My muni squeaks. Not while going along but any drop on it, including just landing from small hops. I’ve stripped it down, put everything back on, to no avail, which leads me to believe it’s the spokes being slightly looser than they should be or something.
But… is there a way to tighten them without taking the tyre off? Putting the tyre on in the first place took ages, I don’t want to have to do it again unecessarily…
Ta muchly
Phil, just me
you don’t need to ever take the tire off, or event he uni off the wheel to tighten spokes. Get a spoke wrench
There are 3 different colours (make sure you get PARK!) and they are 3 different sizes. Take your uni to the store and have them fit the exact wrench, so you won’t strip them.
Pluck the spokes, and you are sure to find a few that are quite loose, this is why it’s squeaking (probably)
You can tighten really loose spokes without ruining the trueness of the wheel (true wheel has no warps)
If you are looking down at the spoke (the loose spoke is at the floor, uni is in riding position) counterclockwise tightens.
CHeck here for good instructions…
i found a funny squeek a while back, checked thru everything and couldnt find anything to make the noise…turns out it was just the miyata seat that was squeeking–(the only think ok a unicycle that is still ok with squeeking?)
Re: Squeaky Spokes
Phil,
I’ll check out your spokes at BMW,
Leo White
When you tighten a spoke, you are drawing the threaded end of the spoke deeper into the nipple which pierces the rim. Even a slight adjustment could result in the end of the spoke projecting beyond the nipple, into the rim tape or even into the tube, thus risking a puncture.
To do the job properly, you should remove the tyre, tube and tape. Once the spokes are tensioned, any projecting ends should be smoothed down to prevent them causing punctures. Removing the wheel, then the tyre tube and tape takes only a couple of minutes. Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’porth of tar.
Whilst I have (on bicycles) tightened the odd rattly spoke or two, I’d be very wary about trying to true a wheel by adjusting the tension of the spokes. It’s a bit of a knack, and if you get it wrong, you can end up worse off than you started.
Well u havent heard creaky spokes till u heard my onza. the spokes arnt even loose and the wheel still creaks, it works find so im just going to leave it
Trev
Squeaky Spokes
Take a close look at your spokes. Depending on how your wheel is laced, they probably cross each other in pairs. They touch each other where they cross. When you bounce or hop, the rim flexes and so do the spokes. The squeaking you hear may just be the spokes rubbing on each other at the cross points. Or not.
Re: Squeaky Spokes
To fix that I put a little grease on the spokes at all of the spoke crossings.
Yeah, it looks like it is just the spokes rubbing against each other where they cross; they’re painted black and there are a few places where the paint has worn off which suggests they’re rubbing.
It doesn’t look like a problem, really, but I’d just prefer it to be nice and quiet while hopping. My mum said today “is that the unicycle creaking or your knees?”…
Phil, just me
There is no need to grease where the spokes cross on a properly tensioned wheel
My uni squeaks, too. Mine sqeaks when I’m riding, though. Now, I do have a cheap ebay uni with lollypop bearing holders (I think that’s what they’re called) and a savage seat. Is this squeaking due to my spokes too? Or should I be checking something else? Or should I just get a new uni? (it will happen, eventually)
Spoke problems will creak more than squeak
I had a squeak on my Pashley when I first got it. It also has lollipos. It turned out that the bolts that hold the frame to the lollipos were tight, but not completely tight. That little bit of flex allowed the frame to rub against the lollipops ever so slightly, causing the squeak. You might try tightening those bolts - that fixed my problem.