Fixed bolt on a Sun

Thoughts?

--
iamthewaltrus
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The style of clamp on the Sun unicycles doesn't always clamp tightly.
And quick release levers can be worse than bolts.

First thing to try would be to replace the quick release lever with a
bolt. Unicycle.com sells the bolt, but a bike shop, or possibly even a
well stocked hardware store that specializes in fasteners should also be
able to get the same type of bolt. Here's the bolt in the unicycle.com
catalog: 'Seatpost bolt'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=251). Note the little
tab under the head of the bolt.

Grease the threads of the bolt and then tighten the nut. The grease on
the threads will help you get the bolt much tighter than with dry
threads.

If that doesn't work then get a good BMX clamp designed for a 7/8" (22.2
mm) seatpost and a 1" (25.4 mm) outside diameter around the neck of the
frame.

Unicycle.com has some BMX style clamps:
'Odyssey' (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=563)
'Primo Viking' (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=615)
'Profile' (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=616)
Your local bike shop may have some other choices.

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john_childs - Guinness Mojo

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I'd generally hope the lady at the bike shop is a woman or you got a
problem going on there.

--
Robbie - Spoons Taste Good

Jacinto is the king.
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iamthewaltrus said:

* The lady at the bike shop told me not to but didn't give a reason
(p.s. she's a woman). *

Holy [censored]! are you this guy by any chance?:
http://picture.funnyjunk.com/pics/feminist.jpg

😄

--
mango - unity - as 1 stand together

http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albuv16

"...I speculated that if we all got to know each other, one lawn mower
would be enough for any neighborhood." -Keith Cash
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You are very funny mango.(seriously)

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elmer - uniimpaired

"At 40 life begins...to show."
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P.S. On a Sun unicycle you can do anything you want and not feel the
least bit guilty. Drill and bolt it, weld it, epoxy it, whatever it
doesn't matter. (I through-bolted mine and it held up fine.)

--
elmer - uniimpaired

"At 40 life begins...to show."
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The problem I had with tightening a Sun frame is that the seatpost just
dented a little bit more each time I tried to clamp down harder. My
advice is make the clamp reasonably tight and keep adjusting it.
Eventually the seatpost will spin less and less.

By the way, I have the same issue (spinning, not denting) with my new
Semcycle XL frame and GB4 seatpost. My hope is this problem will go
away just like it did on the Sun.

Ken

--
cline
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My old Sem XL used to spin. The design of the clamp meant that as it
tightened up it dented the seat post so it wouldn't slide up and down.
It still managed to rotate, though.

I replaced the old clamp with an aluminium one (from a bmx shop) and
that holds it a lot tighter without damaging he seat post.

--
nickjb - one wheel short
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i am new to the unicycling bonanza. What is a sun unicycle. Are they
any better than other unicycles?
i bet they are, coz u seem suuch a nice man.

--
Grogboy
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A Sun is a low-end unicycle, nice ride for just getting around.

I already got a bolt put through the seat clamp and it is still
twisting. I think I'm just gonna drill a hole through the seat post and
move the bolt there. Unless of course this is bad?

--
iamthewaltrus
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iamthewaltrus, if you bring the uni to the Austin Juggling Society
meeting tomorrow nite and we can take a look at it. We've had several
people riding unis there each week for few weeks now. The meeting is
every Thursday at 7PM, details 'here'
(http://www.juggling.place.org/regularmeetings.html) (ignore the old
notice posted, the meetinginformation is otherwise up to date).

--
duaner - -

duaner.
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iamthewaltrus said:

*I already got a bolt put through the seat clamp and it is still
twisting. I think I'm just gonna drill a hole through the seat post
and move the bolt there. Unless of course this is bad? *

I wouldn't drill a hole through the frame and seatpost. It's just not
necessary. You'll have limited future adjustment. What happens if you
grow or change to a different brand of shoes with a thicker or thinner
sole. A good BMX seatpost clamp will solve the problem.

The two bolt 'Primo Viking clamp'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=615) will definitely
solve the twisting problem. The top half of the Primo clamp grips the
seatpost and the bottom half grips the frame. It is very secure. I use
the two bolt Primo Viking clamp on my stock Coker. With other clamps
the seat would twist. With the Primo Viking clamp the seat is rock
solid.

One possible problem is that some frames have the 'cheap stock clamp'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=250) spot welded to the
frame. That makes it hard to remove the cheap clamp so you can replace
it with a quality clamp like the Primo Viking. If you can remove the
stock clamp then try the Primo Viking. It will solve any twisting
problems.

One other possible factor is that on some frames there is weld splatter
and/or excess chrome blobs inside the neck of the frame where it clamps
to the seatpost. If you carefully sand down the weld splatters and
other globs the clamp may clamp better. Just don't go crazy with the
sanding and sand it down too far.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
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the half owner of the bike shop here in town is a woman, and she can
wrench on bikes like none other...

--
IowaKid

no dude, you really dont. cerial is born in the box. it grows up in the
box. it learns how to be delicious and awsome in the box. now its in a
jar. a jar of woe and sorrow. -- CommandoH
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IS A SUN UNICYCLE HOT? I DON'T MEAN LIKE AS HOT AS THE SUN BUT IF IT
WAS A GIRL WOULD IT BE HOT?

--
Grogboy - wankspanner

------------------------------------------------
with great power comes great responsibility.
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Yes, hopefully being born female does not make one an unreliable source
of cycling information.

In general, you just don't drill through tubing. Especially on a
high-end bike frame, but even on a low-end Sun. The problem is, the
reason you want to drill it will not be as effective as it will on a
Schwinn or Semcycle. Those cycles are made from thick, stamped steel.
The Sun frame is thin and light, and will not do well with a bolt stuck
through it. You won't weaken the frame in any important way, but if the
seat gets too much twisting force around the holes, the metal will
deform and possibly tear.

As someone else mentioned, cheap clamps can poke into the frame and make
dents in the post. This kind of helps hold it in place, but makes it
impossible to adjust or get out in the future.

The best solution is a higher quality clamp such as the ones John Childs
mentioned. They're pretty cheap, and should do the trick real nice.

--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com

"I should be wearing a helmet here -- so should you." -- George Peck,
who prefers not to wear one, in the 1991 video Rough Terrain Unicycling
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