loose crank...solution?

I think putting blue loctite on the threads is what I heard.

--
DK - a bit of the ol' ultraviolence

*Knife in hand, love in heart*

I never took such pleasure in a death
A hatred born of freedom’s dying breath

\"I don't like to use the word 'US interests.' Thats why I wish some
critics, friends of ours would stop saying we go into this country, we
go into that country, we do this and we do that. I say 'shhhh shhhh.' We
dont do anything, they do it to us. We are part the victims, we are not
part of the victimizers.\"
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I think putting blue loctite on the threads is what I heard.

--
DK - a bit of the ol' ultraviolence

*Knife in hand, love in heart*

I never took such pleasure in a death
A hatred born of freedom’s dying breath

\"I don't like to use the word 'US interests.' Thats why I wish some
critics, friends of ours would stop saying we go into this country, we
go into that country, we do this and we do that. I say 'shhhh shhhh.' We
dont do anything, they do it to us. We are part the victims, we are not
part of the victimizers.\"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I think putting blue loctite on the threads is what I heard.

--
DK - a bit of the ol' ultraviolence

*Knife in hand, love in heart*

I never took such pleasure in a death
A hatred born of freedom’s dying breath

\"I don't like to use the word 'US interests.' Thats why I wish some
critics, friends of ours would stop saying we go into this country, we
go into that country, we do this and we do that. I say 'shhhh shhhh.' We
dont do anything, they do it to us. We are part the victims, we are not
part of the victimizers.\"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DK's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/8054
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/42163

I think putting blue loctite on the threads is what I heard.

--
DK - a bit of the ol' ultraviolence

*Knife in hand, love in heart*

I never took such pleasure in a death
A hatred born of freedom’s dying breath

\"I don't like to use the word 'US interests.' Thats why I wish some
critics, friends of ours would stop saying we go into this country, we
go into that country, we do this and we do that. I say 'shhhh shhhh.' We
dont do anything, they do it to us. We are part the victims, we are not
part of the victimizers.\"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Much simpler: fit it properly.

Whatever you do, don't ride with it loose. You'd damage your hub.

Remove the crank. If it works really loose, you might be able to do
this by hand, or it can be achieved with a suitable combination of
blocks of wood and a mallet.

BUT, as with every job, the best way to do it is with the proper toll,
which is handily designed for the job. A crank remover tool is an
essential part of my tool kit.

Remove the crank. Clean the mating surfaces on the inside of the crank,
and the tapers of the hub. Put the crank on neatly, then tap it into
place with a rubber or wooden mallet (or a big block of wood and a
hammer). A couple of sharp taps will do more good than lots of tappity
taps.

The idea isn't to force it on really hard, but to make sure it is
properly seated.

Now tighten the nut or bolt (varies depending on what type of hub you
have) with the 14 mm socket.

Rid for a few hundred metres, then get off and tighten it again. Check
it again a few hundred metres later, and then it should be OK.

Every ride, just check it hasn't started to come loose - especially if
you ride hard, do big drops or fall off a lot.

--
Mikefule - The first cuckoo of unicycling

Sumer is icomen in, loud sing Mikefule!
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Much simpler: fit it properly.

Whatever you do, don't ride with it loose. You'd damage your hub.

Remove the crank. If it works really loose, you might be able to do
this by hand, or it can be achieved with a suitable combination of
blocks of wood and a mallet.

BUT, as with every job, the best way to do it is with the proper toll,
which is handily designed for the job. A crank remover tool is an
essential part of my tool kit.

Remove the crank. Clean the mating surfaces on the inside of the crank,
and the tapers of the hub. Put the crank on neatly, then tap it into
place with a rubber or wooden mallet (or a big block of wood and a
hammer). A couple of sharp taps will do more good than lots of tappity
taps.

The idea isn't to force it on really hard, but to make sure it is
properly seated.

Now tighten the nut or bolt (varies depending on what type of hub you
have) with the 14 mm socket.

Rid for a few hundred metres, then get off and tighten it again. Check
it again a few hundred metres later, and then it should be OK.

Every ride, just check it hasn't started to come loose - especially if
you ride hard, do big drops or fall off a lot.

--
Mikefule - The first cuckoo of unicycling

Sumer is icomen in, loud sing Mikefule!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Much simpler: fit it properly.

Whatever you do, don't ride with it loose. You'd damage your hub.

Remove the crank. If it works really loose, you might be able to do
this by hand, or it can be achieved with a suitable combination of
blocks of wood and a mallet.

BUT, as with every job, the best way to do it is with the proper toll,
which is handily designed for the job. A crank remover tool is an
essential part of my tool kit.

Remove the crank. Clean the mating surfaces on the inside of the crank,
and the tapers of the hub. Put the crank on neatly, then tap it into
place with a rubber or wooden mallet (or a big block of wood and a
hammer). A couple of sharp taps will do more good than lots of tappity
taps.

The idea isn't to force it on really hard, but to make sure it is
properly seated.

Now tighten the nut or bolt (varies depending on what type of hub you
have) with the 14 mm socket.

Rid for a few hundred metres, then get off and tighten it again. Check
it again a few hundred metres later, and then it should be OK.

