tonights crank change farce

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I’ve been thinking for some time about trying longer cranks on my 700c, ideally 150 mm’s.

However I noticed the 170mm’s on my much underused racing bike and decided to put them on the uni.

The cog thing (spider?) will look a bit strange, but that’s no problem.

Getting the dust covers off was pretty straightforward, then it was time for the crank puller. It’d been some time since I’d used one of these, but I thought I could work out what to do.

Screwed the first bit into the crank and had to use a fair bit of force. Then it’s time for the other bit that screws into the first part and forces the crank off the axle.

This is again hard work, not helped by the fact that I’m having to use an adjustable spanner that’s too long to clear the axle, so each turn I have to loosen it off, put it back on the puller and retighten it.

Temper flares, force is applied and still the crank isn’t budging.

That’s when I see a thin sliver of metal thread protuding from the puller, simultaenously I realize that I’ve forgotten to take off the crank nuts!

I’m very lucky cos the puller isn’t too badly damaged.

Eventually the 170’s are off, I take the 125’s off the 700c and replace them with the 170’s, taking care to grease the axle and hammer them on properly.

Now it’s just a matter of putting the new set up into my Muni frame and look forward to a ride on the new set up.

At this point I realise that the enterprise was doomed from the start because the cog bit on the right crank prevents the wheel from fitting in the frame.

I guess it’s time to order some unicycle cranks!

2

89s are good on a 700c :slight_smile:

3

foolish

89s are good on a 700c

Seriously?

I found that the 125’s were pretty hopeless for hills, that’s why I wanted to try something longer.

4

Ah, been there, done that… :slight_smile:

The last time I did that I also destroyed the thread on one side of the hub, so at least you didn’t do that.

My daft find today is that my airseat has gone flat. Strange, given I’ve not touched either unicycle for over a week now. Hmmm… :thinking:

Although I’m thinking of changing the innertube in it… when Miark sat on it ages ago his comment was “a sack of snakes” because it’s very obvious that there is a thin inner tube in it. Is it possible to use a larger, trials type 2.5" tube in an airseat?

Phil

5

Re: tonights crank change farce

Don’t you want the opposite of grease… Loctite?

I forgot to pay attention to left / right when I did mine.

You’ll laugh about this someday. But the rest of us can laugh today. :slight_smile:

about crank size – I found 110’s on my 29er to be impossibly short. I’m used to 150’s. I put 125’s on and I like them, but some familiar hills and off-road stuff are now suddenly giving me trouble. I’ve been riding for seven months, so lack of skill is definitely a factor. Sometimes I miss my 150’s, but I’m going to stay with the 125’s. 89’s? Not me!

Dave

6

phil

Ah, been there, done that…

The last time I did that I also destroyed the thread on one side of the hub, so at least you didn’t do that.

Do hubs have threads?

Or do you mean the square section end? If so, how did you destroy it? I’m interested because if it’s possible to damage part of a unicycle there’s a fair chance I’ll manage if I’m not aware of it.

7

:thinking: :thinking: :thinking:

Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!

Dave

8

Sure 125s make it difficult uphill, but maybe you’re just not used to it yet. It took me about a year of riding my 28 before I got comfortable with uphills. I would hate to ride anything over 125 unless I was doing MUni. 150’s make your legs move up and down soooooo much and it gets really tiring having to pump up and down all the time. Stick with the 125s for now I’d say, just get out there as often as possible, find big hills and ride up them till you collapse!! Give it a few months, a bit of patience and just ride!
150s make you go sloooooww as well. Stick with 125s, unless you are REALLY hating it.

I’m looking forwards to the chance of putting 110s on my Coker :D:D

9

uni57
David C. Lowell

Don’t you want the opposite of grease… Loctite?

I forgot to pay attention to left / right when I did mine.

You’ll laugh about this someday. But the rest of us can laugh today.

about crank size – I found 110’s on my 29er to be impossibly short. I’m used to 150’s. I put 125’s on and I like them, but some familiar hills and off-road stuff are now suddenly giving me trouble. I’ve been riding for seven months, so lack of skill is definitely a factor. Sometimes I miss my 150’s, but I’m going to stay with the 125’s. 89’s? Not me!

Dave

No, definatlly grease.

A lot of people have problems with the left crank coming loose on a new Muni.

Standard advice is to take it off, grease the axle, then put the crank back and hammer it on with a mallet and wooden blocks for protection.

This ensures it’s seated properly- you then put the nut on make it really tight.

There were a lot of posts on this subject last year.

Some people also use locktite.

I have to admit I had no grease and used vaseline instead.

As for 125’s I had the same experience, good for speed and smoothness, but I just find it frustrating to have problems with hills and off road stuff that I can do easily on my Muni.

10

The thread the nut that everyone forgets to remove screws onto… the crank remover pulled enough so the nut took the threads it was on with it… :frowning:

I put a picture up when it happened: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21694

I have a feeling my brother has done a very similar thing with his that wrecked the threads.

Dave… my excuse for not riding is my degree finals… riding has to wait until after… :frowning:

Umm. Who’s Lucy?

Phil

11

Thanks. I like the 125s, actually. I’m going to stick with them and put on a lot of miles. 125s are the right size for me and for that uni. I just miss the 150s when going up steep hills. And I can’t come to a powerful, quick stop like I could with the 150s. Like you said, I just need to get out and ride, which I am doing. Practice, practice, practice…

Dave

12

True. If it can be broken by doing a shocking, stupid attempt at basic maintenance, I’ve broken it. About a month after upgrading from standard hub to a suzue, I killed it and downgraded to a standard hub (off a numbus II). Although the new/old hub has done fine so far.
In my defense, I have swaped cranks a few times since then (currently experimenting with 125’s and a brake for muni) and had no problem.

John

13

I’m glad you only did one side like that!

Apology accepted. Good luck.

Dave

14

Thanks! I’ll search for those posts.

I used a BIG hammer and pieces of 2x4. Mine are on “real good”. But I’m going to check my nuts later tonight. Thanks.

Dave

15

A friend of mine pointed this out written by John Childs on this thread
@ Muniac.com

btw thanks john, I’m going to use this method for my new kookas that are coming tomorrow.

matt

16

I don’t do the Loctite on the tapers any more. It’s not necessary. Grease on the tapers does a better job and is easier to clean off when you remove the cranks. Red Loctite (high strength threadlocker) on the retaining nut threads is still a very good thing.

17

Back in the day when I had a MUni with cotterless cranks, I once forgot to take the retaining bolt off before using the crank puller. Pulled the threads right out of the inside of the crank. It took surprisingly little effort to strip it like that. The solution ended up involving a sawzall. Luckily nothing but the crank was damaged.

Ben

18

Here is a picture of the type of bar clamp I use. It’s not anything like a 20 ton press, but it does generate enough force to get the cranks seated on the axle as long as the tapers are greased.

crankpress.jpg

19

I, too, was thinking the same thing. I am planning to go to an old haunt, Southern Kettles in Wisconson, for some long flowing hills. I figured to leave my 24" home and go with my 26". Knowing I would probably blow out a knee using 150’s, I hit the “vault” of old parts and came across a good find. Caramba (probably no longer in business) made a MTB crankset called the Double barrel, luckily they used removable spiders, then picked an Intense 2.7 tire off the rack. I did have to machine out a set of crank pullers out of them (basically an aluminum cap that the bottom bracket bolt protruded out of, loosen it and the crank comes off). But all is good to go, hopefully my Yuni frame will hold up.

mvc-015f.jpg

20

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/lucy.htm
Lucille Ball. Master of physical comedy, and one that all subsequent face-makers like your Mr. Bean went to school on.