First decent ride... and a small question..



M

molab

Guest
Well, today I decided to take the uni for a walk to the new M7... it is
a 40km freeway with a bike/walk track the whole distance...
I got on the uni and spent a few minutes trying to readjust and get my
balance, then I decided to give it a go and let go of the railing, went
about 120m before it was too steep uphill to continue going... It's
only been a week but I'm fairly proud of my newfound skills.
I must admit that I'm also surprised with peoples reception of it.
I have never gotten so much admiration from bike riders, I'm sure they
can understand the difficulty...
Also, I know I'm a big guy(6'3'' 85kgs) and as I ride and put all my
weight on the seat I can hear some noise from the spokes, as if it's
buckling... Is it just adjusting becuase it's brand new? Or am I
damaging it?
Thanks again...


--
molab
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nice work, but yeah, with new unicycles, they have to be " broken in "
the spokes have to be worn in, and for the spokes to be worn in,
sometimes they adapt a clicking kind of noise, and the spokes become a
bit loose. You can take your uni to the local bike shop and get them to
tighten them (it will only take them about half an hour.

Or it could be the cranks, they make a clicking noise if they r loose,
tighten them straight away if it is the cranks! If it isnt the cranks
then tighten the pedals up to maximum tightness. But apart from those
things, the only other thing that could be making a noise on the uni
that i can think of at the moment, is the seat, but wen u tighten the
screws under the seat, be careful not to overtighten them, or otherwise
the hats on the screws will tear off. So just tighten them to a little
bit ova hand strength!

I hope this helps :)


--
trials2k

Live and Die on a uni;) **
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molab wrote:
> Also, I know I'm a big guy(6'3'' 85kgs) and as I ride and put all my
> weight on the seat I can hear some noise from the spokes, as if it's
> buckling... Is it just adjusting becuase it's brand new? Or am I
> damaging it?
> Thanks again...


It's just adjusting cause the wheel is new.
Machine built wheels and some hand made wheels will creak when new.
The creak is the spokes adjusting under tension and evening out any
twist that they have. The creaking can also be due to the spokes
rubbing against each other. You can get rid of that noise by putting a
little drop of oil or a little bit of grease where the spokes cross
each other. The noises will go away as the wheel settles in.

Machine built wheels are not tensioned enough. The stock unicycle
wheels are machine built. The loose spokes will make noise and loose
spokes also affect the strength of the wheel. If you're a big person
or if you're going to be riding the unicycle hard it is a good idea to
take a new wheel to a bike shop and have them hand tension all of the
spokes. It will make the wheel quieter and make the wheel stronger.

A properly built hand built wheel should be rock solid and not make any
noise. The spokes will all be very tight, tight enough that you can
pluck them and they make a nice pling sound. A properly made wheel
will also be stress relived by the wheel builder. Stress relieving
will even out the spoke twist on all of the spokes so they won't make
noise when you first ride the new wheel.


--
john_childs

john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
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molab wrote:
>
> Also, I know I'm a big guy(6'3'' 85kgs) and as I ride and put all my
> weight on the seat I can hear some noise from the spokes, as if it's
> buckling.



First of all, you can't write "6'3'' 85kgs" in the same phrase. It's
too baffling. Trials2k and JC are right, the spokes like to rub at
their contact points and creak. Welcome to the fora and congrats on
your ride.


--
harper

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

*jc is the only main man. there can be no other.*

This is still my nth post....*AWESOME!!!*
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On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 12:57:20 -0600, harper wrote:

>First of all, you can't write "6'3'' 85kgs" in the same phrase. It's
>too baffling.

Hi molab, harper is one of our main characters here. His utterances
usually have to be taken in a particular mood, but harper has a
particularly wide spectrum of moods and it takes some experience to
pick the right one. You'll get there soon enough though.

Hi harper...
 
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