pedal strippage

although it seems silly, and i appoligise if youve already thought of
this, but you might want to check that you have the left pedal on the
left side and the right on the right side.

when i first got my very first unicycle i had managed to turn around
the seat some time and so was effectively riding backwards everywhere -
putting the wrong pressure on the threads. that on top of being a bit
of a fatty meant I was ripping through cranks faster than the local
bike shop could supply them... I only realised what the problem was
after getting a fancy new unicycle!

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Jimmy.the.Spleen
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The pedal on the right tightens when turned counter-clockwise, which I
believe is correct, right?

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ncurses
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Nope.

The way I remember is that the pedal on the right is tightened the
"right" way (righty-tighty, lefty-loosey) and the pedal on the left is
tightened the other way.

ncurses said:

The pedal on the right tightens when turned counter-clockwise, which I
believe is correct, right?

Either your cranks are reversed or your seat is on backwards (not
both!).

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mscalisi
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The only way to put the wrong pedal on the wrong crank is through force
(effectively stripping the crank).

Both cranks and pedals should be labled L and R. Sometimes only one
side is marked, usually the right side. Pedals are often labeled on the
end of the bit thats threaded. Cranks are usually labeled on the side
that faces the unicycle.

I always put pedals on by hand and only use a wrench after its on a few
threads. If you have to use a tool right away, you're probably
crossthreading (and ruining) your crank.

Jimmy.the.Spleen said:

although it seems silly, and i appoligise if youve already thought of
this, but you might want to check that you have the left pedal on the
left side and the right on the right side.

--
mscalisi
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ncurses said:

The pedal on the right tightens when turned counter-clockwise, which I
believe is correct, right?

The right pedal has normal threads and tightens when turned clockwise.

The left pedal has reverse threads and tightens when turned
counter-clockwise.

Looks like you've got your pedals (and cranks) backwards which would
tend to cause the pedals to come undone as you ride. The easy fix for
you would be to flip your seat around.

That is backwards to what you would think due to the direction that the
pedals turn when you ride. But that is the correct way so the pedals
stay tight as you ride. An explanation as to why is 'here'
(http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_p.html#pedal) and 'here'
(http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/left.html).

Grease or oil the pedal threads before threading them into the crank.
And make sure you don't accidentally cross-thread the pedals when
putting the pedals on. Cross-threading will strip the threads in the
crank.

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john_childs

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Putting the right pedal in the left crank or vice versa is next to
impossible. Putting the right crank on the left of the uni and vice
versa is way too easy. Or simply putting the seat on back to front...

The pedal on the right of the uni, as you sit on it facing forwards,
should tighten clockwise.

The pedal on the left of the uni, as you sit on it facing forwards,
should tighten anti-clockwise.

That's clockwise/anti-clockwise if you're tightening the pedal from the
pedal side of the crank, rather than reaching through the crank with a
hex wrench (Allen key) - some pedals have a hex socket in the end.

If the pedal is on the wrong side of the uni, then it will unwind as
you ride. It's such a simple mistake to make, especially as when you
are working on the uni, it is often upside down. Be methodical.

Pedals are such a basic commodity that you can be certain it isn't
faulty pedals. You are unlikely to get two consecutive sets of faulty
cranks. Therefore, it is almost certainly an assembly problem.

--
Mikefule

""Zeno said this." And what have you said?"
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In addition to the cranks being on the wrong end of the hub, or the seat
being the wrong way round, the wheel may be the wrong way around in the
frame. It's probably better, and easier, to remove the wheel from the
frame and turn it round than remove the cranks and refit them if that
is the problem, square tapers don't like being removed often.

--
kington99

Dave

- what a thoroughly post-modern subversion of the cycling genre -
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kington99 said:

It's probably better, and easier, to remove the wheel from the frame and
turn it round than remove the cranks and refit them if that is the
problem, square tapers don't like being removed often.

Either approach will work.

I have swapped the square taper cranks on all of my unis many many
times, and have never noticed it being a problem. I've tried 89, 102,
110, 125 on my 20 and the same plus 150s on my old 24; 125, 110, 102,
and 89 on the 28; 150 and 125 on the Coker, and 150, 170 on the MUni -
trying some of the combinations more than once, or upgrading to lighter
cranks, and occasionally moving the cranks round 90 degrees to even out
tyre wear. I ride fairly hard but without much hopping or dropping. I
think the fear of changing cranks too often on square tapers is a bit
of an urban myth. There is no doubt an effect there, but as long as
you are careful, and don't do it every week I see no problem.

--
Mikefule

""Zeno said this." And what have you said?"
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Another clue can be the "R" (right-hand) and "L" (left-hand) often
stamped on the cranks and the pedal stub

jim

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Martin Phillips said:

In addition, LH pedals are usually knurled / ribbed where they screw
into the crank, RH pedals are plain./QUOTE]

By Jove! You're right. Never noticed that. I've just been to check
and it is true for 3 of my 5 unis and the 2 where it is not true have
the cheapest pedals.

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Mikefule

What you have can be taken away but what you have had cannot.
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