Major tire problems

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I’ve got a 5 year old uni and it goes without saying that it’s a peice of junk. The seat is fake leather with old foam underneath which is tearing apart, the cranks have cotter pins, the uni creaks with tight cranks and the worst part is the tire, which has practically no treads from all the riding and abuse from experimenting new things. The rubber on this tire is cracking all over the place and when I ride it, I’m afraid it might pop at any second. The uni still looks OK, (from a short distance) but I’d really like a new one. Unfortunately I’m only 14, don’t have a job and even a $100 dollar uni is really costly for me. Also, I haven’t the foggiest idea where I might get a new tire for that thing besides maybe a bike shop, but with all the MTBers who gawk just seeing me ride it, I really doubt how helpful they’d be. Oh, there’s always unicycle.com, but i don’t have a credit card and I can’t really mooch off my parents to use theirs. So, if anyone has any suggestions, PLEASE help me.

    -Jonny D
2

on unicycle.com, there is a botton that says somthing liek “unicycle.com dealers”, click that and then look for your state. you probably cannot get a good unicycle for under 75$us. beware lolipop barrings holders.
good luck
dan

3

You should be able to get a cheap tire for a unicycle at any bike shop especially if you have a very common size like 20x1.75 or 24x1.75. The tires for Schwinns are different but it doesn’t sound like you have a Schwinn. I just recently bought a 24x1.75 for $10 at a bike shop. The Schwinn tires were $12.

4

First thing jonny, dont be afraid of the local bike shop. if they help you, good , if they dont then oh well at least you tried. if your lucky they could hook you up with stuff you might need. my local shop can’t get enough of me and is doin a partial sponsorship because he thinks it is soo cool (the place is the Gravity Warehouse) yea so go check out the shop, it might be a good thing. good luck.

Kyle Grasso aim KyleBMX4fun

“its all about the ride” :sunglasses:

5

> Also, I haven’t the foggiest idea where I might get a new tire for that
> thing besides maybe a bike shop, but with all the MTBers who gawk just
> seeing me ride it, I really doubt how helpful they’d be. Oh, there’s
> always unicycle.com, but i don’t have a credit card and I can’t really
> mooch off my parents to use theirs. So, if anyone has any suggestions,
> PLEASE help me.

  1. Get job. Being poor is not a crime, but it’s not somebody else’s
    fault either. I had to save up for my first unicycle, for which I
    paid $119 in 1980.

  2. If your uni is a 20", you can find cheap tires at discount stores like
    Wal Mart. Read numbers on side of tire. Find matching numbers on tire
    in (any) store.

  3. Save up for a better unicycle.

  4. Have fun riding!

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com www.unicycling.com

“455 newsgroup messages in a year is only 1.24 per day…” - John Foss,
trying to explain to his wife

6

In article <a1vv83$3cm$1@laurel.tc.umn.edu>, JonnyD
<forum.member@unicyclist.com> writes:

> I’ve got a 5 year old uni and it goes without saying that it’s a peice
> of junk.

My Miyata is about 15 years old and is definitely not “junk”, even if it
does have cottered cranks!

There’s even odds that your unicycle still has lots of life left in it.
Replacing the tire should be no real problem at all; just look for one
that will take the relatively high pressure you probably need to put in
it. If mountain bike people look down their noses at you, try a BMX shop.
When you do the tire, put a new tube in as well - it’s cheap.

Making a seat cover is pretty easy too. You could do an air-seat job on it
for a project.

You might try replacing the cotter pins, if the cranks can’t be secured
without moving or creaking. I’ve had that help a time or two, and cotter
pins are cheap as well.

If you mentioned the make or style of uni you’ve got, you might get
more pointers on maintenance things to look out for or add-ons or mods
you could do.

Good luck.

============================================================
Gardner Buchanan <gbuchana@rogers.com> Ottawa, ON FreeBSD: Where you want
to go. Today.

7

If you’re old enough to seek advice on this newsgroup, then you’re mature enough to fix up your uni. While this newsgroup is read by many a helpful lad/lassie, what this newsgroup won’t do is send you a new tire or the money to purchase a tire. You may also need an inner tube if your tire goes flat quickly. You’ll need to exercise much creativity to make some money. You’ll need $15US to fix up your uni’s tire.*

So let’s set some facts straight. Your uni is not new but you have it. That’s a bonus because you can’t ride a .jpg image from unicycle.com. Cottered cranks, while not the best, are still acceptable and are rideable. Use duct tape to fix your seat. And if you don’t like the sound of your creaking wheel, then slowly learn what’s creaking and fix it.

You need to know your tire size. Look on the side of your existing tire to see if you can find numbers like 20x1.75 or 24x1.75. The first number is the important number and is your tire diameter, which you’ll need to purchase a new tire. Look on both sides of your tire for these numbers.

If you can’t find any numbers then get a measuring tape and measure from one side of your rim, to the centre of your tire, to the other side of your rim. Measure from rim edge to rim edge, going through the centre (hub) of your tire. If this measurement is around 16.5" then you have a 20" tire. If the measurement is about 20" then you have a 24" tire. If the measurement is about 22" then you have a 26" tire. You only have these 3 choices, so you don’t need to be so accurate.

Go to Wal*mart and get a tire marked with the same diameter, like 20 x 1.75". It’ll cost you $10US. You may need some tire irons, which should cost you $2US.

