I am about to decide on purchasing a Muni of 26" (or 24") and I have 2 questions that I’d appreciate your advise from personal experience:
1- Does it really necessary to have brake?
I know from my 36" wheel that without having a brake I would have crashed numerous times during riding at slopes - is it the same for 26" wheel?
2- Aluminum fork is nice looking and weight much less than standard steel - but does it justify the high price? or I can pass it and go for steel instead?
I am 6 ft tall and I feel like an elephant on a tricycle on my 24. My riding is a mix of cross country trails, small drops, some roots and rocks but nothing crazy difficult. I wish I had purchased a 26 to begin with.
You can always add a brake later. But if you do a lot of down hill a brake can ease your workload and save your knees.
Aluminum / steel? I like both.
Having said all that I like the Nimbus Oracle 26. It’s a lot of Muni for the money.
If I was going for economy steel /no brake I would like a Nimbus Drak 29 and build a 2nd wheel in 26 for it
I just got a 26er Muni and so far think I’m in love. It’s a steel framed Nimbus. Yes, it is heavy. But this Muni is specifically for going bigger and harder, so it’s going to get the sh*t beat out of it. Steel is real. I tossed it down the hill side a few times today, went down, carried it back up the hill side, and kept on riding.
More to come on my Muni review in a new thread or something…
The fork weight on a uni has little to do with the performance. A stiffer fork is nice, and that really makes a difference as the uni gets bigger. The smaller the fork is the stiffer it is naturally. I haven’t had any problems with my steel Nimbus MUni, although the aluminum should be stiffer.
As for the brake. It’s a can of worms. There are too many conditions to say that it is needed or not. For instance, if you run shorter cranks like 137’s you may feel better with a brake for descents. 150’s probably not quite as necessary, and if you are running 165’s I would guess that you can’t understand why anyone would want a brake on a MUni. Tire weight has a lot to do with it as well. I have found that on my 26 I am happy riding 2.5-2.7 tires. On my 24 I stick with 3.0. The tires I use on my 26 are a lot lighter than the one on my 24.
I use my brake all the time. I’ve only used my 24 twice, both times on pretty steep trails. I was glad I had one. I am running 150 cranks. It saves the knees. Not necessary to begin with, but you might as well.
The simple test of whether you need a brake is to ride your local trails, or whatever trails you expect to ride. If you need a brake you’ll probably know then. If it’s your first MUni and you don’t know if you’ll need one or not, it’s a little harder to tell. Brakes on a MUni are for steep terrain. If you don’t have a lot of that, you might be completely fine without one.
I’ve never had a MUni with a brake, and I’ve been (mosstly) fine. But my next one will have one. Sometimes I ride where things are steep, or would like to try riding down some things with a little more reserve leg power. The famous Downieville Downhill (4000’ of descent) is doable without a brake, but much easier with, for instance.
Aluminum fork is nice and light, but not required. The weight of the wheel has a lot more effect on riding performance than frame weight. Steel is also easier to repair if things do go wrong.
Not necessarily. I use the brake all the time even when it’s quite flat but technical just to make the ride smoother. This way I can completely focus on balancing. But I have to admit that I lost my ability to ride without a brake this way. I think brake assisted MUni is quite a different riding style.
I use the brake when riding downhill on the 26" and 36", and I use the brake when dismounting the 36". When stepping off the rear, it just ensures that it doesn’t go shooting out the front if I don’t execute it just right, or if I’m going a little faster that usual.
Having a brake is a nice control element. But I don’t think I would ever have one on a 20". Or probably a 24". (But I don’t own a 24", so that’s just a supposition.)
It all depends on your terrain, unicycle setup and riding style. I have brakes on my all my unicycle bigger than 24, but while I use them quite a bit I don’t consider them a necessity unless I am geared up or on a 36er. (And even then some ride brakeless)
Brakes save knees. If you intend doing steep descents then it’s better to have a brake because sometimes your legs are not enough to restrain the cranks and you might get catapulted forward down the hill. Also, intelligent use of the brake will take pressure off your knees leading to less wear and tear. When squeezing the brake, you need to lean back and pull upwards on the grip handle/front bumper.
