Im looking at getting a 36" uni, planning on riding long distances on it and would like a brake. Im wondering what is available and what the advantages/disadvantages are of different models, its been a number of years since anyones asked about this and i figure things have probably changed a bit in the meantime
To my knowledge these are the current options: Nimbus oracle: reliable, reasonable weight, reasonable price KH 36: reliable, different rotor mounting scheme, special cranks, slightly more expensive than oracle Auax: lightest uni on the market, different crank standard Nimbus nightfox: fits shorter people (im 5â11" so i dont think would be better than the oracle for me Udc titan: cheap good for beginner, no brake option.
Additionally what are the handlebar options and what do people think of them? I know of: KH bars: comfy and customizable, not the most durable
*Nightfox built in bars?: no ability to adjust
Additinally would you guys consider buying an older 36âer or have things improved a lot? (Ex i know the 29" nimbus munis have upgraded to much better brake caliper mounts and bigger tire clearance in recent years)
I appreciate any input! I definetly feel like i need to do alot of research sonce 36âers start getting pretty expensive
I own a Nimbus Oracle, and I donât see myself upgrading any time soon Now Iâd really like to try the KH36 and the QU-AX 36er, though the Nimbus works great for me. You probably wonât go wrong going with that selection.
In terms of crank interfaces, Iâll probably stick with ISIS for my future unis. Maybe once I have more disposable income Iâd like to try the proprietary crank interfaces from KH, QU-AX, etc. but ISIS will have a great variety of cranks to choose from.
I was considering the UDC Titan, though itâs probably better that I went for a 36er with a brake instead. Thatâs a lot of âwheelâ to push around, so I find having a brake to work wonders for comfort.
The Nimbus Shadow handle is the only one I have experience with, but it works great for me. As youâll see on the forum thereâs many different configurations possible both out-of-the-box and custom made.
FYI, KH and Qu-ax now use the same hub/cranks interface - Qaxle. KH unis now have their brake rotor directly mounted onto the hub, as all the other manufacturers do.
Regarding the components themselves:
The Nimbus unis have heavy rims (~1133 g), whereas KH and Qu-ax unis have 180g-lighter rims. Saving so much weight on the outer of the wheel is really important.
The tire choice is basically Nimbus NightRider Lite vs Qu-ax King George Ultimate. Both have their adept, so itâll depend on you.
The Qu-ax frame takes a 31.8 mm seat post, whereas the KH frame takes a 27.2 mm seat post and the Nimbus frames take a 25.4 mm seat post. Depending on what you already have, you may be tempted to keep the same seat post diameter.
It seems that people usually prefer KH and Qu-ax saddles over Nimbus saddle, but thatâs again a personal choice.
Regarding the handlebars, you basically have 2 options - the other ones being usually not appreciated as much:
The KH t-bar: as youâve stated, it is not the most durable, but its bar ends can be easily replaced. Plenty of brands produce similar bar ends that could fit onto the bar.
The Mad4One HandleSaddle/URSLI bar: I have never liked it for road riding, but some people do like it.
Regarding buying an old 36er: it depends on what youâd like to do with it. Old 36ers are really heavy. This may be not an issue for flat and straight rides, but thatâd become one if you think youâll want to turn a lot, ride uphill or accelerate and decelerate a lot.
The latest KH models use the same rotor mounting scheme (in-board on hub) and cranks (Q-axle micro splined) as the QU-AX brand. KH discontinued the Spirit line of ISIS cranks where the rotor mounted to the right-hand crank arm. All new KH unis have the rotor mounted to the hub.
The other thing I would take into consideration is the bearing spacing,
100mm or 125mm center to centre.
I have had both and I prefer the 125mm hub, especially if you are going to have a disc/rotor within in the frame, on the left hand side.
With 125mm spacing it builds a stronger wheel with the brake rotor within the frame. With a 100mm spacing and the disc rotor within the frame builds a weaker wheel and the angle of the spokes is out of standard.
The old style KH frames with the disc rotor mounted externally on the right hand side builds a stronger wheel, but you are limited to KH spirit cranks, which I believe KH do not make this anymore
So if it was me looking to buy a 36" I would go for the Oracle personally
Hehe, just the other way round for me. For some reason Iâm perfectly fine with 125mm on my muni, but not on the 36er. Will try and sell my Oracle to build a 36er with 100mm bearing spacing. Unfortunately the OP lives on the other side of the pond, thus is not likely to be interested in my Oracle.
There is also a Mad4One 36er which comes as standard with a carbon rim, obviously this ends up making it a reasonably expensive option. It is basically customisable to what you want colour and Mad4One component-wise so you can get something fairly unique.
Iâve deliberately not mentioned this one. IMHO, it is way over-priced. If you want a carbon rim, just buy one from LightBicycle and the uni would cost you at least 1/3 less!
Yes I agree that it is really quite expensive, but if you want something carbon âout of the boxâ and donât want to go and build your own wheel etc it is perhaps an option â and in the future when someone else is maybe looking for 36" options at least it is documented that it existedâŚ
Wow, thanks everyone! This is all so very helpful!
@Maxence
When people say the KH bars arenât durable is it just the bar ends/grips, or is it the actual metal breaking from use?
So people generally doen like the nimbus shadow bars? Just because you canât adjust the angle at all?
@Wheelou
That is too bad! Thereâs really not that many 36ers out there on the used market!
@DrD agreed, the mad4one uni definetly isnât for me, but it makes sense for me to do a round up of everything so others can see all their options in one place
Mostly the bar ends, but the metal part has a weak spot and sometimes breaks. I have not seen it, but Iâve had multiple reports of such events.
I canât say for sure as I donât know lots of people who have this bar. But being unable to adjust the angle is pretty bad, as it may not fit your morphology at all. On the other hand, maybe it would work for you
Just a heads up a bmx rim break can easily be mounted to the UDC titan. I mounted them on my UDC 29 and 32. The UDC unicycles are quite capable road unicycles at reasonable price.
Bigger disc equals more power (as does a dual piston brake) and less heating and fading on longer descents.
For road riding without steep descents, the 160mm should be fine.
For Muni or any riding with steeper or longer descents, the larger disc is just way nicer. I initially had a 160 single piston disc on my 36 Oracle and during the Muni XC Expert race for German Nationals around 2017 my hand was burning almost the whole last descent and a few moments I was a bit scared for my life that I wouldnât be able to reduce and check my speed and fly out the corners. I upgraded to a 203mm disc with dual piston (Shimano Zee).
But the upgrade is pretty inexpensive (disc+adapter) and if you buy new, then most retailers will credit most of the cost.
So donât choose the uni for the disc size, but evaluate the larger disc as around $40-50 more worth.
Now Iâd really like to try the KH36 and the QU-AX 36er, though the Nimbus works great for me. You probably wonât go wrong going with that selection.
