks. I can hear the sound coming from the tire when I put my ear next to the hub when rolling it across the ground.
Structurally speaking, is the bent seatpost weak? I honestly makes the uni more comfortable to ride.
The squeaking may be because the tire is really old and has dried out, then makes noise as it moves slightly on the rim. Also the Luna is a harder compound than say, a Maxis Creepy Crowler.
See if your LBS can do anything about the rim. If they can’t I wouldn’t do any drops on it until you have $ for a new rim. Not the end of the world because the Alex is a narrowish rim for trials anyway.
If the seat is more comfortable the way the post is I say leave it. But I’d get a new one as a spare and to possibly get a more comfortable shape (I prefer a seat that’s flatter front to back, like the Nimbus Gel and the new KH ones). If it’s 25.4 mm I recomend this post.
Are the spokes in good condition with even tension and does the rim run true.If it is the spokes groaning and squeaking it is easily fixed by anyone handy with a spoke spanner and 10 minutes to spare.
