Ping Mr. Loctite

I have found a solution. Use pinch nuts (you'll have to upgrade your
bolts too). They can be tightened to where they are just right and they
won't come loose. They are much better than Nyloc nuts too. You may have
to hunt around for a supplier. I get mine from Wicks Aircraft
(wicksaircraft.com), but that's in the States.

--
Jim_Rob - Old Man

TTFN

JR

"Riding uphill on a unicycle sucks", Walt, Nationally-ranked singlespeed
MTB racer
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tighten them loosly like c, but use "lock tight" to make sure they stay
put. the downside is you'll need "liquid wrench" to get them loose.

--
canadianrugby - my uni's 2 cool 4 School
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Even the aerospace industrial equipment I work on can't be made so that
the bearings can be easily changed without having some kind of spacers
in the mount. We're talking ten thousandths of an inch here (micro
meters) and the bearings can easily be deformed that much. You’re
options for proper installation are:

Quoted message said:

Have bearing holders made that completely encircle the bearing, to

extremely fine tolerances. VERY expensive.

Quoted message said:

Have bearing holders made to lesser tolerances, probably with shims.

More expensive than you’d want on a unicycle.

Quoted message said:

Add a spacer with shims and tighten so that the bolts don’t come loose.

Loctite is still a good option here.

Quoted message said:

Use a jam nut (usually thinner than a normal nut - used to lock the

nuts together), but this will require a lot of fiddling to get the
compression just right - as you tight the jam nut the main nut will
move. This works ok - on something that doesn’t get beat on as our
unicycles do.

Quoted message said:

Loctite or similar anti-vibration treatment.

Obviously, Loctite is the easiest, least expensive option, a lot of our
bolts (at work) get either lubricated (with anti-lock) or Loctited.

--
brian.slater - Nellfurtiti, the Wonder Cat

Brian C. Slater
AKA: Snoopy

Ok, I am now officially in my normal state of -advanced- confusion.
Don't try to confuse me, it won't make any difference.

"To not decide is to decide" - undecided
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For the GB4 and Hunter frames, which have a very nice
completely-encircling bearing holder, I tighten the bolts to 40
inch-pounds and use blue loctite on the threads. Works well but you
still have to be aware of your uni's feel to detect those little clunks
and bumps, as well as frequent visual and tactile inspection.

--
U-Turn - Member of Generation XO

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.

'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)

'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)

'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)

-- Dave Stockton
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The bearing holder bolts often come loose during the first couple of
rides on a unicycle with machined bearing holders (KH, GB4, DM Vortex,
Hunter, others). It happens to me too. My fix is to use Loctite
threadlocker on the bolts. Medium strength Loctite is plenty strong
enough, but you can also use the high strength stuff if that is all that
you have on hand.

The Loctite will keep the bolt from vibrating and working itself loose.
The Loctite is not strong enough to make it difficult to remove the
bolts later.

When you later remove the bolts or have to readjust the bolts you'll
break the Loctite bond. But I've found that it is not necessary to
immediately reapply the Loctite. The old dry Loctite in the thread
grooves will continue to keep the bolt from vibrating even though it is
no longer bonded in place.

I go for finger tight. I don't have a torque wrench that can measure
those small torques, so I can't give you a torque measurement for what I
use. My rule of thumb is that if I make a fist around the allen key I'm
going to get it too tight. I just hold the allen key by my finger tips
and get the bolts tight enough just to be snug. That seems to work for
me.

I always carry an allen key that fits the bearing holder bolts. If
something comes loose on my during a ride it will most likely be the
bearing holder bolts. It is not wise to go on a muni ride without
carrying at least a few tools. Muni has a way of making things vibrate
loose. At a minimum you should carry allen keys to fit the bearing
holder bolts, seatpost clamp, and crank bolts. I carry my little
collection of allen keys and other small tools in an Altoids mint tin.
It's small. I just throw it in a pocket in my hydration pack.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
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Thank you Mr. Loctite.

john_childs said:

*...you can also use the high strength stuff if that is all that you
have on hand.*

I don't have any Loctite at all. Am I strange or what? But, I will buy
some. Would it be called Loctite over here?

