Brakes on a Nimbus 36"

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Are Maguras the only brake that you can fit on a Nimbus 36"?

I am planning a 36" Unicycle at the end of the month, and I like the look of the Nimbus 36", but I am not sure about Maguras. Can you fit V brakes? Will there be enough room under the frame? And are Calliper brakes an option? I can’t tell from the photo on Unicycle.uk.com if there is enough room under the brace on the frame.

Thanks.

Innes

2

I too have a similar query,

I discussed this with UDC when I placed my nimbus 36er order, and they said no, however I am hoping that the community here has a knowledge about modifications that mgiht allow a caliper or vbrake set up… on the magura brake bosses( i personally think the maguras are overkill)

3

To fit a caliper brake on all you need is a hole drilled in the frame.
Here is a thread about that:

4

I know how to do it, I need to know if it can be done on a Nimbus 36".

5

The magura brake bosses are in the way, unless you put the caliper on the front side.

6

Roger at UDC says a calliper should fit. As far as I know, he actually recommends callipers for 36ers.

I run a BMX calliper brake on my 29er. I got an engineer to fit it, but it’s really a fairly simple fitting.

7

So, are the brakes on unicycles like ‘‘ramp brakes’’, that slide around the rim, so you don’t get thrown forwards when you pull them?

8

Brakes are mainly used to keep your speed under control when going down steep hills.

You don’t want to put too much braking force into a unicycle or it will just throw you forwards.

Innes

9

OK thanks, I just thought they might also be used to slow down after speeding along a flat road, as I can’t imagine how long it would take, and hard it would be to slow down using your legs!

Well I suppose i’ll see when I get my nimbus 36 at end of summer :stuck_out_tongue:

10

you can oil the magura pads

11

Are brakes highly recommended for 36" unis?

12

Nice to have (for steep decents, esp. with really short cranks!) and they look cool! I just bought a complete caliper setup (brakes, cable, lever) for $12.99! Brand new. It’s all I need. :sunglasses:

13

It all depends where you live, and what terrain you ride on. Unless you do a lot of hills, or the occasional very steep hill then you really don’t need them.

I mainly ride in London, and haven’t yet found a hill worthy of using them on. Recently, though, I rode through South Wales, and covered quite a few miles with my finger just slightly puling on the lever just to ‘flatten out’ some of the steep gradients.

STM

14

No :astonished: this was posted before, and then shot down in flames by a few posters (note I have never tried oil to prove it is wrong). The reason Margura’s are popular is due to their modulation, you can apply a controlled amount of braking. However pull the lever reasonably hard and you’ll be airborne.

That depends on the terrain where you ride. You will soon know if you need a brake, in my case it was when I gradually accelerated down a local hill whilst trying to slow down. I didn’t go that route again until after the brake was fitted as the outcome was painful.

The stronger the rider the less need for brakes - I definitely need them :smiley:

Keith