Got my Semcycle Longneck frame!

[UniTyler]

Welp, it came! Although it does have a small scratch/dent thingie that must have been caused somewhere in shipping, it still makes standup wheelwalk a dream. I know that Evan Byrne stated it would be the same as my Nimbus frame, but alas it's not. It's both about 1.5 inches wider at the crown and much lower to the tire. It's boootifully awsome and sooo cool looking! The only problem is that when I got it it was way to thin to fit on my hub, but all I had to do was get out the ol' mallet and whack it onto the bearings a bit. Now it is on okay and rides great and smooth. You can take a look at the pix below, but my eyes tell me that the frame is offcenter just a bit. Do you notice that or are my eyes decieving me?

[Catboy]

The picture does make it look off center, make sure that all the bearing bolts are evenl tightened, and it should fix and frame lean.

[UniTyler]

Okay, I measured both sides from the side of the tire to the inside edge of the frame to see if one was bigger than the other. Sure enough, one side was 5/8" and the other side was 3/8" inch! I tried loostening and tightening the different sides and nothing helped. I took the frame off and spread it a little bit in my vise and that didn't help either. Do you think the frame is defective or what can I do to help? Please reply quick as I have to use it a lot this Wednesday at little local unicycle club meet. Thanks!

[leo]

This looks like a semcycle frame that was ordered trough unicycle.com and so NOT asembled with Semcycle parts.

To solute your problem, 1st find out what the problem is.
- is your right crank is sitting on the right site?
- Is your frame bend?
- Is your wheel not straight?
- Are the bearings sitting well in those clamps? Open up and check how it looks.

you could respectively
- twist the wheel
- bend the frame back, or rather ask for another
- fix the wheel, or if that's beyond your capabilities: ask for another or a repair
- clean the bearing-holders, or eventually put something -like a strip of plastic- in the one sitting on the frame, to get it straight.

[leeman180]

Here's what I would do: If the frame is on facing forwards, take it off and turn it so it is facing backwards. Then measure the same thing you measured before (distance from tire to fork) and if the same side is still wider than the other, you know it is not the frame that is tweaked, but your bearing holders, or maybe your wheel.

Does that make sense to you?

[UniTyler]

Here's a little update. After just leaving the frame on the cycle, I think it's slowly starting to adjust to it and it has gotten about 1/16 of an inch closer to perfection. I think if it's not better in the morning, I'll take the frame off and try bending out the side that look a tad straighter than the other.

[jagur]

sent it back, that dent isnt tragic but its rediculas that its there at all. dont blame that on the shipper either, blame it on the packer.

[john_childs]

Unicycle.com UK has a FAQ on how to bend a typical Taiwan frame to fit a different width hub.
Frame bending and straightening FAQ

Not all hubs have the same bearing width. The frames built like the Sem XL Long Neck and the Yuni and other similar frames can be bent so they fit a different hub than they were designed to use. Bending the frame legs as in the FAQ will allow you to get the wheel perfectly centered. If you don't want to do it you can take it to your favorite local bike shop and they can do it. Find a bike shop that has experience fixing bent bike forks. That frame will be an easy job for them. You can print out those directions from the FAQ but a bike shop that has experience fixing bent bike forks will already know what to do.

And just to CMA, don't anyone try bending an aluminum frame like the Onza or the new KH. That's one thing that you can't do with an aluminum frame.

[Mojoe]

Originally posted by jagur
sent it back, blame it on the packer.

word...

[UniTyler]

John Childs you are now my hero.

[Catboy]

Originally posted by UniTyler
John Childs you are now my hero.

Did that fix the problem? I'm gonna assume it did, but if it didn't, be patient and send it back, it's better to have a strigght undented frame in a week or so, than a scratched bent one.

[UniTyler]

Well, I gave it to the LBS and they said they'd fix the bending. I don't really care about that tiny scratch just because it'll probably get beat up a lot more after a few months of hard use and I don't wanna wait another week! Hopefully they'll fix it!!!! They said it'd be done this afternoon or evening. POTATOE!!!!

[UniTyler]

I got it back and he straightened it out a lot! It's not perfect, but a bunch better. He also said that I could bring it back in a week after he's done fixing a bunch of bikes and he could true the wheel and also work on the frame a bit more. Is there any way I could true the wheel myself? How?

[James_Potter]

Originally posted by UniTyler
Is there any way I could true the wheel myself? How?

You need a spoke wrench, and a truing stand helps a bunch...you can do it without a truing stand, but I'd recommend one.
Now, as for how you do it, don't ask me I haven't done it much. Ask this guy....

"James_Potter" <James_Potter@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> writes:

> a truing stand helps a -bunch-...you can do it without a truing
> stand, but I'd recommend one.

I've been under the impression that uni hubs don't fit stock truing
stands. That is, square taper hubs won't clamp and turn in my Park
stand. The bearing is too big and the square taper prevents turning.
Are there stock stands that fit unicycle wheels?

In any case, a piece of sticky tape on the frame works well for truing
unicycle wheels. I use a dial gauge clamped to the frame for
finishing, but it isn't really necessary. Even spoke tension is more
important than perfect (module the seam on the rim) true.

Ken