Quoted message said:

*I go for finger tight.*

How you describe finger tight, it already binds my bearings to a small
degree, in that the wheel will not come to rest with the heaviest point
at the bottom. Not a problem with riding at all, probably also not
wear-wise.

Quoted message said:

*It is not wise to go on a muni ride without carrying at least a few
tools.*

That was how car drivers had to go out 50 years ago. Not anymore so.
MUnicycles apparently live on an earlier stage of the evolutionary
ladder.

Klaas Bil

--
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
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Klaas Bil said:

Thank you Mr. Loctite.

john_childs said:

*...you can also use the high strength stuff if that is all that you
have on hand.*

I don't have any Loctite at all. Am I strange or what? But, I will buy
some. Would it be called Loctite over here?

Loctite is a brand name, so you might find it where you live. I use a
different brand (whose name escapes me at the moment), but the product
is generically called "thread lock" or something simiar. Any hardware
or automotive store should be able to help you find the stuff.

Ken

Klaas Bil said:

*Thank you Mr. Loctite.
I don't have any Loctite at all. Am I strange or what? But, I will buy
some. Would it be called Loctite over here?
*

The generic term is threadlocker. 'Loctite' (http://www.loctite.com/)
and 'Permatex' (http://www.permatex.com/) are two common brands over
here in the US. You should be able to get it at stores that sell
automotive parts.

Quoted message said:

*
How you describe finger tight, it already binds my bearings to a small
degree, in that the wheel will not come to rest with the heaviest
point at the bottom. Not a problem with riding at all, probably also
not wear-wise.
*

It's just tight enough to be snug. The Gazz, or any large heavy tire,
is too heavy to allow the wheel to settle the same way it does with a
lighter street tire. The weight of the stem is insignificant compared
to the massive weight of the tire. So you can't rely on the spinning
the wheel and watching the way that the wheel comes to rest. With
lighter wheels the wheel will come to a jerky stop if the bearings are
too tight or the valve stem will come to rest at the bottom. Not so
with a big heavy Gazz. You have to go by general feel.

Quoted message said:

*
That was how car drivers had to go out 50 years ago. Not anymore so.
MUnicycles apparently live on an earlier stage of the evolutionary
ladder.

Klaas Bil *

Unicycles and bikes are mechanical and they get some rough treatment.
Things break or come loose during rides. It's hard to avoid that.
Putting threadlocker on the bolts that can vibrate loose will help
minimize the chance of something coming loose during a ride, but it
can't eliminate it. I bring more tools when I ride my bike than when I
ride my muni. Many more things to possibly need to fix on a bike. On
my bike I'll bring a chain tool, extra master link for the chain, a
multi-tool, a few zip ties, spare tube, patch kit, tire levers, and
pump. On my muni I'll usually only bring a selection of allen keys. I
don't really worry about flats on the muni for most rides. Only on long
epic rides do I bother to bring tire tools and a few extra tools.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (at) hotmail (dot) com
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Klaas Bil said:

*
That was how car drivers had to go out 50 years ago. Not anymore so.
MUnicycles apparently live on an earlier stage of the evolutionary
ladder.
*

I'd be worried if you're going out rally driving or driving a 4x4 a long
way away from roads without any tools?

Joe

--
joemarshall - dumb blonde
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Klaas Bil said:

*That was how car drivers had to go out 50 years ago. Not anymore so.
MUnicycles apparently live on an earlier stage of the evolutionary
ladder.*

One of the major reasons you don't need to carry tools in your car is
that the automotive manufacturers now use threadlockers. It's actually
designed in.🙂

--
brian.slater - Nellfurtiti, the Wonder Cat

Brian C. Slater
AKA: Snoopy

Ok, I am now officially in my normal state of -advanced- confusion.
Don't try to confuse me, it won't make any difference.

"To not decide is to decide" - undecided
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brian.slater said:

*>Have bearing holders made that completely encircle the bearing, to
extremely fine tolerances. VERY expensive.
*

My Steve Howard Uni has these. I never have to worry about my bearings
binding.

--
paco - Co-Founder of the PacoGild Movement

"But Satan is a jerk"
-Ryan Langton
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