HELP! seat creak.

maximus unius said:

Hey all,

So recently I cut down my KH style velo seat foam. I really like it for
SIF stuff BUT! Ive noticed that whenever I pull up on my seat handle,
it makes this little creaking sound and it flexes a little more that it
used to. At first I thought I needed to just tighten the nuts on the
seat but that did nothing. It still creaks. Any suggestions?

I think its because after cutting down the foam, it created a space
between your handle and the seatbase. Before you cut down the foam,
this space was filled up and the handle wouldnt flex as much.

I am sure you can fill up the space somehow, maybe by taking an old
tube and cut sections out to fill in the gap. That may work.

Im not to sure on exactly what happened to your seat, so maybe some
pictures could help. =p

--
Jerrick

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Its not really the flex that bothers me, its more the creaking. I highly
doubt its the gap between the foam and the handle.

--
maximus unius

Quoted message said:

Originally Posted by *Brian MacKenzie*
Have you tried rubbing your nipples with grease before twisting them so
tightly?

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Does it creak only when you pull on the handle or if you pull directly
on the seatbase from the front does it creak aswell?

--
ntappin

'how to build a strong comfy saddle from junk.'
(http://tinyurl.com/hxcb3)
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due to this piece of undisputable 'evidence'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54891) I think
jerrick might be right.

--
zfreak220

iridemymuni said:

i think everybody agrees when i say you lucky son of a [censored]

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My seat does this as well (a nimbus gel) but I haven't been able to
pinpoint exactly what exacerbates the creaking, though it seems to
happen when I'm torquing the pedals and thus putting a lot of twist on
the seat.

I've been meaning to tighten the bolts that attach to the seatpost,
though I think they're already fairly tight. I'll see if this helps.
Might it have something to do with the fact that there are washers
between the nut and seatpost flange rather than the nut directly on the
seatpost flange?

Another idea is maybe the seatbase stiffener under the foam but above
the plastic seatbase is loose or creaky or something, but I've not idea
as to how to fix that.

--
onelesscar

"It's f*$%^*g raining!"
"Well, is it f*$%^*g or is it raining?"

"That car was -melting-????"
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Im pretty sure that its because the seat stiffiner has broken. My old
KH seat does this and it creaks a lot in the base it means that you
have broken it. Its still ridable and everything it just might break
if you do anything to extreme. I may be wrong but something like this
has happened to my seat and i am guessing that that is the problem.

--
timbob1907

Cheers,
___Tim
Post 110110 on MR 'My 777th post that got me into MRIS'
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forrestunifreak said:

I'm addicted to placebo's. I should stop taking them, but
it wouldn't matter anyway.

Ducttape said:

A cx? yeah..... the seat isn't really a seat it's a brick in
disguise.....

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If the stiffener plate is broken it will do alot more than just creak.
If you can actualy bend your seat (easily with less force than a hop)
and you can see a noticable crease where your seat is bending, that is
where its broken. Infact even if it is broken it may not creak at all.

My guess is the stiffener plate is just a bit loose.

--
ntappin

'how to build a strong comfy saddle from junk.'
(http://tinyurl.com/hxcb3)
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I would just take the seat off, and re-tighten ever nut in the whole
seat, then see if it gets rid of the squeak.

--
Jerrick

~*~!I ride for Christ, Fun, Challenges, and a lot
more!~*~
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My seat creeked when the stiffner broke.

--
Chrashing

Regards,
Ken ... a recreational unicyclist... Please wear a helmet!
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Yeah, my seat stiffener isnt broken. I know that for a fact. I figure
when im doing my crank rotation/cleaning/greasing ill just add that to
my list and take off the seat cover and tighten everything. O yeah, to
answer your question ntappin, it only creaks when I pull on the handle.
Does that mean anything?

--
maximus unius

Quoted message said:

Originally Posted by *Brian MacKenzie*
Have you tried rubbing your nipples with grease before twisting them so
tightly?

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I had this problem a while ago as well. I go with the crowd and say
that it's probably your stiffener plate. I absolutely mutilated mine a
while ago it had snapped completely in half and bent quite a bit.

It was flexier than a peice of cheese and creaked like a.. some sort of
creaking device or a seat with a broken stiffener plate.

You should take apart the seat again and check if the plate is broken.
You could just leave it broken and take out the plate or if you feel
that you ride it pretty hard and it flexes too much, if you're upto it,
just cut out a peice of some sort of metal, in that same shape and go
from there.

Ed

EDIT: Never mind.

--
edsbelly

Stayin' Single and Keepin' it Wheel (but not 2 wheel)

evil-nick said:

If unicycling were easy, it'd be called "your mother!"

d^.^b
.. `

tobbogonist said:

ok i am off to milk some lions

Fork+Shoe=Spleen
Max's #1 fan
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Never mind😕 Whatever. If it is broken, would i have to buy a
whole seat, or can I buy a stiffener palte seperte?

