I received a PM inquiring about my experience with the Huni-rex so I decided to write the long missing review for it. I paste here the reply I wrote…
I was looking for a road uni which could ride fast as a bike and store in my car… Huni-rex did it.
Pros:
- Low pedals mean you don’t need to jump or step over the saddle when free mounting… I “slide” on it (less tiring)
- You won’t fall from high when UPD (my highest uni is a 29er with 3" tire) and won’t hurt that bad
- High gear means you won’t need to pedal fast when turning: I can turn smooth small circles (my 29er slow circles are still a mix of sharp segments of pedal strokes) even at low speed
- You can transport it as a 26" and is faster than a 36"
- Very cheap compared to the Schlumpf
- Could be the easiest uni to become electric pedal assisted
Cons:
- You’ll need to mod it to solve the famous pedal stroke issue when turning with small radius… (I did change the rim, changed the tire, removed rim brake mounts, removed 1/2 inch alu to fit a 3.5" road tire). You could also shortened the chains to get the same result (I did’t know the trick)
- You’ll move fast but you won’t get over small obstacles as a bigger wheel (the plus tire could help a bit but won’t ever be like a 32" or 36")
- It feels heavy compared to my 29+" wheel (I did’t wheight it)
- You’ll need to mod it to use a disc brake (a magura could fit easily). However you’ll need a brake to make an almost sudden stop (your legs will have a hard time tring to stop from a fast ride of your 39" virtual wheel with 125 cranks)!
- You must mod it to fix the hub using the Youtube tutorial: in 6 months I did damaged the alu ring stopping the hub causing a little chain slide when changing fron accelerating or slowing and I discover by myself how to fix it gluing the side rings. However also the side rings suffer from high forces applied to them: i used jb welding before it could became a serious issue. After welding or gluing it you won’t lace the wheel anymore: choose a rim that you won’t change.
- You won’t climb any hill with high gear and 125 cranks
- Truing the wheel, settimg the chains’s tension properly or change tire requires to deal with the chains, the hub, the nuts and so on: it is really annoying everytime
Side notes:
I’m not sure it use a 25.4 seatpost… I think it is a 27.2 one
It has a motorcycle Q-factor (I feel it different from my KH, but it is not worse or better, it feels only different)
Don’t buy it if you don’t like modding or if you dislike caring your uni… choose a normal 36" if you prefer a uni which requires no care except being ridden!
Happy new year!