I think he’s talking about road (distance) riding in a mountainous area.
In that case, people like Nathan Hoover, John Stone, and others who do the various European unicycle tours would give the best advice.
But are they “practical” for muni, especially the more “trialsy”, rocky type trails? Big drops, gapping, hopping, etc, or are you thinking more “rolling” type muni? Do you think, in time, that the 36" size will overtake the stadard 24/26 in popularity for muni? I have a coker, but it’s the basic one, so the rim would fold really easily on even short drops.
Well, with the latest advances (widened hub, airfoil rim, s-steel spokes, Stockton build, 29er tube, Wallis saddle/handle, Hunter frame), a 36" MUni is the same weight as an older 24" MUni. Couple that with trials-quality cranks and excellent pedals, and you’re talking about rolling log piles (see Brian’s footage), easily doing big drops, whipping through stuff you had to work through on your 24". That’s practical. Whether it will become the “standard” MUni – I kinda doubt it, because it’s slightly heavier (coupla pounds) than the equivalently-advanced 24".
It’s really an individual preference. This is a new situation; only about 4 years ago the conventional wisdom was: 20" is for trials only, 24" is for MUni, 26" is too weak for technical MUni but ok for X-C, 29" is too weak for technical MUni but ok for X-C, and Cokers were too weak for anything but road riding by light persons.
Now the wisdom is: Select your size based on your preference and riding goals, since all five are available in versions that are tough enough for just about anything. {The jury is still out on 29ers, though; neither I nor anyone else has seriously gone after that size for huge stuff; though Jag has done some, and I know that Ben’s done some great off-road with a 29er I built for him, including some 2’ drops at a skate park (vid available), the Lifestyles race, and the Mt. Washington Hill Climb (vid available)}
I’m not saying that stock versions of those sizes are tough enough. Even matching component lists does not guarantee that a uni is tough; the build is equally important. Just because Joe Schmo has the same recipe and ingredients as Master Chef XYZ doesn’t mean his omelette will taste as good!
terry click the strongest coker wheel link in u-turns sig…you will see what a well built coker wheel can really take.
Cokers are great for fast, non-techincal MUni. If you have a lightweight wheel- there’s an amazing amount of terrain that can be covered. I’ve done several 100km+ Mountainbike races and there is no way I would have done these on a smaller wheel- it would have taken forever.
The best upgrade for an offroad Coker is a tubelss tyre and an airfoil rim 
Back to topic, please. The Iron Horse is a road race, pedalers versus a train. It isn’t offroad muni…it’s all pavement over big Colorado passes. I believe that Aspenmike is the only person that has ridden it start to finish. You should PM him if he doesn’t jump on this thread.
I did a quick search and found this thread on last year’s event. Mike did a super-detailed write-up of his ride experience last year.
Good luck Tom…it sounds like a great event. Maybe you and Mike will double down on the uni finishers this year.
It just seems to me that because of the super large wheel and added weight, pedalling uphill would be much harder, and of course, brakes would be a must, but usesless in steep DH rocky terrain. Cokers are hard to stop at higher speeds; at least quickly, if you either don’t have, or can’t use the brakes. Plus there is significantly less Maneuverability than a 24. But still sounds like it would be fun, at least as a novelty.
They’re fantabulous for cross country, not very technical MUni, but not for natural trials, which is what you’re talking about I think.
So anyway…long cranks are good for coker MUni. How long depends on how heavy your wheelset is, and how strong your legs are. I have the airfoil wheelset, so I have 150mm cranks, which work well for hills.
150’s? The average muni, at least the KH 24 freeride has 165’s, and that’s on a 24! So 150’s on a 36" wheel would be like that same kh with 110’s, or even shorter, which doesn’t seem very eficient or practical for muni, unless your on flat ground most of the time. To get comparable “torque” capability for the coker, wouldn’t you need a much LONGER crank, say at least 180s? Just curious.
I don’t know much about a real 24" MUni, since I’ve never ridden one…but I find that with a regular coker rim, since its so heavy, you need about 170mm cranks, but with the airfoil, 150mm are fine…could just be me though…
YOur coker is still a couple pounds heavier than a modern kh 24, and yet your cranks are significantly shorter than the 24. Yes, you can surly go faster, but I can’t see how climbing and stopping (without brakes) would be as easy as a 24 with 165’s.
Iron Horse
Tom,
I’ll see you there. Look for me on a blue KH29XC with a Big Apple.
My plans are less ambitious than yours–my goal this year is Hermosa.
Best of luck as you prepare. I’ll be rooting for you.
Carey
Cokering off-road isn’t about doing things the easy way.
I think cokering uphill is almost easier than a Muni, BECAUSE it’s bigger. I use 125s for around campus, with various short hills, and they’re fine. You can’t really understand it if you haven’t done it before. It’s the same as how someone who’s never ridden a unicycle before doesn’t understand what it’s like.
Yep, because the wheel is so big and heavy, it practically keeps itself going up hills, since its harder to stop. So if you can get going before you reach the hill, you can use your momentum to keep going.
Neither is Muni-ing on a 24! Try 5’ drops and hopping and gapping on hardcore rocky/hilly terrain on a coker. I’d love to see that, serioulsy that would be awasome to see! PLease do it asap then post a video. That stuff IS hard enough on a 24, at least for me. I don’t think KH does muni on his 24" the “easy way”.
Are we talking about general riding or racing here? If we’re talking racing then a Coker or a 29’er would be ideal depending on the terrain. 24" would be way too slow.
If something is so steep it can’t be ridden up on a Coker, then it’s quicker to get off and run.
You don’t need brakes on a Coker either. Again- if something is so steep/technical as to need brakes, you can almost always go faster by running. I’ve run past many MTBkers on Downhills whilst they gingerly squeeze their brakes to negotiate a techincal section. I don’t find brakes very useful at all on 24"- for any sort of riding. You have so much leverage anyway, why would you need brakes?
Do you have a point?
Well, you’ve all sold me! I’m gonna put my 24" in moth balls and do all my Muni on my coker from now on! I guess now all we have to do is convince the VAST majority of other muni-ers to make the switch to 36 as well!
Of course I realize that you’re not trying to “convince” anybody, as I’m just being Facetious. HA! 
I think your question has been answered, am I correct? Look at the course, choose your club, take a swing, have a good time.
I personally don’t own a 24" (just sold a prototype that I never rode), but use my 26" a lot. I’m an intermediate rider, in my estimation, and figure that the wheel diameter is not my current limitation. I’ve also spent a reasonable amount of time off-road on a 36", same story.
It should be obvious that each of the wheel sizes would have its own unique set of characteristics based on: weight, size, and available rims, hubs, and rubber. Those characteristics interact with the characteristics of the terrain and of the rider’s skill and riding goals.
If the rider’s goal is to gap the biggest gap, then probably the 36" is not the right tool. Most riding, though, is a ever-changing mix of many types of riding. If a rider is willing to ride miles at the mercy of a 20" so that he can do a 10% bigger gap than the next guy, then that’s up to him; it fits his definition of a successful ride.
Tiger Woods putts with a putter, no? But I bet he could putt better with any club in the bag than most of us could with a putter.
Part of my Coker wheel tests involved guys doing picnic tables, stairs, and loading docks with my first 36" (at NAUCC 2003). It was pretty amazing, and definitely surprising. I was hobbling around on a sprained ankle from trying to hop over a couple of logs with the 26".