--
maximus unius

Quoted message said:

Originally Posted by *Brian MacKenzie*
Have you tried rubbing your nipples with grease before twisting them so
tightly?

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Sorry to BUMP so soon.

--
maximus unius

Quoted message said:

Originally Posted by *Brian MacKenzie*
Have you tried rubbing your nipples with grease before twisting them so
tightly?

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I think it would be more worth going to CF.

--
mornish

ivan said:

I believe in the Invisible Pink Unicorn.

mscalisi said:

wait...invisible AND pink?

Evan Byrne said:

Are you planing war against a iceberg or something?

aim: kiloornish
email: [email hidden]
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Anyoneelse?

--
maximus unius

Quoted message said:

Originally Posted by *Brian MacKenzie*
Have you tried rubbing your nipples with grease before twisting them so
tightly?

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The fact that the squeaking occurs when the handle is pulled makes the
stiffener plate highly suspect... it is, after all, directly bolted to
the handle.

ntappin said:

If the stiffener plate is broken it will do alot more than just creak.
If you can actualy bend your seat (easily with less force than a hop)
and you can see a noticable crease where your seat is bending, that is
where its broken.

Some seats have plastic ribs that run the length of the seat to act as
further reinforcement. Should the stiffener plate break in one of
these seats, it'll take a while for the seat to start flexing
significantly, since the plastic ribs have to fail / weaken before the
flex is allowed.

Jerrick said:

I would just take the seat off, and re-tighten ever nut in the whole
seat, then see if it gets rid of the squeak.

The loudest squeaking I've heard is produced from strained metal-metal
contact. Since the nuts are metal and the seat is plastic this
wouldn't produce much squeaking... try loosening the nuts on your seat
and find out if it makes noises, if at all. The carriage bolts that go
through the stiffener plate are held in place by tape, glue and/or
foam, so they wouldn't move around enough to make much of a squeak.

maximus unius said:

Yeah, my seat stiffener isnt broken. I know that for a fact.

Do you really? Unless you've inspected the stiffener directly (i.e.
taken the seat apart) it's not a fact.

edit: you can get a GB4 reinforcement plate for miyata saddles from
UDC, i believe. the KH/velo reinforcement plate isn't available
individually... but a new seat isn't all that much money. if the
stiffener's broken the plastic in the seatbase is likely fatigued and
you should replace the whole thing anyways.

why not go CF and do away with all your troubles?

--
maestro8

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I wouldn't worry about it. Just live with the creaking and moving and
get used to it. Its probably not worth getting a whole new seat base.
If it breaks completely, then get a new one, but wiggling isn't a big
deal.

--
smcmorrow

\"It's knot gonna make it!\" -threeinchtire
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Thanks for all your help guys! My seatbase doesnt have ribs under it. Im
really thinking its the top of the bolts against the stiffener. This
weekend I will take off the seat cover(man i really need a fusion cover
so i dont have to keep taking out these staples!) and put it back
together. Ill correct myself, i am 99% sure that my stiffener isnt
broken. I just cut the foam 6 days ago and I looked at it. Anyway,
since my seat isnt a Miyata I wont be able to use that stiffener plate
from UDC. Now, I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE togo CF, but I cant for these
reasons:

a. My parents make me buy everything myself exept for clothes, food,
etc. I am still paying off my DX and im 12 so my only job is petsitting
which rakes in $20 maximum per week.

b. I would just get a $70 CF base from UDC, but Im not very good with
drilling and stuff like that. Also, I dont have access to squar file
and other tools neccesary for drilling a seatbase.

c. I dont have $170 for a pre-drilled S Wallis base, plus a thomson
because a primo rod post only comes in 22.2.

Haha so Ill just live with it and if it self-destructs then ill just
have to buy the new KH street!

--
maximus unius

Quoted message said:

Originally Posted by *Brian MacKenzie*
Have you tried rubbing your nipples with grease before twisting them so
tightly?

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Alright! Today cuz I had some spare time I decided to disect my seat to
figure out the problem. I removed the cover and foam, and found out
that nothing was broken. The stiffener plate had moved to one side
slightly and was rubing with the bolts when pressure was aplied. So I
removed the plate and switched around the nuts and bolts just for good
measure. Replaced foam, cover and bumper+handle. No more squeak! Feels
pretty stiff too. One thing I have learned about unicycles: things can
easily be fixed with some effort. Just have to rotate and regrease
cranks tomorrow...then I get to ride!!!!!! I havnt been able to since
last saturday because of rain on Sunday and school stuff throughout the
week🙁

--
maximus unius

Quoted message said:

Originally Posted by *Brian MacKenzie*
Have you tried rubbing your nipples with grease before twisting them so
tightly?

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