A unicycle tire and wheel is constructed the same as a bicycle tire. You have a rubber inner tube full of air surrounded by the outer tire, which keeps the inner tube inside and on the rim, and protects the inner tube from being punctured. Search the internet and find articles on how to change a bicycle tire. Print the clearest instructions you can find and try it.

You bike shop will be able to help you with the sizing as well. If you’re a little intimidated ask a trusted adult to go in with you. As well as size and change your tire they could also true your wheel and tighten any loose spokes, which may be a cause of your squeaking.

Don_TaiATyahooDOTcoDOTuk, Toronto, Canada

*Getting money: deliver papers (on your uni), shovel snow, do errands for a neighbourhood store, as someone for a part-time job, cut someone’s grass, pick up doggy dodo from someone’s lawn, paint fences, clean up garages, etc, etc. Make sure you determine how much you get paid before you start the work!

8

i used to collect bottles and cans,but this is Oregon and they are worth 5cents a piece.

9

I don’t know if anybody else has heard of doing this, but I succesfully welded my cottered cranks on.
I had a seven year old uni with cottered cranks and lollipop bearing holders. The cotters kept coming loose, even after buying new ones and hammering them in. So I thought “why not,” and welded my cranks on to the axle. Obviously I had to weld with the bearings and holders on the axle, but I took all the other parts off (seat, tire, etc), and wrapped a wet cloth around the lollipop holders. I used a stick welder to get the penetration. (Used 1/8 6011 rod with decent amperage{over 100 amps, don’t remember})
I rode this unicycle successfully for a couple years before I started getting into hopping and the welds kept failing, so I bought a new unicycle. (united/monty)
Conclusion: Permantly welding on cottered cranks extends the usefulness of your uni.

Caleb Penner
Non-Uni Link- Please vote!

10

Yes, I welded the cottered cranks of my Oxford to the axle 32 years ago and at the same time welded the pedals to the cranks. I sold it in that condition about 4 years ago. They held quite well.

11

Don Tai very much felt like typing today, a case of severe weather
in Toronto? Anyway, that was so detailed, nothing can possibly go
wrong anymore!

Klaas Bil

On Wed, 16 Jan 2002 00:15:12 +0000 (UTC), don.tai
<forum.member@unicyclist.com> wrote:

<snipped 58 lines of good advice>

“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “screws, SLI, SONANGOL”

12

Tube recommendations/sizing

My tube sprung a leak at the base of the valve stem today, due in part to the inevitable sideways force from using a cheap stick pump. The tube was somewhat twisted within the tire, which didn’t help. The stem hole was smooth and free of burrs on the inside wall of the rim, so that’s no issue.

The problem is that I called our local bike shops and the widest tubes they stock are 44mm. My Kenda Nevegal tire is 29 x 2.2 (700 x 55)and the original Kenda tube reads 29 x 1.9/2.3 (700 x 48.26/58.42

Any advice on what exact tube I should use as a replacement?
I’d like to get one quick, but if I have to special order to find one suitable, that’s OK.

13

Any particular reason you appended this to a six year old post?

The 44mm tube will work; it will just be a little thinner and a bit more prone to flats. You can order a real 29er tube from unicycle.com if you want to.

14

My bike uses 26x2.125" tires. If I buy the tubes at Walmart or Target that are marked for that size, they are about half as big as the tire- that is, they have to swell way up to fill the tire. But they do, and will work if nothing better is convenient. I think it’d be a bit harder to patch a tube when it’s used that way, the main drawback.

I’ve noticed that some of these Coker-type unicycles, people use smaller tubes and stretch them over the wheel just for the weight savings.

15

It’s the closest thread I found using search.
The wider tubes are available with Presta valves, but I’m not familiar with them. Can they be easily adapted for the KH29 rim?

16

I’m going to assume it’s because he used the Search!

Praise, praise, praise praise, praise, praise praise, praise, praise praise, praise, praise praise, praise, praise praise, praise, praise praise, praise!

17

presta valves are skinnier than schrader valves and you need a slightly different nozzle on your pump.

You should be able to get some sort of rubber tube to slip over the stem so it can fit the hole in the KH rim properly.

I have been running a 700X38 tube in my 36er for 9 months now trouble free. sizing on tubes are just suggestions :slight_smile:

18

I agree with Eric. It’s more important to remember to use a light dusting of talc powder on the tube before installing it in the tire. Saves a @#$%load of pinch flats!

19

newer schwalbe brand tubes come with a special lock ring that locks round the presta valve and is shaped so that it sits exactly in a schrader valve hole.

The nicest tube for a 29er is a schwalbe tube 19a it is lightweight but big enough to fit in a 2.3 tyre. It is way lighter than the other 29er tubes.

The problem with using the 700x44 tubes in 29er tyres is that they have a tendency to blow out at the valve. I know bike people tend to use 26x2.2 tubes or similar if they can’t get a 29er tube, because tubes stretch okay whereas over inflating pops them.

So short term get a fat 26 tube long term get schwalbe 19a tube.
Joe

20

Joe is the 19A the one reccomended for using on 36ers? My 29 tyre has just failed, I have a 29 tube that was reccomended to me for going on a 36, will it do for my 2.1 kenda klaw?