Splined hub and crank maintainence

Hi All.

Well, I finally got a set of profiles. So, since I now own, a set,
logically, I will now have to maintain them. I deeply envy those who
don't. So, anyways, I'm starting this thread as a splined hub
maintinence Q and A. I hope to kinda focus on profiles, but I figure it
doesn't really matter, and I dont' care if anyone decides to post about
some other splined hubs.

Anyway, I'll start. I've had my profile wheel for a whopping day and a
half now. When I got the wheel and put it in the frame, I noticed I
needed to move the spacers around. So I took the right crank off and
moved the spacers (after much effort and pulling). I decided to rotate
the wheel (relative to the cranks) in the process, so I put the right
cranks back on at a 90 degree-ish angle to the left, untouched crank.
This worked fine, except I couldn't get the left vrank off.

So, I waited a day, and took it to the best DH shop in 50 miles (which
happens to be a mere 7 miles away ) and asked them how to take the
crank off. They gave me a profile crank tool for free (except it didn't
come with the sleeve) and showed me how to put the tool in and just tap
it until the hub falls out. It worked great, and all went well. I
greased up the splines, and put the cranks back on with a new spacer
arrangement. I cinched down everything, and headed out. In the proccess
of doing all this, I notice that the hub came with the axle shifted a
bit to one side on it, so the bolt on the left crank wouldn't quite
tighten down all the way on the crank. I said whatever and ignored it.
Bad mistake (I think).

Today I switched out the gazz on it for a fireball so i could ride some
uni basketball, and all seemed well, except the fireball is an awful
tire, and shold be condemed to face burning in a giant burning tire
yard. But that's beside the point. After basketball, I did a bit of
trials, and had one 2' drop where I was going over the back of a park
bench and came down hard on the cranks. I happily noticed a lack of
creaking or play where my onza would've made all kinds of sounds.

I went home, and on the way home I noticed that there was about 1/2 mm
of play in the right crank (on the left spline, had reversed them). I
turned pale, and walked all 4 blocks back to my house from the bus stop.
I got home and re-reversed the cranks on the axle, and the play seems to
be gone on the right crank, and the left one seems fine too, except for
when I'm very still and i try to feel for play I can feel an ever so
slight bit of play in the crank. So, my question is, can I leave the
splines alone, the play doesn't matter, or should I deal with this. Can
I just add a soda-can spacer to the left spline so the bolt engages the
crank better? Thanks for reading.

Also, my advice is to anyone who hasn't already, always ask for the
profile crank tool when you order profiles. It's indespensible. The
local DH shop also probably has some, and would probably be willing to
give one away, as was the case for me. For the curious, it's not that
complicated, just a massive (24mm?) bolt head attached to some threads
that fit the profile axle, so that you can hammer away at it without any
bad consequences. It also comes with a sleeve, which I think isn't that
important, as the cranks just seem to slide on for installation. But be
careful, you can move the axle in the hub by hammering to heavyily on
the axle, or by overtightening one side before tightening the other
side, which is what I think happend with the previous owner of my
current hub.

As for my observations on the prfile setup, here are some early ones.
First, this is the first unicycle I've ever had that's basically silent.
Not creaks (I tensioned the spokes twice today) and almost no play. It's
also massive, though. My muni went from a suzue with an intense tire and
rhynolite rim (4-cross spokes) with a yuni frame and zuzu pedals, and
monty cranks and a KH saddle-about 13lbs. Now, the frame and saddle are
the same, but the wheel is now: Gazz tire at time of weighing, dx-32 rim
(3-cross spokes), profile hub/crankset 170mm, and B-37 pedals-a bt over
15lbs. A 2 pound increase in weight, which I could feel at first, and a
bit when hopping seat out, but otherwise it's fine. Heavy and strong is
better than light and weak when it comes to munis.

happy trails (and the inevitable maintainance)

P.S. Today I learned that there are actually 3 different types of
profile cranks: the normal ones, the SS ones( thicker tubing-much
stronger-much heavier) (the last two are 48 spline), and the DH cranks,
which are pretty much the same, I hear, as the SS cranks, except they
have more than 48 splines. Just a random fact.


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gerblefranklin wrote:
* I decided to rotate the wheel (relative to the cranks) in the
process, so I put the right cranks back on at a 90 degree-ish angle to
the left, untouched crank. This worked fine, except I couldn't get the
left crank off.

So, I waited a day, and took it to the best DH shop in 50 miles (which
happens to be a mere 7 miles away ) and asked them how to take the
crank off. They gave me a profile crank tool for free (except it
didn't come with the sleeve) and showed me how to put the tool in and
just tap it until the hub falls out. It worked great, and all went
well. I greased up the splines, and put the cranks back on with a new
spacer arrangement. I cinched down everything, and headed out. In the
proccess of doing all this, I notice that the hub came with the axle
shifted a bit to one side on it, so the bolt on the left crank
wouldn't quite tighten down all the way on the crank. I said whatever
and ignored it. Bad mistake (I think). *
Good to hear you have some Profiles, pity they are giving you trouble. I
started a 'Splined Crank Maintenance' (http://tinyurl.com/3ejw5) thread
a while back and some of the issues were discussed, including the
Profile tool. While it is designed for removing Profile cranks on
bicycles, it is not quite as ideal for removing Profile cranks on
unicycles because of the way the hub works. You would have to be very
careful, the Evercraft bearing puller is much better for removing
Profile cranks. I had a similar problem to you when I went to put
Anti-seize on my splines, one of the cranks came off easy and the other
one wouldn't budge, so I ordered a bearing puller from USA
(Unicycle.com). Check out the 'FAQ' (http://tinyurl.com/2g3uf) of
splined unicycle hub maintenance, it is relevant to this thread. I'm
sorry I don't have any suggestions about the spindle being off-center, I
hope you can figure out a way to remedy it. Good luck!


