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front and back question
Hello Unicylists, I have a question about the idea of a front and back
of a unicycle. So, to give a bit of background on this question, I'll relate a recent event which resulted in the destruction of one of my crank shafts. A few months ago, i got a flat tire and brought my Torker in to a local bike shop. They offered to change the tube for free with the purchase, so I accepted. It seems, however, that when they did this they put the wheel on backwards -- meaning that what was previously my left crank shaft and pedal (labeled with an L on the crank) wound up on the right side. Shortly thereafter, the pedals began backing out of the cranks and eventually the L crank's threads were completely trashed. Now, the guys at the bike shop replaced the parts for free, so the issue is pretty much resolved, but while I was there chatting with the guy at the shop, he kept saying that it shouldn't make any difference which side was which because it was a fixed gear and that there is no front or back to a unicycle. Now, it seems really obvious to me that with the wheel in one orientation the pedals tighten when the uni goes forward; and in the opposite orientation they loosen. I pointed this out to him and he said something along the lines of "but what about if you ride backwards or idle?" At this point, another dude in the shop said something about riding fakie on his fixed-gear bike, and said "that wouldn't cause the pedals to back out." I still think I'm right, though and that there IS a front to a unicycle. Based on this, i can only assume that if you only rode backwards and rode backwards for long enough this would cause the pedals to eventually back out of the cranks -- but, as this is a pretty unlikely thing to happen, it's not really a major issue. However, I admit that there could be some aspect of the unicycle which I am simply failing to understand. Is there anyone out there who can enlighten me? |
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front and back question
crazy hippy wrote:
A few months ago, i got a flat tire and brought my Torker in to a local bike shop. They offered to change the tube for free with the purchase, so I accepted. It seems, however, that when they did this they put the wheel on backwards -- meaning that what was previously my left crank shaft and pedal (labeled with an L on the crank) wound up on the right side. Shortly thereafter, the pedals began backing out of the cranks and eventually the L crank's threads were completely trashed. I think you experience proves the validity of there being a "front" and "back" to the unicycle. I think the duration of riding backwards is a factor, but the forces on the petals would seem to also be a factor. The strength, duration, and precise angles of force would be different stoke for stoke backwards verses forward (I think). -- TK http://www.wejuggle2.com/ Age is mind over matter. If you don't mind it don't matter. ~ Satchel Page |
#3
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front and back question
On Jan 8, 9:25*am, TK wrote:
crazy hippy wrote: A few months ago, i got a flat tire and brought my Torker in to a local bike shop. *They offered to change the tube for free with the purchase, so I accepted. *It seems, however, that when they did this they put the wheel on backwards -- meaning that what was previously my left crank shaft and pedal (labeled with an L on the crank) *wound up on the right side. *Shortly thereafter, the pedals began backing out of the cranks and eventually the L crank's threads were completely trashed. I think you experience proves the validity of there being a "front" and "back" to the unicycle. *I think the duration of riding backwards is a factor, but the forces on the petals would seem to also be a factor. The strength, duration, and precise angles of force would be different stoke for stoke backwards verses forward (I think). -- TKhttp://www.wejuggle2.com/ Age is mind over matter. If you don't mind it don't matter. ~ Satchel Page Ah, that never even occurred to me, but it certainly sounds like it would make sense. I suppose I'll just have to learn how to ride backwards and figure this one out ; ) |
#4
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front and back question
In article ,
crazy hippy wrote: Hello Unicylists, I have a question about the idea of a front and back of a unicycle. So, to give a bit of background on this question, I'll relate a recent event which resulted in the destruction of one of my crank shafts. A few months ago, i got a flat tire and brought my Torker in to a local bike shop. They offered to change the tube for free with the purchase, so I accepted. It seems, however, that when they did this they put the wheel on backwards -- meaning that what was previously my left crank shaft and pedal (labeled with an L on the crank) wound up on the right side. Shortly thereafter, the pedals began backing out of the cranks and eventually the L crank's threads were completely trashed. Yes, this should be a FAQ. Most decent unicycles I know have small markings on the cranks that say "Right" and "Left", precisely to avoid this. When I show unicycling to beginners, I always tell them to check the pedals before they start a ride, and if the thread appears to be unscrewing, not to use the uni before they screw it back in tightly. |
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