Bearing problem

Hello Tyler, When my Nimbus pedal begins to click, it's because the
right pedal has become ever so slightly less than real tight into the
crank.

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Regards,
Ken
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Take the wheel off and then spin the bearings by hand with your fingers.
If the guts inside the bearing have broken you can sometimes feel the
clicking in your fingers as you spin it.

Bearings fail. Sometimes the guts inside the bearing break. Sometimes
the bearings get damaged when they are pressed on the hub and end up
having a very short lifetime. For munis you can get dirt and crud all
packed inside the bearing. If a bearing gets clamped too tight in the
bearing clamps it can shorten the lifetime of the bearing.

When the bearing is replaced I would suggest using Loctite Sleeve
Retainer to hold the bearing in place.

If you search for threads that contain the words "Loctite sleeve
retainer bearing" you'll find some threads by me about how to remove and
replace a bearing.

A bike shop will be able to pull the old bearing off and put on a new
one. They just need to be careful that they don't inadvertently damage
the bearing while pressing it on. The other hard part can be just
getting the correct bearing for a reasonable price. It's a standard and
common bearing size but prices can be all over the map depending on how
many middlemen get involved and jack up the price.

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Chrashing said:

*Hello Tyler, When my Nimbus pedal begins to click, it's because the
right pedal has become ever so slightly less than real tight into the
crank. *

It's definitely not the pedal, it's the bearing.

So about getting a new bearing, do you think a standard quality bearing
would be ok?

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Yes, standerd quality.

Do like JC said, and when you put the frame back on, make sure the
bearing holders are tightened enough. If they're loose, they wiggle and
make a sort of clicking/clanging noise.

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forrestunifreak - Mr. addict/team YAMS member

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tylercox said:

*It's definitely not the pedal, it's the bearing.

So about getting a new bearing, do you think a standard quality
bearing would be ok? *

Standard quality bearings are just fine. Those would be the generic
bearings that Unicycle.com sells. Price should be anywhere from $4 per
bearing on up to $10 per bearing depending on how much markup they get
and how many middlemen get involved.

There are high quality bearings like the SKF bearings that Unicycle.com
sells. There is no need for such fancy bearings on a unicycle that gets
used outdoors. If it's a high end freestyle uni that gets used indoors
and you want to splurge then you can go for the higher quality
bearings.

The other choice is metal shield or rubber shield. The metal shield
typically has less rolling resistance but they don't seal as well as the
rubber seals. The rubber seals will typically seal out dirt and crud
better than the metal seals but the rubber ones have a little more
friction.

For unicycles that get used outdoors I use rubber sealed bearings.

The bearing numbers for metal shied bearings end in ZZ. The bearing
numbers for rubber shield bearings end in 2RS.

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Clicks that happen at a specific pedal location are very suspiciously
pedal related. Granted, for each rotation, the axle bearing races will
be in the same spot when the click occurs, but the balls will not. Same
is true of the pedal bearings. If you have a spare pair of pedals at
hand, at least swap them out first to see if the problem moves or goes
away.

Main cap (axle) bearings are frequently overtightened and that will
cause them to fail prematurely. Search the fora for the correct
tightening procedure for axle bearings. You can flip the cranks and flip
the wheel easily, also. This puts the axle bearings on opposite sides.
This will give you further hints about where the problem is before you
pull and axle bearing. It's not hard to do, you just have to have the
right stuff to do it.

Standard bearings are cheap and available locally. Yours are probably
some 6203 ABEC-1 variant. Auto shops may have them. Bearing outlets
certainly do.

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I tried turning the wheel with just the cranks (not moving the pedals)
and I still could hear/feel the clicking.

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My bearings were doing the same as yours Tyler. They would click when
rotating the wheel forwards but not backwards.

It happened once for about two days, went for away when I rode through a
really deep puddle and got the bearings wet, and then came back two
weeks later. Same thing happened, got them wet, clicking stopped.

But during the British Juggling Convention, a bunch of trialsers went
for a blast, I jumped off some pretty big things and when we got back to
the convention it was clicking louder than ever.

Roger from UDC UK was there but wasn't about, but Miark from UDC UK (who
is just as nice and helpful as Roger by the way!) looked at it and
didn't have a clue.

I took the bearing holder off and two bits of the bearing fell out! The
outer casing of the bearing had split and was pressing into the insides
of the bearing (the actual ball bearings).

It might be this that's happening to you, maybe the bearing is cracked
inside and is about to crack all the way through.

I did have my bearings a bit tight tho!

Hope this helps.

T.

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I did notice a hairline crack on the outer casing of one bearing. Do
you think that might be it? Maybe when the LBS put my tire on they
tightened the frame too tight.

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Ummmmmmmmmmm....... *BUMP*

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It is quite possible that the bearing got way overtightened by a bike
shop. Bike shops do that a lot to unis.

That's one of the big problems with the main cap style of bearing
holder. It is very easy, and very common, to overtighten them. If
overtightened too much you can crack the bearing or damage the bearing
cage that is inside the bearing.

When you get the bearing replaced ask for the old bearing. You can take
it apart and look at what's inside the bearing. It's interesting to see
what's in there. A couple of small screwdrivers can pry off the bearing
seals. Then some WD40 and a paper towel to clean out the insides so you
can see what's in there. You'll see the bearing cage that holds the
ball bearings.

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