There were a few comments about braking on a anodized surface. I’ll just say from experience that this works just fine most of the time.
It’s not quite as grabby as bare aluminum which is not a problem in itself as you generally don’t really need super strong brakes with a big wheel. If the anodized surface wears off unevenly you might have slightly uneven braking, but it’s easy to fix.
To remove an anodized surface from an aluminum rim to prep a braking surface: remove the tire from the rim, re-install, then jam a sanding block with 400 grit sandpaper between the rim and the frame and spin away until you have a shiny bare aluminum braking surface.
Personally I would (and have) prep a rim this way if it were powder-coated or painted as either of those surfaces suck for braking, but prepping an anodized rim like that is more cosmetic than anything.
You made me question it (which I appreciate) so I had to validate my claim to make sure i wasn’t spreading misinformation lol
I didn’t think to ask, but the 36” gremlin gravel grinder has a brake installed. It appears to be the same frame as the UDC 32” so i would probably start there if i were in the market for that type of brake
well I just pulled the trigger on the UDC 32. I looked at the Gremlin and see it does have caliper brakes. however there is no description for replacement parts offered for them either on the page of the uni or in the parts section
I called and they don’t carry them any more but Steve said it is a standard front caliper brake set up. so as long as it mounts with the center bolt at the top and not boss mount it should work. So it looks like my original idea is going to work out fine. I’ll post pics and impressions once I get it and take it out for a ride
Sweet! If interested, we should try to connect and ride Hilton head on one of my trips to Beaufort. I am down a couple times a year and typically ride around Beaufort, fripp or hunting island
That sounds good to me, there is no-one around here for me to ride with. the only person I know in this area that rides a uni, only rides Muni
let me know the next time you plan on being here and we will try to make it happen
I wasn’t sure if I should start a new thread so I’ll just add to this one as technically it’s still going
SO my new UDC 32 showed up last night :D. I put it together and brought it to work today, I aired up the tire adjusted the seat for the first ride.
First impressions are WOW this thing is nice I can only imagine the quality of the better name brand uni’s. this one in my opinion is far nicer than the 29 trainer, don’t get me wrong I have no complaints about the 29 and it is a solid uni, but this one is much better, well other than the same rock hard seat and rounded pedals. I got mine with the KH street saddle and 127 cranks. the tire is much bigger than I even imagined and looks to be a nice tire. I may have to get one to fit the 29
It took a few tries to get up the first time and man did it feel odd being so much higher but I easily adjusted to it. I can’t seem to get the uni to sit still and do a static mount, no matter how hard I try the uni would roll forward when I jump up so I just went with it as I have been trying to learn to do rolling mounts anyway. 2nd it seems to take a moment to get it moving, probably more to do with the 127 cranks, but once it starts rolling it is smooth and fast. I’m sure it’s just me but I had a some struggles during my first ride. I rode just over a mile on our yard, it is mixed, paved and hard pack dirt, rock, gravel, sand and has lots of small ruts and holes to deal with. anyway after adjusting the seat about 3 times until I got it where it felt right I was off and running like I said it is smooth on the paved part but on the rough I struggled as it felt like it was leaning to the left bad, I even hit my leg with the tire a couple times first time I have ever done that while riding. I kept checking the seat alignment and it looks good so it’s probably just me somehow shifting once I hit the rough stuff as it didn’t seem to do it on the pavement
so bottom line I am a happy camper
That’s a slick looking machine I had the same thing happening to me with the roll forward while mounting but has stopped with time. I need to learn the rolling mount myself. Did you feel like you needed brakes?
It looks pretty good, I’m happy you’re pleased with it. What are your thoughts on the caliper/rim now you see the uni in the flesh?
I was just thinking the other day that I have a road bike hanging up in a shed which has Mavic GP4 rims (for tubulars). They are anodised and I never really thought much about the calipers not working with them at 40+mph going down a hill(!) – I never wore a helmet then either though (invincibility of youth). I think those rims might be worn through to bare aluminium in bits, that lets you see where your wheel is not true
Anyway, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Enjoy your new machine…
I took it to the park after work so I could ride on paved path, figured I could get a better feel for it. I think on flat ground to small inclines it will be fine without brakes, however I can see any decent inclines or hills or long down grades needing them as once this thing is moving and with the 127 cranks it is not quick to slow down and it takes a good bit of force if your moving along
I did 1.3 miles, would have done more but they have the track all tore up redoing sections of it, I had to stop and walk it through 3 places that were just too bad to ride through but still managed to do it in 10 min and averaged 9.5 MPH. I was impressed with how nice it rides. now I need to build a handlebar for it and get some lights on it
I don’t know what kind of hills you have there and we are all different of course but I use a 36" with 125mm cranks on the hills around here and its ok with no brakes. I am not anti brake but give yourself a chance to get used to the hills without first.
well I got to take my first decent ride on the new 32, I can see I need much more seat time on this thing. I managed to get a 9 mile ride in and in that I learned a couple valuable lesson. one is I can’t ride at night, even with the lights on I can’t seem to focus and determine terrain clearly unless I have good street lights to assist me so I’m going to half to accept my limits on that.
