Help! I can’t figure out what my next steps are. My 36" guni apparently needs new bearings. I’m in NYC and completely not a DIYer. In fact, I have an early-model Schlumpf 29" that doesn’t work (I think it’s the bearings, too).
Can I order new bearings and have my talented bike mechanic put them in?
Incidentally, I noticed this problem after a ride in really wet weather; my guess is that some gunk found its way into the bearing holders.
Thanks in advance! And if you want to text me or call me, I’m at 845.337.6627.
I took off the right-side gear shift button and squirted in about 4mL of the lubricant that comes with the unicycle. Then I spun the wheel around a few hundred times.
As it rotates, I hear a gritty sound at the same point in the revolution (specifically, when the crank arm is at 6 o’clock). This doesn’t change regardless of whether the wheel is in high or low gear.
I’m letting it sit for awhile and then will add another 5mL of the lubricant. I’m not sure where the lubricant is going – is it going to start leaking out from somewhere else?
This is a last-ditch effort to avoid having to ship the uni to Bronson Silva’s shop (and from there, to Florian).
If it’s always in the same spot… Surely that can’t be the bearings? Presumably they spin somewhat freely so the noise shouldn’t always be at the same spot if it’s those?
Have you tried putting the lube in the correct place? Sometimes mine runs a little rough but a good lube in the screw hole and a few gear shifts corrects it.
What about obvious things like the crank interface, or even pedals? All can be easily affected!
I just lubed it up again. It sounds better but still has grit in the bearing holder, I’m pretty sure, and I think it’s isolated to the right side. Anyway, I watched Terry’s video about cleaning his hub, and if I could do all of that, I’d be in business.
I’m pretty sure it IS the bearings, but you’re right that it’s weird. In Terry’s video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apqZIDb2ICM), he mentions having ridden in bad weather, and that’s just what happened to me, twice (my 29" guni has been out of commission for years – same issue). Some grit got into the bearings, and I’d need to degrease it and lube it up and so forth – things that I can’t do. I’ll ask Bronson et al. if they think they can (if they’re even allowed to) or if they think my local bike mechanic could do it for, say, $100. Maybe we could even use my 29" guni as an experiment.
What the Unigeezer does in that video is not very difficult! I was about to recommend Nomad Cycles in Astoria, but as their website now says [edited for spelling and grammar], “We gave it our best shot, but Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand has done its magic. We closed our doors for good on Sunday, October 29th.” It’s too bad, because they were very nice people, and for $10 an hour, they would let you use a workbench and any tools you needed, and they also could have provided solvents and grease. You could have gotten both your gunis up and running again in only an hour or two at the most.
Oh well, if you are able to take your hub apart as shown in the video, and just stroll into a friendly bike shop when they are not too busy and ask them to blast it with some de-greaser, they might do it for free, as it won’t take them more than a few seconds. Then you would just have to wipe everything off, apply some bicycle grease and put it all back together.