How would you know? Videos please.
Lewis
Oh, it’s the only way his wife can get him off the Camelopard, silly. Still, video, please!
Christopher
Whoops, my bad. The crank bolts actually take a 7/32" hex key. I have a pathetic set of American Standard hex keys that doesn’t have a 7/32 so I used my metric set instead. 5.5mm is very close to 7/32", but it would definately be better to use the correct size. Looks like I need to head over to the hardware store and get a 7/32" hex key.
john_childs
The “profile squeak” is just a little creak when putting lots of pressure on the cranks. There should be no squeaking. You should actually call it the “Profile creak” rather than the “Profile squeak”.
You Chris and Tommy should all get together for a day and do some unicycle maintenance. It’s more fun to do in a group and you’ll be able to share tools and share hands. The hardest part is getting all of the tools together that you’ll need to do the repairs.
There is a bike repair CD-ROM instructional program called “Break It, Fix It, Ride It”. I haven’t actually used it, but it has gotten good reviews. Something like that should help get you familiar with most of the maintenance and repair that you’ll need for your unicycles. There are also bike repair books that cover the same material. Some of the bike equipment companies also have online manuals for their products that explain how to install and adjust their products. Some bike shops offer hands on bike repair classes, but those classes can be rather spendy and only a few shops offer that sort of clinic.
Here is the “Break It, Fix It, Ride It” web page:
<http://www.bfr-it.com/index.html>
You can order it from NSMB.com
<http://www.nsmb.com/market_place/index.php>
Another reason for the squeak could be that the bearing caps are too tight. If the bearing caps are too tight then the bearing is not going to spin. Normally you would notice an overtight bearing cap because the wheel would not spin well. But the Profile setup is unique because the bearing slips easily on the axle so the axle can still spin in the bearing as long as there is no load. But as soon as you sit on the uni the axle will no longer spin well because the bearing is binding. The axle grinding inside of the bearing could conceivably make an awful squeak.
It is amazing how much force the bearing cap bolts can put on the bearing when over tightened. Just an extra quarter of a turn on one of the bearing cap bolts can be enough to cause the bearing to bind. The bearing cap bolts should be snug but not tight. The main problem with the split bearing cap design is that it is very easy to over tighten them.
It is hard to explain what the difference is between “snug” and “tight”. I don’t have a torque wrench so I can’t give you a measurement in inch-pounds of force. Basically I just use my finger tips on the hex key when tightening the bearing cap bolts. If you use your whole hand on the hex key like a fist then you are going to get them too tight.
If your bearing caps are too tight, and you’ve been riding on it for as long as you have then the bearings are almost certainly shot. It would be time for new bearings.
Now fix up your uni and take it for a ride in the mud. They like mud, and they like it even better when they dump you in the mud.
john_childs
Time to Ultimate Wheel the Profile and cut to the chase. The cranks were loose, and tightening them seemed to halt or lessen the sqweeking momentarily. I wonder about those spacers between the crank and the bairing; perhaps Jagur is on to something. There are several of them- I wonder if they could be binding as sugested. I have no clue why there are several- it doesn’t seem to mater, as far as crank clearance is concerned. Still, we’ll have to wait on a bairing puller…
Only visible difference between my hub and Lewis’, is that there was more of the copper coloured sealant John mentioned visible on mine.
Stay tuned…
Christopher
Good deal on getting those cranks tight. The crank bolts are the only thing keeping the bearings in place on the Profile hub.
The spacers should all be OK. I’m sure unicycle.com put the correct number and size of spacers in there. Keep the cranks on tight, check that the bearing caps are not too tight, and you should be good to go.
john_childs
when i got my Profile muni it came with so many spacers that the spindle was in the cranks only half-way.its a good idea to check this
When I got my Profile setup I was so freaked out by the noises that called Profile (a couple of times) and had a long conversation with several folks there. Their advice was the same as John’s. That is exactly what I did and the noises just went away. Ton-o-grease and anti-seize, I checked and double checked all allen head bolts and prayed a lot that my fiancee would never know that I paid so much for something that sounded like it was about to fall apart.
I like the idea of making maintenance a group event. I’ve been in to cycling for more than 30 years and I have a complete bike shop at my home. So, everybody needs to drop-in for a Delta Rendezvous, do some group maintenance, have some Memphis BBQ, do some hops and drops at the statue of Elvis (our patron saint) on Beale Street and explore the trails of the bottom lands.
the hole is for the chainrings,but if there is no hole on the 145mm Profiles,then what in prey tell are they making these for.it seems to unbelivable that they are makeing the 145’s just for us.
ok,so i did some re-seach (phone calls)and found out that the equipment that Profile has can only make crank arms down to 145mm.they tried to make 130mm and 135mm but the machine would’nt do it without major problems.
This reply is just for reference. I re-arranged my web page and moved my videos to new locations, so if anybody ever looks through the archives, the video of my Hunter’s creak/squeak will be up to date:
http://lwb.org/uni/vids-people/squeaky.mpg
It still has the same noise, I dont ride it much. Tommy, Chris and I never seem to be able to get together for riding and repair work, for a variety of reasons. I hope we can soon.
Lewis