second safety gear is more important than it’s comfort level. on about the 7th mile I was making a hard right then immediate left as the sidewalk dropped onto the street crosswalk, I misjudged something about it and the uni shot out from under me, by the time I realized it was happening I was laying flat on my back and both elbows were bleeding, I had put on the helmet, knee pads and gloves and thought to myself I don’t need those elbow pads oops
anyway after I caught my breath and walked around a min I was off again.
question for those that ride with a wide tire, how do you learn to compensate for crown, I found myself sliding off the seat to the left almost the entire time and at times it would be so bad I struggle just to stay balanced, I could readjust but would just end up back on the left side of the seat.
Our brains are incredible at using available information.
The lack of a lit horizon surrounding us can greatly affect how are body reacts.
The brain uses the view of the surrounding area to help us balance. Take away that view and we struggle to balance.
Try using two lights to establish some shadows in front of you. They will give you better depth perception. (main one on your head for viewing and another on your uni for making shadows)
Being familiar with your route will help too.
I also wear all of my gear anytime. Kinda like a talisman.
Nobody plans on having an accident.
The camber problem is up to you.
Ride more with this wheel, try different tire pressures, try reversing your direction (camber) to see if your troubles switch sides.
Something for you to try is pulling or pushing (whichever hand is on the seat) the front of the seat towards the downhill side of the camber.
Pull harder for greater camber, just a little for less camber.
I had put my handlebar on before the ride, it’s just a single bar I made but it works great and believe me I has pushing and pulling like mad on the return trip to try to ride and stay in place
Thank you for your thoughts and will keep them in mind as I continue to ride and get used to the bigger wheel.
With a single light on your head you loose most all of your ability to judge depth of field. A second light located as low as possible should help. I’ve thought about mounting a light below the axle but have not tried that yet.
Some tires are known to handle road camber poorly. I find that the highest pressure the tire can handle is best for camber. On my 36" Nightrider tire I run 60 to 65 psi and can tell right away if it drops much below 60 psi. Here is a video.
The best solution to camber I am aware of is to angle the frame/seat-post perpendicular to the surface of the road while riding. The more camber, the greater the offset from vertical. Without this change in angle, the rider has to use less elegant solutions, such as constant pulling, weaving or pedaling harder on one side.
The challenge is to get the uni perpendicular to the road surface. If the angle of the uni is tilted to the right, the center of mass of the rider needs to shift to the left to remain over the tire’s contact patch. That kind of adjustment is easier with two hands on the bar ends. Maybe the seat can be lowered a bit, as well, allowing the saddle placement to be more on the inside of the right thigh (for those riding on the right side of the road) or the left thigh (for those on the wrong side of the road ).
I think John Foss, in another post, suggested that the nose of the seat could be pointed to the left or right…during rides with continuous camber.
I suggest finding a ridiculously cambered surface and practicing riding short distances on it. That’ll make the less-cambered surfaces seem not so difficult. It will also help to clarify the adaptations you’re using to deal with the camber.
Wow that is exactly how I felt, like your clip with the lower pressure. I was running 50 PSI and it’s rated up to 65 so I will increase it before I ride it again and see how that works for me. I was trying to keep the ride as smooth as I could without the tire being soft as sidewalks can be a bit bumpy. I know on my 29, 50 PSI is the sweet spot, but it’s tire is rather skinny.
A very similar thing happened to me on my first long ride on the 32”! I was about 6 miles in and had a UPD that gave me a bloody knee. I went back to the car and put on my knee pads cursing myself for being lazy about it to begin with.
High tire pressure, handlebars and time in the saddle helped me deal with camber. I am ok when it slopes from R to L but L to R kicked my butt before i learned to counter it
I never thought about going with a very low pressure but I can see why it would work. The whole width of the tire tread is likely in contact with the road at the very low pressure and that should eliminate the auto steering effect caused but road camber.
However, I’d be concerned about the increased rolling resistance and tire wear by going with much less then the 35 psi minimum pressure that is marked on a Nightrider 36" tire. Does it build up any heat in the tire when traveling at a good cruising speed on the road? I’d guess that any heat difference between a tire ran at 65 psi and 23 psi would be a clear indication of a increase in rolling resistance and tire wear.
first time I have ever done that while riding. I kept checking the seat alignment and it looks good so it’s probably just me somehow shifting once I hit the rough stuff as it didn’t seem to do it on the pavement
I had the same thing happening to me with the roll forward while mounting but has stopped with time. I need to learn the rolling mount myself. Did you feel like you needed brakes?
oops 
that is exactly how I felt, like your clip with the lower pressure. I was running 50 PSI and it’s rated up to 65 so I will increase it before I ride it again and see how that works for me. I was trying to keep the ride as smooth as I could without the tire being soft as sidewalks can be a bit bumpy. I know on my 29, 50 PSI is the sweet spot, but it’s tire is rather skinny.