Hey I just got my Coker Big One in, but I’m still a sort of a noob in what parts to check are made correctly. How would I go about inspecting the unicycle? what parts should be tight, is the wheel straight, etc.
Thanks!
Cranks, Bearing housings (not too tight, the wheel should still spin very good), seatclamp (so that the seat wont twist), seat and of course the pedals.
After you checked everything get on the uni, ride a few meters and if something is making a weird noice, try to locate it and check it. Maybe hop a few times.
Definitely make sure the pedals are tight!
In my n00bishness of getting my first uni I didn’t realise they had to be on tight and just stripped the crank threads after a couple of days. :o
check the bearing caps to make sure they are even when i got mine home they were over tightened on one side .
My Coker came from the factory with the bearings on too tight. I rode it that way for a few weeks as it was for reviews and feedback, but it did not loosen up so then I un-tightened the bolts a bit. What you want is decent tightness in the bearing bolts, but the wheel should rotate pretty freely at low speed. Hold the unicycle up and give the wheel a slow push. If it stops too easily you may be too tight. If it never stops, you may be too loose.
The pedals were put on by you, so make sure they’re decently tight. They don’t need to be super-tight as long as you don’t ride backward too much. I get the impression from net_hippy’s post that he had his cranks on the wrong side, or had his pedals really loose.
From the factory, my Coker wheel was nice and true, solidly built. Check trueness by giving it a spin and seeing if the rim moves around. Go to the sheldon brown web site for more info on those sorts of things.
You probably have to cut the seat post. Use caution here, because if you switch to shorter cranks in the future you may need to buy a new one. With large wheels, you want to only cut off as much post as you have to for it to fit into the frame. It took me a couple of tries to get this right, but that’s better than cutting off too much.
Make sure the crank bolts are nice and tight, like 40 foot-pounds of torque. These often loosen naturally when first ridden, so check those and the bearing bolts again after each ride for the first week or so.
Then ride and enjoy!
All the above stuff is good. Also check that the left and right crank are indeed left and right, it’s the downfall of many a noob.
Thanks guys for all your help!
I got to page 3 of the search results on cranks, and this was the closest thread.
I’ve been riding a Coker for years. Recently, after making some major adjustments, the cranks do not stay tightened, despite repeated tightening (& pounding). I bring my wrench on every ride.
Then I switched the bolts (on someone’s recommendation, probably bad advice). They still come loose, but now the bolt seems to be farther in, so that the wrench can barely get a decent grip on the bolt.
What’s that about? Suggestions?
standard hub, not the UDC hub
I’ve thought about the locktite, but it seems like by the time I get that long bolt back into place and tightened up, the locktite would be dry and done.
And the locktite holds the bolt in place, but is the loosening problem that the bolt is coming loose, or something else?
Have you actually done this?
Well,that seems to be asking a lot of locktite, when a wrench can loosen it, to ask it to stay when my foot is pushing it loose from its position on the hub, but it’s worth a try.
The interface between the cranks and the hub are probably wrecked by now, you may need to get new cranks. When people use locktite it is usually just on the bolt, partially to lubricate it on the way in and partially to keep it in place if the crank moves a bit.
I had the same loosening problem with my uni before I replaced the cranks. I’m assuming that you have a cotterless hub like mine. My left crank got too rounded inside and would never get permanently tight.
I’d suggest new cranks.
Sounds like good advice!
Thank You!