Air in my tire

[jtrops]

Originally Posted by Crazy Stares

I've been reading about converting to air saddles, it seems like that's the consensus for most comfortable seat. I'm just not sure if mine would work or not, they seem very specific. I haven't even seen "Avenir" mentioned anywhere else except on my uni, and I can't find anything else on my uni that suggests otherwise. My seat post has the 4-bolt rectangular thing, so if I need to get a new saddle, would you recommend getting one that already fits with the 4-bolt, or getting a seat post that works with the Miyata?

If I do convert to air instead of just buying one, could I juse my old inner tube? In the saddle faq, it links to a product that says it uses a 20 x 1.75 tube in the seat, which is the same as my old inner tube. I would just have to patch up the small hole.

I haven't seen many recent post's that promote air saddles. I tried an air seat for a little bit and I didn't like it. It felt nice right away, but after a bit of riding I just couldn't get comfortable on it. If you have a Torker LX seat it's probably worth a shot.

I would definately try a good pair of bike shorts first. You probably still need a new saddle, but in my oppinion bike shorts helped me more than anything.

The general consensus seems to be that if you want a more comfortable saddle... get a more comfortable saddle. Most people prefer the KH Fusion Freeride, some favor the Nimbus Gel. I have an old KH Fusion (the really curved one) that I cut a groove in the middle of the foam, and I find it as comfortable or maybe more than my Freeride. So, in short, good saddles are more comfortable than cheap ones, and there are a lot of different people with different points of view about saddles.

[Crazy Stares]

Originally Posted by jtrops

I haven't seen many recent post's that promote air saddles. I tried an air seat for a little bit and I didn't like it. It felt nice right away, but after a bit of riding I just couldn't get comfortable on it. If you have a Torker LX seat it's probably worth a shot.

I would definately try a good pair of bike shorts first. You probably still need a new saddle, but in my oppinion bike shorts helped me more than anything.

The general consensus seems to be that if you want a more comfortable saddle... get a more comfortable saddle. Most people prefer the KH Fusion Freeride, some favor the Nimbus Gel. I have an old KH Fusion (the really curved one) that I cut a groove in the middle of the foam, and I find it as comfortable or maybe more than my Freeride. So, in short, good saddles are more comfortable than cheap ones, and there are a lot of different people with different points of view about saddles.

Okay. I will definitely try to get some good shorts first, then try to get a good seat.

Money is now becoming a very big problem for me. I'm looking at biking shorts and the cheapest I can find are $60, which seems very high to me compared to any other pair of shorts. =\ Did anyone get good quality shorts for relatively cheap that they can recommend to me, like post a link, or the site/store they bought them?

[jtrops]

Originally Posted by Crazy Stares

Okay. I will definitely try to get some good shorts first, then try to get a good seat.

Money is now becoming a very big problem for me. I'm looking at biking shorts and the cheapest I can find are $60, which seems very high to me compared to any other pair of shorts. =\ Did anyone get good quality shorts for relatively cheap that they can recommend to me, like post a link, or the site/store they bought them?

You might want to watch www.chainlove.com. It's kind of like woot.com, but it's just bike stuff. Sometimes they have really nice shorts for $20-40.

I like the InMotion shorts a lot, and sometimes you can find them cheap at Sierrra Trading Post.

[Crazy Stares]

Haaaaahahahaha. I am playing a game with my uni called "How many things can go wrong before I go into the garage to grab the toolbox and can't find what I need to fix it", and I just lost! The left crank is now loose, and it has a hexagon thing that doesn't fit the size of any of my tools. I can't just use pliers because it has a circular rim around the hexagon. I wish I had played that cube game where you fit the shapes into their respective holes more as a kid. =\

Is there a universally-known size for this bolt or what I would need to tighten it so I don't have to do any guesswork of the size? Sorry, the picture is hard to see, but I assure you the black part is a hexagon.



Also, I ordered some good shorts. So hopefully the seat will be less of a problem. Even less so when I get a job come fall and can afford even more stuff.

[OrganicSteam]

The pic's is very hard to see. I can't seem to make it out.

