Profile Clicking

So could the right bearing (the one that feels like it has rough spots)
be causing the problem?

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Robbie - Spoons Taste Good

And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every
time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.
Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to
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Robbie said:

*So could the right bearing (the one that feels like it has rough
spots) be causing the problem? *

Yup, looks like you have a bad bearing.

It's not normal for a bearing to fail like that after only a couple of
weeks. Something was defective in the bearing.

Generally the bearings on a muni will last at least a year. It all
depends on the conditions that you ride them in. On a muni, the
bearings will usually wear out because they get filled with dirt. They
usually don't fail because something breaks inside.

Here's a thread that discusses how to remove the Profile cranks with a
bearing puller: 'Profile maintenance' (http://tinyurl.com/3645)

You can also have a bike shop try to remove the cranks. Just be sure to
tell them that they need to be careful not to pound the axle out of the
hub. If they try to remove the Profile cranks the same way they would
on a bike, they may damage the hub.

Make sure you get the correct size bearings. Profile makes two sizes of
bearings for the unicycle hub. One size has a 40 mm outer diameter and
the other size has a 1-5/8" outer diameter. You'll have to measure your
current bearings to verify what size you've got. A bike shop will have
a micrometer or caliper to accurately measure the bearing size.

When you put it all back together just follow the instructions in the
Profile maintenance thread.

For now you can continue riding until you get the new bearing.

Once you get the bearing replaced you can have some fun taking the
damaged bearing apart to see what's inside. You can pry off the rubber
seals using a small screwdriver. Then take a look inside to see what it
is that makes a bearing work (or in this case, what it is that makes
that bearing not work).

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Thanks alot John... you've defiantely solved my problem. Thanks to all
the others who helped aswell. I know that it's 40mm OD so I'll get a new
one in from unicycles.com.au (or 2 if you have to get them in pairs, and
just have a spare I guess?). I think I'll also look at finding an
evercraft bearing puller (or will others work?) and removing it myself,
the local bike shops try but I can tell they know nothing about
unicycles and would probably try to remove it bike style which you said
could screw the hub.

Thanks!

--
Robbie - Spoons Taste Good

And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every
time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.
Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to
drive? - Homer Simpson
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Robbie said:

*Thanks alot John... you've defiantely solved my problem. Thanks to
all the others who helped aswell. I know that it's 40mm OD so I'll get
a new one in from unicycles.com.au (or 2 if you have to get them in
pairs, and just have a spare I guess?). I think I'll also look at
finding an evercraft bearing puller (or will others work?) and
removing it myself, the local bike shops try but I can tell they know
nothing about unicycles and would probably try to remove it bike style
which you said could screw the hub.

Thanks! *

The Evercraft bearing puller works the best on the Profile cranks.
Other bearing pullers can't get a grip on the Profile crank. The
Evercraft tool is actually an automotive pulley puller designed to
remove pulleys on steering and water pumps. It's an automotive tool.
We just call it a bearing puller because when used on a unicycle it
usually gets used for pulling off bearings.

Evercraft is a house brand for NAPA. NAPA is an auto parts store here
in the USA. I don't know if you've got NAPA stores in Australia. If
you don't have a NAPA store you should still be able to find the same
type of pulley puller from another brand. Take a look at the 'Evercraft
bearing puller' (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=419) at
unicycle.com and get a pulley puller that looks just like it.

I like to keep extra bearings on hand so that I don't have to make a
rush order when a bearing suddenly fails on me or when they eventually
wear out. Get three or more bearings so you'll have two spares on hand
for when the bearings finally wear out.

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Thanks alot John, I'll look into finding one as it seems to be a very
important tool for your profiles. Profile should sell these with their
cranks and add the price on. Or at least give you the option to buy it
with the cranks.

--
Robbie - Spoons Taste Good

And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every
time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.
Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to
drive? - Homer Simpson
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Robbie said:

*Thanks alot John, I'll look into finding one as it seems to be a very
important tool for your profiles. Profile should sell these with their
cranks and add the price on. Or at least give you the option to buy it
with the cranks. *

Profile does make a special too to remove the cranks. I'll attach a
picture of the tool. I got the picture from the 'Profile Racing online
store' (http://www.profileracing.com/).

However, that tool needs to be used with care when removing the cranks
from a unicycle hub. The tool is designed for their bike cranks. The
object is to pound the spindle out of the crank and consequently through
the bottom bracket. On a bike the Profile spindle floats inside the
bottom bracket so pounding it through the bottom bracket does no damage.
However, on the unicycle hub the spindle is firmly fixed in the hub and
is not designed to be pushed out of the hub. Pounding the spindle out
of the hub will cause problems for the hub.

If you use the tool with the Profile unicycle hub you must make sure
that you don't pound the spindle through the hub. Care must be taken.
It is easiest with two people. One person holds the crank and elevates
the wheel off the ground. The second person pounds on the crank tool to
get the crank off. Alternatively, you can put the crank inside of a
long piece of pipe, secure the pipe in a big vise, and then pound on the
Profile tool.

The Profile crank tool is also handy for installing the cranks if the
cranks are tight. An alternative is to use a big C-clamp or bar clamp
to get the cranks back on.

The threads of the Profile crank tool need to be lubed with anti-seize
before threading it into the spindle. If you don't lube the threads,
all of that pounding can damage the threads in the spindle or the tool
can get stuck in the spindle.

A bike shop that works on BMX bikes or freeride/DH bikes will likely
have the Profile tool.

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Thanks alot I'm gonna guess that the evercraft bearing puller can't put
it back on judging by your post but if the bike shop has the correct
tool I'm sure they will be able to put it back on in a much safer manner
than taking it off.

If I managed to buy both tools then I could take it off and put in on
myself quite safely, right?

--
Robbie - Spoons Taste Good

And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every
time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.
Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to
drive? - Homer Simpson
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Robbie said:

*If I managed to buy both tools then I could take it off and put in on
myself quite safely, right? *

Correct. But the Profile tool isn't really needed for putting the crank
back on. It's just a handy and convenient way of doing it.

You can certainly put the crank back on safely without using the Profile
tool. Putting the cranks back on is much easier than getting the cranks
off.

When my cranks were new and tight I used a big C-clamp to put the cranks
back on. A rubber mallet or a block of wood and a hammer would have
done the same thing. Just don't hammer on the cranks directly with a
metal hammer, you can damage the cranks that way. Once the cranks are
worn you'll be able to put them on by hand without any tools.

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Thanks John! Have you worked in a bike shop ever or are you just so
uniobsessed you've fixed so many (yours and other peoples) unicycles
that you're just now the master :p

--
Robbie - Spoons Taste Good

And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every
time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain.
Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to
drive? - Homer Simpson
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Robbie said:

*Thanks John! Have you worked in a bike shop ever or are you just so
uniobsessed you've fixed so many (yours and other peoples) unicycles
that you're just now the master :p *

I've never worked at a bike shop. I do my own maintenance on my
unicycles. After fiddling with the things you learn how the pieces
work, what works, what doesn't, and other tricks. The only maintenance
I don't do myself is wheel building and wheel truing.

I have read some books on bicycle maintenance. And I also read the
instruction manuals that the manufacturers send with their parts. The
books and instruction manuals help. Asking a professional bike mechanic
is also a good way to pick up some tips. It was a bike mechanic that
clued me in to the anti-seize. When I first got a Profile hub I had no
idea how to maintain it so I asked a bike mechanic for some tips.

Unicycles are a lot simpler than bicycles. There are lots of pieces on
my bike that I would not be comfortable tearing apart and putting back
together. Maintenance on unicycles is simple compared to bikes.

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