Just visited unicycle.uk.com and saw that they had this: -
IRC Notos XC 2.1 29" Tyre
http://www.unicycle.uk.com/shop/shopdisplayproduct.asp?catalogid=496
I’m thinking of getting it for my nimbus 28" and wondered if any of you had tried it and how good it is?
Was also wondering for those of you who ride 29"-ers, are you using 150 or 125 cranks?
Dave,
I usually ride a 24x3 Muni. Lately I’ve spent more time on my 28" with 150’s. I have a set of 140’s that I’ll probably be switching back to shortly now that I’m a little more comfortable on the taller wheel. Keep me posted about that tire. I tried some light trail riding on the stock 28" tire and I really like the way the 28" rides offroad. I’m looking for a reasonably priced 29" tire that can handle some real trail-riding
29ers
I know that in Toronto Bedford Unicycles sells 700c’s (which are 28") and most people use 4" cranks. It will really increase your speed but beware you have alot less leverage which means it’s hard to stop. One member of the club put on brakes but he learned the hard way that if you stop a unicycle it will throw you off, so he put on special brake pads that just slowed you down.
I’ve ridden a Notos tire on a gym floor, so I can’t comment on how it rides off road. It looks like a good tire though. I have a Nanoratpor tire on my 29er.
I’ve been using 125mm cranks on my 29er since February. It’s pretty quick, but I can still idle with it. I’ve been doing a lot of muni with it this summer and it’s great for smooth trails. I’ve taken it on some challenging technical trails too, and the 125 cranks work well there, but you don’t have as much leverage to get through ruts and rocks. You need to keep your speed up more.
I tried some 140mm cranks last week. WOW, what a difference! More power and control. They should work better for rocky, rutty trails.
However, they felt way too slow for me, so I switched back to the 125’s that I’m used to.
Mojoe
I used to ride a notos xc for on and grassy offroad. if your used to a nano raptor, prepare to be lightened. it’s amazing how much lighter the notos is. On road it rides smooth, without feeling the nobb’s too much, and off road it has enough bite not to slip in most situations. I also run 5 and a half inch cranks, but Im unsure of what that translates to in metric.
It’s good in summer, not so good in muddy conditions. Doesn’t fit in a nimbus 1 frame.
Basically it’s a very cross country tyre, made for riding fast in dryish conditions. It’s great on anything without >6 inch drops until the going gets so steep you can’t control it. It weighs nothing, so you can turn really quickly and it climbs nicely.
It’d be great for longer rides on the hills near you. Bung 125 cranks on and ride some of those long descents at ridiculous miles per hour. You want 125 cranks, the wheel is so much lighter than a gazz that you can control it okay with them.
Basically, it’s muchos fun because you can go so fast, you want one if you’ve got a frame that can fit it. 29er Muni is a different thing to 24x3, in a way it’s more like riding a bike.
Joe
all this two-niner talk is driving me nuts since mine is almost complete but still unridable.
any way,i went with the WTB Moto-Rapter tyre mostly because i got it new for only $11.95 (sombody priced it wrong)
i would have got the Noto’s because it has the Kevlar bead but the WTB is the one with the more agressive tread.
Kenda also makes a hardcore looking 29er tyre but it is the heavest one of the lot.
Re: 29" tyre
On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 12:33:47 -0500, onewheeldave
<onewheeldave.rafda@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>Was also wondering for those of you who ride 29"-ers, are you using 150
>or 125 cranks?
When I got my 29’er, I was mostly used to my 24 x 3" MUni with 170 mm
cranks. So I started with 150 mm cranks on the 29’er to ease the
transition. Gradually moved my way down, currently at 110 mm and will
go down further to find the sweet spot. Short cranks require some
getting used to.
The best crank length for a 29’er (or for any uni) depends on what you
want to do with it. But unless you have a lot of steepish inclines to
ride, 150 mm cranks are too long to have much fun.
“the helmet is to protect the brain, not replace it. - iunicycle”
The Notos is a pretty good tire as long as it’s pumped up to 45 or 50 psi. At lower pressures, like 35 psi, I’ve noticed road crown sensitivity - hard to keep it going straight.
My Notos has worn quite a bit but I only noticed the wear after seeing a set of Notos tires on a new mountain bike. It still has plenty of tread left.
If you’re going to ride on the pavement or dry dirt I recommend the Schwalbe Big Apple. It’s big, smooth and quiet.
Tonight I road for a few miles on a new 29 inch WTB Moto-Raptor and was impressed. It went straight as an arrow and was pretty smooth and quiet considering the agressive tread (see Jagur’s link to the Moto-Raptor). I had it pumped to 50 psi.
You can’t go wrong with the Notos. I originally bought mine because of the kevlar bead and light weight. Just pump it up to 50 psi on the pavement to keep it going straight.
As for crank length, Currently I’m using 140mm cranks on my 29’er but I’ve had 125’s on it too. I would still be using the 125’s but my right heel hit the crank on every revolution so I changed to 140’s that have more offset.
Someday I’ll get a pair of 125’s with more offset but for now the 140’s work well.
Steve Howard
Have you tried the big apple on any dirt jumps or dual slalom courses, I love the way the notos rails round bermed corners really well and rolls up jumps and I reckon a big fat slick could be really good.
As for hitting the cranks, have you tried using wider pedals, I find it much easier to ride with quite wide platform pedals than with anything narrower.
Joe
Big Apple
BTW
In the UK you can order a Big Apple 28x2.35 or 2.00 via your lbs, get them to phone fisher outdoor who will order them specially. I have the tyre but the lbs lost the inner tube so I have to wait for another. RRP for the tyre is £19.99
bfn,
Calvin.