Today I noticed that every 90 degrees of rotation, there is a place where the tire seems to hit a bump and wants to rest there. I can see nothing obviously wrong with either my hub, tire, or cranks but something is definately catching. Does anyone know what the problem is? And is this a problem?
It sounds like it could be the bearings. Make sure that you haven’t overtightned the bearing caps. If they aren’t too tight the bearings might need replacing.
Ahh thank you kindly, that seems to have fixed it. I seem to have tightened them as tight as possible when I put the unicycle together :o
Glad I could help!
A difficult balance. If the clamps are too tight, the bearings go slightly oval and this causes friction. Too loose and the bolts can work loose on a long ride.
I am personally not a big fan of Loctite or similar products. Spring washers should reduce the risk of a bolt undoing. Carry the appropriate size of key (I use a Y wrench with the 3 main sizes) on longer rides as a talisman. Your bearings will never come undone while you are carrying the right tool to tighten them.
Tighten the two bolts evenly, rather than tightening one up then tightening the other. As it gets nearer to tight, do it in approximately quarter turns, first one bolt then the other. Keep testing the wheel to see that it turns freely. As soon as it starts to feel “slow”, back off the bolts a tiny amount.
Thank you =D
I agree with the method you describe, but why not loctite? Those bolts are the perfect spot for light-medium duty thread locker. Even boiled linseed oil would do the trick. I have no way to check, but I seem to remember at least one of my uni’s coming with thread locker on the main cap bolts.
Y tools are great and all but it’s wise to carry a spare 5mm allen key as it can be a pain doing up bearing cups with a Y tool (gets caught on spokes/disc).
I don’t know about anyone else, but personally I dislike messing with loctite unless it is a bolt that I plan on never messing with. Loctite just makes it too tight, which is what it is supposed to do, but I don’t like most bolts requiring that much force to twist.
Mike states that he carries the Y wrench as a talisman. This ensures that anything that can be tightened with the Y wrench will not loosen during a ride. Having it is not a precaution but rather a preventative.
I see your point, but in all of the years I have been a bike mechanic I don’t share the sentiment. There are different types of Loctite, and some of them behave as you have described. For instance: there is almost no reason to ever use red loctite on a bike. It requires a torch to remove once it sets. The green “wick in” variety flows like water, but when it sets up it is almost as hard to remove as the red variety.
Blue loctite (243) is a medium duty product that is designed to lock the threads, and be releasable. It is also used to protect threads from corrosion. That is the kind I was recommending. It is also the type that comes pre-applied to brake bolts, and (if memory serves) the main cap bolts for one of my uni’s.
Let’s not forget boiled linseed oil. It is very old school, but it is a surprisingly good thread locker. It lubes the threads as you put the pieces together, and then cures to lock the threads in place. It is so gentle as a thread locker that I also use it as my spoke prep for wheel building. I would never build a wheel with loctite of any kind.