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You can try to recenter the spindle in the hub. Having it slightly
off-center is not a big deal unless it interferes with tightening down
one of the cranks.

You can recenter it using a big bar clamp (or a press) along with a 4"
or so piece of pipe. A vernier caliper with a depth gauge will help you
measure both sides so you'll know when it's recentered. This option
takes some time and if you fiddle with pushing the spindle back and
forth too much you could develop some premature play in the keyway.

The easier option is to put an additional spacer on each side. This
will add a little bit to the Q-factor, but is not that big of a deal on
a muni used for freeride style riding. Add a big enough spacer on each
side so that the crank on each side can be tightened down without
bottoming out on the end of the spindle. Your bike shop may be able to
hook you up with some extra Profile spacers.

I'd go with the additional spacer on each side of the hub. It's easier
and less invasive than trying to recenter the spindle.

Don't forget to put anti-seize on the crank bolt threads. Both the
splines and the crank bolt threads should get a slothering of
anti-seize.

Check the tightness of the crank bolts before every couple of rides.
They'll work themselves loose slightly as you ride.


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Thanks a bunch, John. I too, am going with adding spacers, as I've
already tried to move the axle, and it's not possible. Mine has a really
tight fit, wich is nothing to complain about. It just mean I'll just
have to add a couple of spacers. Can i just add one spacer to the
offending side? Or do I have to keep it symetrical. Also, can't I just
use bike grease? I used a bunch on the splines, although the threads are
pretty dry. Still, I was cranking down on the wrench to tighten it with
a rubber mallet, so it's in there pretty heavy. Does the anti-sieze not
squirt out of the splines like bike grease or something? I'm very
curious.


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You'll want to keep the crank spacing symmetrical. Put the same number
and size of spacers on each side.

Anti-seize works better than bicycle grease on the splines and on the
crank bolt threads. Bike grease squirts out and gets really thin when
the pressure gets high (when the two mating parts squeeze together
really tight). Anti-seize is designed to work in high pressure
applications and will continue to lubricate even when the parts are
squeezing together really tight.

You can get a little 4 oz jar of copper anti-seize at your local NAPA
auto parts store (or other auto parts store). It will be in the $5
range. 4 oz will be a lifetime supply. You don't use a lot of it.

A little anti-seize on your Onza would also be good and might get rid of
some of the creaking.


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So anti-seize is basically the ambrosia of lubricants ? Also, I'm
wondering if I did any permanent damage when I rode it while it was
loose. As for my onza, I may as well just sautee it in anti-seize for
the next month. Then it may begin to shut it's yap. Lately though, it's
been relatively free of play in the drivetrain, although it does make
the occasional spoke creak and crank creak. Funny, the play has been
really bad just before both muni weekends I went to, but the it's
miraculously solved it's self the week before the muni weekend. It's
like it doesn't want to be left behind. My Onza is decietful .

Alright, last Q for the moment: What should I apply the anti-seize with?
Brush, specific type? Thanks.


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gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

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gerblefranklin wrote:
*Alright, last Q for the moment: What should I apply the anti-seize
with? Brush, specific type? Thanks. *

The 4 oz jar of anti-seize will have a brush in the cap. Just brush it
on. It only takes a little to get the splines painted a nice copper
color.

Have an old rag handy to wipe up any excess that squeezes out when you
put the crank back on. And keep the anti-seize off your hands. It's
hard to wash off your skin and will make you look like the tin man if
the tin man was made of copper.


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I smell a halloween costume . Will pumice grease hand wash stuff get
it off?


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Hey Rowan, thanks for those links. I use the profile tool to remove the
cranks the same way Ben Plotkin-Swing described. I hold the crank to
support the entire wheel, and have the wheel about 1/2" from a support
area, so when it falls the tire catches it, rather than the crank and
the crank tool. It works really well. BTW, for the price I got the
profiles at, the trouble is an afterthought. They even had the nub on
them, so I'm very happy. So what if I have to wait a day for some
spacers to arrive at the LBS, it's better than snapping my montys on a
ride I know they won't take.

And I'm still wondering if I did any permanent damage when I rodse the
hub loose? Also, doesn anyone else feel play in their cranks when the
bolt is loose but the crank is on all the way?

Thanks.


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john_childs wrote:
*keep the anti-seize off your hands. It's hard to wash off your skin
and will make you look like the tin man if the tin man was made of
copper. *
I bought a tube of Copper anti-seize, and it didn't come with a brush,
so I apply it with my fingers. It's not hard to wash off, or no harder
than grease. Just use a bit of dish-washing detergent and it comes right
off. It might not be good for you to have copper on your skin for a long
time, but a short exposure probably won't be harmful.
gerblefranklin wrote:
*Hey Rowan, thanks for those links.
...
And I'm still wondering if I did any permanent damage when I rode the
hub loose? Also, does anyone else feel play in their cranks when the
bolt is loose but the crank is on all the way?
*
You're welcome. I don't feel play in my cranks when the bolt is undone.
I might feel slight play in my right 170mm crank when it is loose
because the fit is not as snug as my other three profile cranks. I don't
think you would have done any major damage on the hub, just keep it
tight and lubed and it should be sweet.


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