I realized my left bearing was making a grinding noise and saw that the inner “circlip” had popped out of place and I couldn’t get it back into place. Any suggestions on the procedure for getting that thing back on? It’s bent out of shape pretty badly.
Thanks in advance for any help!
–Bob (unidaddy)
I’m not total sure about doing this,
But,
Your going to have to secure the bearing from movement when doing this.
(placed in a vice with wood to keep from vice making gouges of it’s own.)
If not, maybe a local machine shop can help you.
Thanks! It’s worth trying anything at this point. If I trash it, then it’s going to be my excuse to get the new uni I’ve been drooling over…or at least that’s MY plan…my family probably has other priorities.
-unidaddy
I haven’t done a Schwinn circlip in many years. I do remember that they’re much easier to put on than to take off! I think I used to start at one end, work it around, and for the last bit use a screwdriver and hammer with light taps like a chisel. The proper tool for the proper job and all that. 
If you still have a clip on one side, the bearing should hold still.
For taking the suckers off, use eye protection – Sproing!
If the bearing doesn’t hold you might try:
Remove Seat Post Bolt
Remove crank arm.
Remove outer circlip.
Reinstall good circlip on the inside.
If possible, Straighten, or , if not fixable, replace damaged circlip and install on the outside (That way it would be easier to get to if the straightening ends up not working out).
my schwinn 24 inch is also broken, I think the bearings are shot on it. Im good at destroying things, haha
Thanks everybody. The crank arm is completely seized onto the hub…not even a mallet and WD-40 could loosen it. I ended up working the circlips off like a key ring (they didn’t seem to bend out of shape that way) from over the crank, bent the offending one back into shape, moved the good circlip to the inside, and put the “reshaped” one on the outside…we’ll see if it holds. I think I’ll have to cut down on my hopping practice!! Great advice all around!
–Bob Lauver (unidaddy)
Do you have cranks that require a cotter pin or the type of cranks that fit on a square taper?
Cotter cranks look like this and cotter pins look like this
Old Schwinn unicycles from the 70’s used cottered cranks. Starting somewhere in the 80’s they switched to the square tapered cranks.
To remove square taper cranks you need a special tool. WD-40 and a mallet won’t do it. Unicycle.com sells a crank puller and there are instructions on how to remove and install cranks at Parktool.com in their square taper crank installation FAQ.
Thanks John,
I definitely have the square tapers and no cotter pins, thanks for the link to the crank puller. I’ll have to get that for future repairs. I noticed also that the new bearings for Schwinns are a little bigger and there’s a touchy machining to open up the hole to fit the new bearing/circlip assembly. With the crank off of there, the whole thing would be fairly easy. Billham has hinted at access to some machining possibilities in this neck of the woods, so I might be in luck with getting new bearings and breath some life back into this thing. The cranks are so solid with hopping that I hate to give up on it for that. Unicycle.com also sells the whole wheelset with the 1.75 rim so I could put a fat tire on…I’d like to do that, too. Has anybody beefed up a Schwinn for off-road? Any pics???
–unidaddy
Bob
I have a crank puller if you need to borrow one. It’s a tool you don’t need very often and I’m glad to lend it to you.
Bill
Great Bill!
I think I’ll see how this little fix works next week at the class then assess getting either new bearings is necessary or not. It feels pretty normal again. Supper was fun…girls are asleep!
Since you have the square taper hub you probably already have a standard rim that should accept a fatter tire. Do you have an 1 3/4 or 1.75 tire on it now?
Schwinn Muni’s are fine for a stop gap way to get a 24x2.5 knobby on and do some off roading but not the best long term Muni. Due to the flex of the schwinn frame a 24x3 will rub.
I believe Schwinn cranks are 140’s. 150’s or 170’s willl give you better leverage. By the time you buy a decent KH seat, fat tire, longer cranks, and pedals you may as well save for a Nimbus 24 Muni.
I have two 24x2.5 Schwinn Muni’s that Andrea and I used for a while before upgrading. Both just sit as loaners now. I did do a 15 mile downhill railroad grade in summer 03 on the Schwinn with 140’s 24x2.5, and a KH seat. I was riding with two bikers and that was the fastest uni I had with me. There was no way I was doing that ride on my 24x3 Gazz and 170 cranks. I would still be finishing the ride.
One of the riders at Black Hills Muni Weekend rode a Schwinn Muni too. Standard seat and jeans! More man than I.
My POS frame flexes way to much for offroad.
Points taken about flexing…I noticed that the frame had a little bowing in built-in to it. The tires are definitely 1-3/4", I know because of the 24" Kenda Kolossal that’s in my garage after the attempt to pry it on to the S-7 rim! :o I guess I’m just struggling with which direction to go with my uni-future. I love the idea of off-roading, but think realistically I’ll probably be riding more distance than rough terrain and am even leaning toward cokering. Lots of great rail/trails in my area. In the meantime, I’m trying to make my one and only Schwinn do everything I want to do and it can’t. Thanks for the input and feedback…much appreciated
Bob