Every ride, just check it hasn't started to come loose - especially if
you ride hard, do big drops or fall off a lot.

--
Mikefule - The first cuckoo of unicycling

Sumer is icomen in, loud sing Mikefule!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Much simpler: fit it properly.

Whatever you do, don't ride with it loose. You'd damage your hub.

Remove the crank. If it works really loose, you might be able to do
this by hand, or it can be achieved with a suitable combination of
blocks of wood and a mallet.

BUT, as with every job, the best way to do it is with the proper toll,
which is handily designed for the job. A crank remover tool is an
essential part of my tool kit.

Remove the crank. Clean the mating surfaces on the inside of the crank,
and the tapers of the hub. Put the crank on neatly, then tap it into
place with a rubber or wooden mallet (or a big block of wood and a
hammer). A couple of sharp taps will do more good than lots of tappity
taps.

The idea isn't to force it on really hard, but to make sure it is
properly seated.

Now tighten the nut or bolt (varies depending on what type of hub you
have) with the 14 mm socket.

Rid for a few hundred metres, then get off and tighten it again. Check
it again a few hundred metres later, and then it should be OK.

Every ride, just check it hasn't started to come loose - especially if
you ride hard, do big drops or fall off a lot.

--
Mikefule - The first cuckoo of unicycling

Sumer is icomen in, loud sing Mikefule!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Mikefule said:

Put the crank on neatly, then tap it into
place with a rubber or wooden mallet (or a big block of wood and a
hammer). A couple of sharp taps will do more good than lots of tappity
taps.

Dangerous advice!

I destroyed a set of cranks (Bicycle Euro, steel) by repeatedly
hammering them in place with a metal hammer, with a thick wooden block
in between. The damage isn't immediately obvious but you develop tiny
hair cracks in the corners of the square hole in the crank, and they
irreversibly grow during riding/jumping/etc (due to stress
concentration) to such an extent that your cranks work loose all the
time. The only remedy is new cranks.

There is a complete (and proper) description for the correct crank
installing procedure if you SEARCH for it. John Child and Harper have
posted it repeatedly. It involves only gentle tapping on the crank,
and only so much that the nut engages. Then let the nut to the rest.
(Or use a press but not many people have one at their disposal.)

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
I ride like a princess. - john_childs

I do the same as Mike Fule, but with the addition of putting vasaline on
the axle prior to putting on the crank. This, in theory, enables the
crank to become seated better on the axle. I do use a hammer and wooden
blocks, but take care not to hit it too hard or too many times.

Prior to using this method, my cranks used to come loose; since using
it, they don't. Although I always carry a crank nut spanner on rides
just in case, i think I've only needed to use it once in several years
of riding.

--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the [censored] work for it."

--MAJOR KORGO KORGAR,
"Last of The Lancers"
AFC 32
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U-Turn has a good writeup for crank installation on his web site:
'LiveWire Unicycles: Square Taper Crank Installation and Maintenance'
(http://tinyurl.com/blcbl)

Note that there is no need to pound the cranks on. The grease and the
torque wrench will allow the crank to get properly tight with no
pounding needed.

My procedure is slightly different than described but close enough that
it doesn't make a difference.
Two keys:
1) Use a torque wrench
2) Use Loctite threadlocker

I use Red high strength (permanent strength) Loctite threadlocker. It's
trivial to break the bond by hand with a regular 6" socket wrench. But
Blue medium strength threadlocker is plenty strong enough. Use what
you've got on hand.

There is no need to check the tightness before each ride if you use this
procedure. In fact, pulling out a socket wrench and tightening up the
nut just to be sure they're still tight will break the Loctite
threadloker bond and negate usefulness of the Loctite. Just leave it
be. They should stay tight. That's what the Loctite is for.

If your cranks come loose fairly quickly after using this procedure then
the taper on either the hub or the cranks is likely damaged and the
cranks are never going to stay tight.

A torque wrench isn't necessarily expensive. I found a Craftsman torque
wrench for under $25 ('see the thread I'm Torqued'
(http://tinyurl.com/8mn2b)). You can also find inexpensive torque
wrenches at places like 'Harbor Freight'
(http://www.harborfreight.com/). The torque wrench eliminates the
guess work and really is important. It's the quality control to make
sure your cranks will stay tight. Otherwise it's all guess work.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
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Klaas Bil said:

*
Dangerous advice!
*

All advice is dangerous because it relies on the advised interpreting it
properly.

I have changed my cranks more often than most and so far have never
damaged one. A sharp clean tap with a mallet rather than a series of
tappity taps or massive thumps is perfectly OK. The idea isn't to
hammer the crank onto the taper, but to make sure it is properly bedded.
It's a question of degree and common sense.

That said, I don't usually bother with the mallet these days, and they
don't usually come loose. As with any job, the answer is to do it
carefully and cleanly.

As for Loctite - so far, I have gone through a whole life of bicycling,
unicycling, motorcycle maintenance and fencing club armoury without
relying on this stuff, yet everyone recommends it.

--
Mikefule - The first cuckoo of unicycling

Sumer is icomen in, loud sing Mikefule!
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