rec.sport.unicycling · Public discussion

Loose crank--what to do?

Started by Bruce Dawson · · Last activity · 13 posts · 294 views

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rec.sport.unicycling
Published
27 January 2007
Last activity
2 February 2007
Original author
Bruce Dawson
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13
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  1. I'm 5,000 miles away from my full stash of unicycles, and my 24" Torker
    is now having issues. The right crank is substantially loose. I banged
    it on with a hammer and then tightened the nut (which wasn't
    particularly loose) but after going around the block the crank is loose
    again.

    The nut is still tight so there is something more fundamentally wrong.
    I'm sure the abuse from playing hockey with the Lunis have stressed it
    in some permanently damaging way.

    Is this likely to be a problem with the crank, or with the axle? Is it
    worth swapping to a different set of cranks? Is this sort of problem
    even worth fixing, given that this is an inexpensive three year old
    Torker?

    I eagerly await the massed wisdom of the unicycling community.

    --
    Bruce Dawson
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  2. This reminds me of the old axiom for automobiles: The part that causes
    the most accidents is the nut that holds the wheel.

    But seriously folks...

    Bruce, have you taken the crank off to inspect? If the nut is tight it
    my have bottomed out and can't get any tighter. Perhaps the crank has
    cracked or otherwise widenned.

    Inspect the crank and the axle sides for wear. Perhaps rotating your
    cranks will give you some temporary relief but it may be time to use
    the services of Uni.Com.UK. Hopefully all you need is a new set of
    cranks.

    The other alternative is you can fly one of us out with one of your
    other unis.

    --
    UniBrier

    Steve

    Hop Drop & Roll

    “If something is to hard to do, then it's not worth doing. You just
    stick that guitar in the closet next to your
    shortwave radio, your karate outfit and your unicycle and we'll go
    inside and watch TV.” – Homer
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  3. What kind of torker is it. If it is the lx then I could see the damage
    happening but if it is a dx that probably shouldn't have happened.

    --
    uni.rider.13

    Some people call me nuts for riding, other people call me no
    nuts.😕

    My 'Gallery!!!!!!!!!!!!!' (http://tinyurl.com/y3k57x)

    Hey!!! Go and see my new website. 'unicycleaustin.741.com'
    (http://unicycleaustin.741.com/index.html)
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  4. We're riding today, are you going to show? We can all bring you new
    cranks.

    What Steve says is true, the nut (bolt) could be bottomed out. As I
    remember, your Torker has those black painted aluminum cranks. The
    square taper broached hole is probably worn beyond its useful life. I
    would move back to the states where that is much less likely to happen.
    Or buy new cranks from Roger.

    --
    harper

    -Greg Harper

    B L U E S H I F T

    *jc is the only main man. there can be no other.*
    Finally made it to my (n+1)th post....* TOTALLY AWESOME!!!*

    Quoted message said:

    <> Unicycle For the Chafing <><


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  5. uni.rider.13 said:

    What kind of torker is it. If it is the lx then I could see the damage
    happening but if it is a dx that probably shouldn't have happened.

    hmm
    my DX does it.
    it really sucks.
    im figuring out ways to correct it though.

    --
    skrobo

    Quoted message said:

    <> Unicycle For Christ <><

    ____________________________________________
    -last edited by \"your mom\" at 8:35 pm -
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  6. harper said:

    We're riding today, are you going to show? We can all bring you new
    cranks.

    What Steve says is true, the nut (bolt) could be bottomed out. As I
    remember, your Torker has those black painted aluminum cranks. The
    square taper broached hole is probably worn beyond its useful life. I
    would move back to the states where that is much less likely to happen.
    Or buy new cranks from Roger.

    I'll hop on the next flight to Seattle and join you for a ride through
    the woods. If I leave a few hours ago I'll be there in time.

    Failing that, if the nut is bottomed out (sounds plausible, given the
    cranks ability to loosen when the nut is fully tightened) can I buy
    myself some time by inserting a washer? Or is that too cheap a
    solution?

    Maybe I'll try stealing some cranks from my daughters' unicycles when
    they aren't looking and see if that helps.

    It would be nice if new cranks are all that is needed. Although, if the
    unicycle were to suddenly have a terrible accident (oops--run over by a
    double-decker bus, how did that happen?) then I'd have an excuse to buy
    a replacement or two.

    I'm sure that hockey is very hard on the cranks.

    --
    Bruce Dawson
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  7. Not to over react, but perhaps 'this' (http://tinyurl.com/2ye3ee) is the
    answer to your problem.

    --
    tomblackwood

    Tailgate at your own risk...
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  8. Bruce Dawson said:


    Failing that, if the nut is bottomed out (sounds plausible, given the
    cranks ability to loosen when the nut is fully tightened) can I buy
    myself some time by inserting a washer? Or is that too cheap a
    solution?

    The ID of the washer would have to be large enough to allow the square
    taper to pass through and the OD would have to be small enough to fit
    into the crank. That would work but I don't think you'll find a washer
    with that ID/OD ratio easily.

    --
    harper

    -Greg Harper

    B L U E S H I F T

    *jc is the only main man. there can be no other.*
    Finally made it to my (n+1)th post....* TOTALLY AWESOME!!!*

    Quoted message said:

    <> Unicycle For the Chafing <><


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  9. tomblackwood said:

    Not to over react, but perhaps 'this' (http://tinyurl.com/2ye3ee) is the
    answer to your problem.

    Finally somebody gets my subtext and gives me the advice that I want to
    hear! Now I can do what I wanted to do and claim that I'm just
    following independent advice.

    Alternately I'll try Harper's advice from four years ago:

    harper said:

    As an alternative, remove both cranks, swap the cranks on the axle, turn
    the seat around, and see what that does for you. Does the problem
    follow the crank or the axle?

    That will let me confirm whether new cranks will fix the problem. But
    instead of turning the seat around I'll just ride backwards--very handy
    when on defense.

    --
    Bruce Dawson
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  10. for hockey and such, the koxx signature is looking pretty nice right
    now...

    --
    zfreak220

    iridemymuni said:

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

    howdigetsogood said:

    man i used to think scooters were totally lame, but after that 'video'
    (http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57071), oh wait
    nevermind i still do.


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  11. Bruce Dawson said:

    Alternately I'll try Harper's advice from four years ago.

    The 2003 model Harper was much smarter than the 2007 model Harper. As
    he suggested I swapped the cranks from left to right in an effort to
    find out whether the cranks or the axle were the problem, and I found
    it actually seems to have *solved* the problem. To play it safe I've
    ordered replacement cranks, but I think I'm sorted.

    --
    Bruce Dawson
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  12. I'm gonna bet that your crank is rounded out. Just go ahead and get a
    new set of cranks. Any local bike shop will be able to inspect them
    for you if you wish. Are you going to be using it for anything other
    than hockey?

    --
    uniredneck
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  13. I got new cranks and it seems to be working well. I suspect that one
    axle is slightly rounded (I kept playing hockey last week for a while
    before realizing my crank was very loose) but things are holding
    together much better now.

    I switched from 150s to 125s. It's a bit of an adjustment, and I can't
    start and stop quite as quickly, but I sure can go fast now on my 24".

    --
    Bruce Dawson
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