Hey guys and gals,
I just got my new Thumper Qu-Ax hub and took it down to my lbs to get my wheel rebuilt. The guy said it would cost a bit more because he had to get different length spokes. So now I have to go the whole weekend without a uni, again.
I also got it with 170mm cranks because the supplier didn’t have anything shorter in stock.
Any imput? Has anyone else built a wheel with 36 spokes on a 48 spoke hub?
Also, has anyone built a trials uni with 170mm cranks?
Hey kevin,
170mm cranks are gonna be uber big so turning corners is going to be a challenge. You will be able to go up pretty steep hills though!
Yeah 36 hole rims have been laced to 48 hole hubs before without too much difficulty.
Dud you get the hub from unicycle.au.com?
Cheers,
Max
I got it from www.municycle.com.au. It’s cheaper than UDC.
I never thought about the whole “turning” thing before but yeah, it would be hard. Is there anything else the 170mm cranks would help/hinder?
It will give you more torque than shorter cranks, and you will have more control and stability when rail riding, landing drops etc.
On the downside you will not be able to ride as quickly or as smoothly as someone with shorter cranks. Also they will hit the ground lots.
Are you coming to the museum ride on sunday?
See ya,
Max
Yeah I’m coming but I won’t have a uni, so I’ll have to scab one off somebody.
You are going to be very very slow and it will feel impossible to get anywhere. Turning will cause pedal strikes often and your riding may be jerky from too much torque. You should really try to get some cranks in the 125-140 range.
Geeze, thats almost having 7inch cranks!
Goodlook turning on anything sharp or leaning in too much. Torque is gonna be pretty huge specially being on a trials.
I would change the size to something smaller, I always found 5 inches to be good enough.
I couldn’t get any shorter cranks. The supplier only had 170’s so I’ve gotto wait a few months 'til they get shorter ones.
Oh, I see. Have fun with them though, they should prove for some interesting rides.
One thing ive noticed is that londer cranks characteristically bend easier than the short ones…That being said theres still no reason you wont be able to to 5+ft drops wothout to much hassle. And the 36h rim to 48h hub, i havent personally done it but i have seen it done at my LBS.
The cranks are 7 inches long, plus about 1/2 an inch at the end so that the pedals can screw in. The wheel has a radius of 10 inches. That means the end of the cranks will be 2.5" above the ground. It’ll mean no riding across sloped surfaces, and you’ll only be able to turn corners when the pedals are the right way round. You’ll have to be careful about riding too close to kerbs (curbs) or the bottom of stairs.
It’ll also mean most natural riding is out, even on a 24x3" 170mm cranks are annoying because you hit them on rocks, and that’s got an extra 3 or so inches of clearance.
On the plus side, it’ll be really easy to go from pedal grab to rubber with just a tiny little hop up.
Can’t you get the KH hub there? Surely the cost of Qu-ax plus two sets of cranks is going to be more than buying a kh hub + a single set of cranks? Plus you wouldn’t need to do a dodgy wheel build then.
Joe
is this 48 spoke hub on a 36 spoke rim going to make it weaker?
There are KH hubs here but they’re about $100 more than the Qu-Ax, and seeing as it was about half of my birthday present, I didn’t want to spend too much on it.
I disagree with this. I ride 24x3 with 170s for everything. Trials/street/muni. I do not have problems with pedal strikes anymore than anyone else would. I might consider 165’s or 160’s for muni just because of the slight speed/smoothness increase however i like the 170s for leverage in trials, technical muni, and uphill riding. So 170s it will stay.
One more thing. Up until now i did NOT think it was possible to lace a 36h rim to 48h hub. If any of you guys could take a picture, id greatly appreciate it. 
Just one question, what is the “thumper” quax hub? Is this just the yellow splined hub?