That the bike is being sold at Walmart, for $199. To me, that says a lot.
Ha ha! Except if that stuff actually worked, you might see it for sale accompanied by some actual medial studies that prove it works. Snake oil is alive and well!
A good question. Are there other bikes using this size? Or is the maker of this bike just throwing it out there to see if people buy it? Today’s 36" spec came from Coker tire, who decided to “throw out” an inexpensive unicycle and see what happened. I like what happened there…
I don’t think a constant # of inches spread is logical for wheel sizes. It should be based on proportion. The larger you get, the less of a difference is made by those 4" increments. I don’t think the gap between 29" and 36" is as important as what it would be like to ride a 36" wheel that was actually lightweight!
I have a 12" unicycle custom built by Tommy Miller. It uses one of the wheels from a high-end (well made) children’s bike that cost $100 at the time (1984). That uni still works, though tiny wheels are a lot harder to kill.
I doubt it. Check out the bike parts selection at your local store. If it were a bike shop, I’d have that expectation, but not Walmart. My guess is that, at the moment, all that’s available are whole bikes. If that wheel size is to catch on, it will probably need to be produced on some higher-end bikes to catch the attention of the cyclist crowd.
48 spokes is totally fine if you can find a hub that fits into your current frame. Coker, QuAx etc.
They probably don’t, like john said. But i don’t think it matters. 29" tubes should be no problem if they can get them on 36" rims. And the tires are part of that $100 and also aren’t as likely to go as the tube.
I would totally go get one if I were back in the US yet. My friend and I have cokers, so there wouldn’t be any hacking to do, just buy another coker hub. We also don’t have any 29ers so for 100$ it would be a nice way to try another size with the same set-up.
That initially seems intuitively true. And yet…the difference in feel and ridability between a 29" and 36" is far greater than between a 24 and 26", or, a 26" and 29".
I’d say, in terms of feel and ridability, the absence of a size between 29" and 36" is a glaring gap in the sequence, a gap for which a 32" wheel would seem to be an ideal ‘filler’.
BTW, for you builders out there, I do have a Coker V2 frame just sitting in my garage. It supposedly weighs about the same as a Nimbus (skinny tube) 36" frame. But it needs the bearing caps.
This response takes our ‘disposable society’ to a whole other level. Tires wear out and go flat, it’s part of what bicycles do best. To sell the bike without carrying replacement tires and tubes is irresponsible.
You don’t need replacement tubes for when you get a flat (that in itself is disposable society), and I doubt many of those will do enough miles to wear the tyres out.
I don’t understand why everyone is so concerned about replacing the tubes on the bikes in case of a flat… people put 29" tubes in 36" unis all the time. A 29" tube could easily fit into a 32" wheel. I’d be more concerned about replacing the tire when the time came.
Well this seems a bit pessimistic, but maybe. Yeah is the Oregon Hub necessary?
I don’t know much about building wheels, are the spokes for SURE not going to work at all?
Have you seen the bike in person? Are the rims and tires “Junk”? Maybe they are ok.
Are you that intense of a rider that you would destroy it right away??
I mean we cant complain 48 spokes is too much, then assume it’s just going to fall apart right away.
I don’t blame you for not wanting to try it, if it’s not worth it to you though. I just wanted to see if someone would, too see how it goes. I wouldn’t mind having a second size wheel to throw in my Coker when I get back, if it’s not too tricky.
Not pessimistic, more liek realistic. It’s a Walmart bike made by Kent, the material quality will be poor, how can it not be?
For my use and size, it needs to be durable, esp with a sizable investment.
I run a wide frame, so only a 125mm hub will work, hence the Oregon hub; only other choice is an alloy spindled hub which is too soft for my use.
If I was made of money you would see me posting a review
I may still do it as I have a plan to build a 29er wheel for my Oregon, so the hub could serve double duty with only my time as an issue on the build. I’d gladly split the bike with someone
What I need to do is see if my local Walmart has one in stock, just so I can see if it’s worth doing.
Glad to see you finally did it! When I got back to the US, they didn’t have any to look at at my walmart. But it seems like it wasn’t such a bad idea afterall.
Yes, I’ve been using a 29" tube for almost 2 years. It makes a big difference in weight and cost. You need to be very careful not to pinch the tube between the tire and rim when mounting the tire.