[Crazy Stares]

Okay. I don't actually have a camera. I have a camera on my phone, a handheld video recorder that I can use to get crappy pictures, and I have a webcam. Here are some attempts at super-high resolution awkward webcam angle pictures, which now that I look at them seem just as bad as the first one.

[4umfreak]

This was easier than trying them all?

[Crazy Stares]

I have to buy a new thing for this, of course I already tried everything in my toolbox. e_e

[mikepenton]

If the left crank is loose then it may be on the wrong side of the unicycle... when sitting on the unicycle, the crank and/or pedal on the left should have "L" stamped on them somewhere. It'll be "R" if it's the wrong way round, which will be your problem.

[Crazy Stares]

I checked, everything's going in the right direction.

Anyways, turns out there was a box with every size socket wrench imaginable in it, so I still haven't lost the "Can I find what I need in the garage" game. I tightened it, and hopefully no more problems will arise.

[Crazy Stares]

Okay, the crank continues to come loose. I recently came back from a trip, my stepdad told me he had tightened everything on it while I was gone so there shouldn't be any problems. I thought that it might have something to do with my freemounting, which I do my putting the left pedal at 6 o'clock, but when I went out tonight, I could feel it was loose after just one free-mount and a distance of 1/4 of a block. No way it's my uni habits doing it after 30 seconds of riding.

Nothing is loose when I tighten it, and I REALLY TRY to tighten it as much as possible, but as soon as I mount and ride a bit I can feel the pedal sliding around, then I go back down and feel it and it's loose again.

Any ideas what could be wrong?

Also, I got my shorts today. Much better, even on my crummy saddle. I can only imagine what it will be like with the shorts AND a better saddle.

[nimblelight]

There could be something wrong with the taper--or it's a crank-loosening fairy.
I'd have to take a look at it to be sure.

Are you certain you're tightening it enough? I actually bend my hex wrench a bit when I tighten my crank bolts. Make sure that the crank is actually on the taper and doesn't hit any obstructions. The axle should wedge into the hole very well.


If you ride with a crank loose you're going to wreck the crank and maybe the hub as well. Don't do it.

[4umfreak]

At this point I'd bet either the crank or the taper is damaged. While it's not completely recommended, I think it's time to use a hammer and a bit of wood (to protect the crank) and bash it in place followed by a re-torque of the crank nuts. I've used this method before and found it to be very effective.

[Mikefule]

If your tyre goes down noticeably during a ride, it's either a puncture or a valve fault.

Repairing a puncture is something kids used to learn at age 7, or thereabouts, but these days I've heard that bike shops do it for slightly more than the cost of a new tube.

You will notice that Lance Armstrong and Chris Hoy do not use air seats, and they ride farther and harder than most of us. I know the seating position is different, but the principle is the same: a slim smooth saddle that supports in the right places and doesn't chafe is the best.

There is no substitute for saddle time for getting used to the pain.

My longest ever ride (distance immaterial, it was 7 or 8 hours of mainly flat roads and paths) was on an unmodified Miyata saddle. I found it most comfortable with Lycra shorts next to the skin, and nothing over the top of them.

As for the crank thing, it needs to be taken off, cleaned and put on carefully. Then tighten it again after a five minute ride.

[Crazy Stares]

Well, the crank isn't coming loose anymore. I unleashed all hell pent up in my arm to tighten it as much as possible, and it's been satisfactory ever since. I'm glad, I'm getting sick of having to repair or replace parts for this $60 wheel on a stick.

I probably won't be able to start dishing out for some good things until winter or spring, after I've gotten a job away at college and managed to rake in some dough. Until then, I've gotta make due with what I have, which finally seems to be stabilizing. The saddle is manageable with the biking shorts, though their performance seemed to drop significantly after the first use, I'm not sure if this is normal. The saddle isn't sliding around very much, I could use to straighten it out, but right now it's not moving and not in a bad position. The crank is staying tight, the tire isn't losing air, and I've only spontaneously combusted twice in the past week, which is a big improvement since when I first started.

I really appreciate all of the help guys.