Replacing cranks and pedals on Torker CX

So I’m a fairly new unicycle rider and I didn’t realize that I was riding with a loose pedal. I ended up stripping the crank and my dad tried to force the pedal on to see if I could ride… it even if it is a little crooked. I can definitely ride it, but it feels very strange and not comfortable and I want to replace it.

Does anyone have any recommendations on where I can replace the crank and pedals and/or what I should replace it with?

Thanks!

Alexandra

Unicycle.com usually has sales on cranks. I’d look there first.

Yes, basic steel cotterless cranks on the DX, or “square taper” if you see that. Unicycle.com has chrome United crank arms at $15 even not on sale. I’ve got a bunch and haven’t had a bit trouble with them. Shipping will probably be about that much, so maybe consider also getting a shorter pair while you’re at it. Depending on where you are in your learning, shorter ones might be more fun. If you’ve got a 24" CX with those 150 mm cranks, definitely try shorter ones! (Btw, 20" CX comes with 127 mm cranks according to the listing.)

The pedals are normal mountain bike pedals. Lots of us love the Twisted PC pedals which don’t cost much either and can be found in a gazillion colors depending on where you buy them. Make sure you get the ones with 9/16" thread size though.

Edit: It’s a good idea to keep a wrench for the pedals with your helmet and stuff, and give them a quick tug every time you ride. They can come loose. And check to make sure your seat isn’t turned around on the frame. The crank arm on the right side should have an “R” on it and the one on the left should have an “L”. The pedals will loosen really fast if it’s reversed.

To piggy back on what LargeEddie said.

A lot of shops, especially older ones, will have replacement left crank arms in a variety of sizes. So, if it was the left side that went bad you may be able to get a replacement locally. As long as it’s the correct side, and the right length it will work even if it doesn’t match.

BMX shops are your best bet for cranks shorter than 165mm, and tandem shops may have right side single arms available (in all sizes kid-adult).

I’ve got a 20 inch right now so do you think I should just go with the 127 mm? What are the benefits to shorter cranks…especially if I had a bigger wheel like a 24?

Thanks for the advice as well. I will try to remember to tighten my pedals more often now.

Well there are dozens of discussions about ideal crank length on this site and maybe I opened a can of worms bringing it up. :slight_smile: The basic idea is that longer crank arms give you more leverage, and shorter cranks arms are potentially easier to spin quickly and also smoother to ride since your knees don’t have to pump up and down as much. But there’s a huge amount of personal preference to it.

My little story: My first unicycle was also 20", not too different from your Torker, that came with 127 mm cranks. That was a good length for me when I was just starting. After a couple of months, I bought some 114 mm cranks just for kicks, and it wasn’t a huge change with them but I noticed the difference and I was riding well enough by then to prefer them. (89 mm cranks on that one now. Cheap parts are fun.) It happened that I also found a used 24" unicycle around that same time and it had 150 mm cranks on it, just like a 24" CX. And I never could stand them! So I put on the 127 mm cranks that I took off 20" and now it’s lots of fun for tooling around on the streets and walking paths in the neighborhood. Faster, smoother, totally night and day.

Then again I have 150 mm cranks on my mountain unicycle and they’re great there for cranking over rocks and tree roots and things. Generalizing is risky but usually mountain unicycles have longer cranks, unicycles ridden on pavement have shorter ones, and folks who do this sort of thing tend to go for really short ones:

OK, I don’t know if I answered your question or not. Hope that helps, and good luck with it!

Yes, your reply definitely helped a bit! I think I might order the 127mm and a shorter one so I can see the difference.

When you replace your cranks make sure that your wheel is in the frame forward not backward. Cranks and pedals are threaded for opposite sides and come loose if the wheel is not in the right way. This strips them out. Unfortunately I know this from experience.

And just for clarity on the above, if the cranks are off, the wheel isn’t directional except for maybe the tire. Some tires have an arrow on them to indicate which way they should roll, but for street riding it shouldn’t matter. In other words, make sure that when you’re done, the right crank is on the right side, etc. It’s a very common mistake made by bike shops, believe it or not, since they’re used to having a chain on one side, which is always the right side.

Later, if you take your wheel off to change the tire, for example, make sure you put it back on the right way. If you buy your cranks from unicycle.com, they will more than likely have L and R stickers on them to make this easier.

Yep, this happened to me when I had my LBS replace a spoke on my 36’r. They put the wheel back in the frame backwards, so it looked correct, but the cranks were on the wrong side. Fortunately, I discovered it before riding it.