Now that UDC is selling 36" unicycles that are not purple, and the rim/tire-fit problems of a few years ago seem to be over…I am thinking of buying a new 36" unicycle. For those of you who ride them, which tire is the best option for on-road and distance riding? The options are a 36x2 1/2 Nightrider with block tread or the Wheel TA with a grooved tread. My biggest interest is not having a tire with a mind of its own, or sensitive to road-crown while riding. I currently ride my 29" with a Big Apple, and on my 24" I use a Hookworm.
Anyone who has bought the new cranberry 36", I am interested in what you think of the uni, any advice on configurations?
The N36 in a very good unicycle, but I would really suggest buying the KH36 over that one. It is lighter, stiffer, (most likely) stronger, and has an epic wheelset, along with a great tire, seat, and a great everything else.
The KH 36" frame is very nice, but the KH 36 is also more expensive. I am not sure if it is stronger, the hub is not as wide as the super wide udc hub, and the wider hub probably makes for a stronger wheel. The moment hub and cranks are definitely stronger though.
I have used the coker tire, the wheel ta (grooved), and the nightrider tire, and I like the nightrider the best. You really can’t go wrong with either the TA or the Nightrider though, they are both great tires.
For road-crown, both the TA (grooved) and the nightrider both do very well. I am not sure how much of a difference there is in that aspect, but the road-crown never bothered me on the TA or the Nightrider, it did on the old coker button tire though.
Configuration:
Get the nightrider pro so you get the machined braking surface. You don’t need to buy a brake at first, but you may want to have one later, and having a machined surface greatly improves handling. Assuming you are getting the ISIS nightrider, you should start with the Qu-Ax 145mm cranks.
You could also spend some extra money and get the KH 36, but that will not be available again until late in November. You are mainly paying for the nicer frame when buying the KH36, most everything else is pretty similar.
Unless you plan on jumping and hopping a lot, rare on a 36 street set up, the extra strength of the ISIS setup is not needed. The cranks cost many times more, and most 36 riders want to try different sizes eventually.
I live hundreds of miles from the nearest hill, so brakes for me would be more wasted $ as well.
Great replies, thanks. Both my 29" and 24" are KH unicycles and I like them a lot but I am not sure twice the price is really worth it…and I want a 36 that I can lock up. Most uni frames can’t be locked if you are going to park them for a bit…I want to be able to lock it.
I do have some V-brake adapters that will go on a Magura mount, making a brake a lot cheaper…and I was thinking it would be a good idea for mounting. Good call on the machined rim.
It sounds like the nightrider might be a good choice for the tire and I’ll have a look at the hub set to decide what I want. Thanks.
Cotterless cranks have bent for me just while riding offroad. Nothing technical either, just offroad trails. Cotterless is more prone to bending from wrecks as well.
Yeah, locking the frame is nice! That is one of the reasons I love the Nimbus frame, I feel safer locking my frame and my wheel when I commute to work. Also, I think the Nimbus frame looks a lot cooler (not that it really matters).
I am guessing that you will go with ISIS because you have to if you want the new cranberry color and not the purple color. You won’t have any regrets if you go with the Nimbus Nightrider Pro ISIS with the qu-ax 145mm cranks. The Nightrider Pro is a great ride, have fun with it.
The cotterless cranks I have used have not fallen off. Once they are on and tightened (and retightened after the first few rides) they stay tight.
You can indeed always lock up the wheel of a unicycle and i really doubt anyone would want to steal a unicycle anyway, but locking up both the frame and the wheel gives you more piece of mind that someone isn’t going to just unscrew your bearing caps and walk away with everything but your wheel. Not that it is likely someone will steal your unicycle because they want to ride it or resell it, but there are a lot of idiots out there that like damaging people’s bicycles and will take anything that is unlocked just because.
Sugeino cotterless cranks, on my 36, cost <30 $ , are seriously good looking,lot’s of forged metal, and will snap the axle before they bend IMHO.
If you want to have fun at uni riding, it helps to have uni’s of different sizes, and a wide selection of crank lengths. I think everyone can agree that more toys is better.
A splined axle is important in a jumping, trials uni, but not at all for sidewalk uni’s.
I am only trying to save riders a few $ . It is a fiction that the crank of a cotterless 36 might suddenly bend, or fall off. The ONLY advantage of the ISIS cranks, is that they are less likely to shear off at the axle. The ISIS axle is thicker- stronger and has a more expensive (better) crank to hub interface.
The mass market cotterless cranks are 1/3 the price of comparable KH’s.
A coker shouldnt be kept to a sidewalk… it will want to comit suicide within a year…
And it is not a fiction lol. Maybe me and all the other rider who have had those things happen to us are all just in a cult and like to makeup storries about cotterless cranks breaking.
Im just saying, if he wants a good coker, than cotterless is fine, but if he wants a coker that will not be held back, than ISIS is for him.
Mass market cotterless cranks are not comparable to KH moments…at all. They are completely different in weight, strength, usage, and durability, so you can’t put mass market cotterless cranks in the same category as high end ISIS cranks.
Qu-Ax ISIS cranks cost <$30 as well…ISIS is not really that much more expensive than square taper. Qu-Ax ISIS are $6 more on UDC than the Qu-Ax square taper.
Also, another advantage to ISIS is that it seems to be the new standard on all new unicycle hubs. There will be sure to be more ISIS cranks coming out.
I am fine with my cotterless hub on my ungeared 36 though b/c I already own pretty much every cotterless crank length and the standard cotterless cranks have held up fine for me with what I do on the 36er (includes XC muni, going down stairs, and hopping).
