Ok, I am almost ready to click the “buy” button, but thought I would get some feedback here first.
Here is the uni I am considering.
This is at the top of my price range right now.
Anyone here have any experience with this uni, or any thoughts on its merits or liabilities.
My current uni, which is also my first, is a schwinn 24". Just so you know where I am coming from.
that unicycle is rock solid.
It can be adapted for xc/muni easily by swapping cranks and tyre and can be fitted up for either rim or disc brakes (KH cranks and a d’brake).
The only downsides are the saddle and the cranks. Saddle choice is a personal preference thing but most people here seem to use KH/Impact saddles. The stock QuAx cranks are fine for regular road riding but you would want to swap them before doing any sort of drops more than a curb or XC.
Pic below is an older pic of my one of them (set up for muni but started as road)
So, am I right in thinking that shorter cranks are best for drops?
While its easier to land drops on long cranks its the material that makes the difference.
Heres the weight of the common 125mm cranks
QuAx lightweight 320g
Nimbus venture 2 380g
KH Spirit 395g
KH Moment 560g (no that isn’t a typo)
The heavier the crank is, the tougher it is likely to be. I don’t know what alloy QuAx uses but i do know several riders who have broken the cranks (admittedly they are tougher riders) on smaller unis. However they should be happy enough with repeated ~1ft drops.
Personally id stay with the QuAx ones, 125mm gives a good commuter which is controllable in traffic, can handle rough surfaces and can idle easily. They should let you have a taste of off road riding to see if that is your thing (and the tyre is fine for offroad when the ground is dry).
To try and gauge things like cranks is really hard to do before you have ridden the uni. Each rider is different and a 29 is a different beast to a 24.
I am not sure what you are wanting. You gave the link to a road unicycle, hence the light weight short cranks and road tyre.
If you are wanting the Muni version it is here:
http://www.unicycle.com/unicycles/mountain-unicycle/nimbus-ii-29-inch-unicycle.html
Roger
For a road 29er it is a great uni. It is very similar to my 29er that I built from the ground up. I have 102mm cranks on mine, but 125’s are a great general purpose size on the road. If I only had one pair of cranks I’d go with 125’s.
I honestly don’t know why people bad talk the Qu-Ax cranks so much. Sure they aren’t going to handle big drops, and hard core DH MUni, but that’s not what they are made for. I had a pair of square taper Qu-Ax 125’s that put up with anything I gave them including XC MUni (biggest drop about 8"). They are stronger than you might be lead to believe based on the forum posts.
I used my Big Apple tire for everything from road to flowing singletrack, and was very happy with the uni on the whole. I ended up selling it when I got my Nightrider (36er), and then missed its versatility so I built up another one (which I still have). I have a few uni’s (6), and the Nimbus 29er is one that I would recommend in a heartbeat.
I wouldn’t say that shorter cranks are necessarily better for drops. It has a lot to do with technique and skill. Longer cranks give more leverage which can lead to bent cranks/broken hubs, but it also gives you more control of the wheel on the landing. If you have good flow in your landings and treat them more like a rolling hop you will probably be good on shorter cranks.
I have the nimbus nomad 29, almost the same exact model as you have chosen. It’s served me wonderful over the years, I keep wanting to get a new cool uni but can never get myself to get rid of the nimbus. I have an off road tire on it (maxxis Ardent 2.4) and I do have KH moment cranks (110/125 dual holes). I have mostly been riding not he road with it lately, but it does great off road as well (I switch to 150mm cranks).
For road use a 29 doesn’t need brakes. Off road use is another story, I have a set of maguras onboard for that.
I think your choice is a great starting point, then you can modify it if you want down the road as you see fit.
Roger, I am doing a long distance ride in April that is all road distance, so not needing a muni.(Not that need really has anything to do with it! 
At some point I want to venture off road, a bit, just to test the waters, but I have goals of multiple long distance road rides for the charity I am involved in, so I thought this looked good. Sound right?
yes, I would take it as is out of the box. Best to keep on low q-factor cranks if you do ever upgrade while you are using it on the road. Unless it is really hilly, don’t put a brake on.
As has been said the cranks are not super strong, but are fit for purpose. I use them on my 36" when racing because they are light. I think I am on my 3rd pair in 10 years and they are not expensive to replace.
If you do want to go “Muni”, then it is as has been said, just a tyre and crank swap.
Roger
I just bought the Nimbus 29 blue muni. I bought it mainly for the road and light trails. I went with the Blue over the road beacuse it came with the option in longer cranks. I started off with the 165’s. These worked good for learning to control the 29 wheel. Since then I have moved to down to the 125’s. 125 are at my limit with the hills in my any. You may want to look at the 125/150 cranks. Longer cranks will do better offroad ( more tork). Pay the extra 25 dollars and get the KH Fushion seat. I just put brakes on mine, Boy what a HUGE difference with the 125 going downhill.
I have the 2010 version, and I am still very happy with it. I have used it as a road uni and a muni. It is a good value. Very solid for the price.
