Brakes - Yes or no?

I’m in the final stages of ordering my KH24 from unicycle.com.
What I want to know is, is it worth getting the brakes?
Do I really need them? I know a few riders who swear by them, but I cant see them really being that neccesary.

Should I pay the extra and get the brakes? I’ll be using the KH24 for lots of muni, but also street trials - stairs, drops, rails etc etc…

Re: Brakes - Yes or no?

Brakes won’t help you much for trials and rails etc, but for big Muni rides,
they are fantastic. They help you go down steeper slopes and save your legs
on those 3000’ descents so that you have something left for the 3000’ ascent
that follows. The beauty of the KH24 and its braze-ons is that you can add
the brake on anytime after the fact. You don’t at all have to make a final
decision now.

The answer is NO you don’t need them, but they make all the difference on
very long or very steep rides.

----Nathan

“samuel” <samuel.kh140@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:samuel.kh140@timelimit.unicyclist.com
>
> I’m in the final stages of ordering my KH24 from unicycle.com.
> What I want to know is, is it worth getting the brakes?
> Do I really need them? I know a few riders who swear by them, but I cant
> see them really being that neccesary.
>
> Should I pay the extra and get the brakes? I’ll be using the KH24 for
> lots of muni, but also street trials - stairs, drops, rails etc etc…

Unless you can get them at a reduced price when they come with the KH24, I’d hold off. You can always pick up a set of Maggies from your LBS after you’ve played with the uni a bit. I would be doubtful of how many shops would do this, but you might even be able to give them a test ride or two.

Later,
Eli.

I have a brake on my Muni and love it. My knees are kind of tweaked and I need the help. I just rode a short and steep 10 foot drop on Sunday that I rode a year ago and hit a small burm at or near the bottom that has caused be ankle pain ever since. That was ridden on a Sem XLW sans brake.

I completed the steep drop with brake on and it helped tremendously. I never even had a problem with the ankle.

Nathan is the man with lots of experience. My experience is more at a novice state, so that’s were my experience is based.

The advice about adding the brake later is excellent. Do that.

Jagur started a thread a few weeks or a month ago about brakes. That has some good responses. Did he ever get the brake?

Sam,

I’ve chosen not to have brakes on my muni. I do get a little tired down long descents but I couldn’t bring myself to pay for Maguras and v-brakes would get in the way for trials.

Andrew

The only time I find the brake useful is on really steep, loose or slippery downhills. With a brake you can use your legs for control rather than for braking- which stops you locking up the wheel and ending up on your butt.

The main reason I got a brake on my KH24 was that it looked good on the unicycle (yes I’m a fashion victim). And also otherwise that stump coming out of the seatpost would look just like a stump coming out of the seatpost. If you’re ordering from unicycle.com you can save US$31 by ordering the brake from them separately and fitting it yourself. Make sure you get a matching coloured seat though. :sunglasses: You will probably find the brake lever extender (cut in half) useful unless you have very long fingers.

So in answer to your question- yes you NEED a brake because your KH24 just won’t be the same without one.:stuck_out_tongue:

Ken

I chose to go without a brake when I decided on the Wilder. It has the coolest frame of any unicycle (IMHO), but doesn’t take a brake. For the vast majority of my riding, I don’t need one. But whenever I go riding in Santa Cruz, that’s when I wish I had it. There are plenty of steep trails there. My more local trails, though they have plenty of elevation change, don’t seem to have as much of the really steep stuff.

Whenever the brake is not in use, of course, it’s just dead weight. But on the other hand, it really does dress up the unicycle.

So if your riding doesn’t include lots of either really steep downhills or really looong descents (like the Downieville we’ll probably do for MUni Weekend this year), you will seldom need a brake.

hey, if youve got plenty of cash, then just go for it.

shiny toys are nice.

i dont remember that thread (there are soooo many :stuck_out_tongue: ) but either way i never got a brake because S,Howard contacted me about putting one of his frames to the test and they dont come with brake mounts.

i have to admit that i am quite thursty for a brake and this may turn out to be the only reason for swaping frames in the future.

last week-end i almost broke my leg on muddycycles brake equiped KH.i wanted to try this super steep sloppy hill,i crashed bad the 1st time,but on the second try i thought i had it made,THEN I LET OFF THE BRAKE!!! i went from 7mph to about 16mph in milla seconds

:astonished:

my heel went into the spokes then the crank arm came around and slammed in to my calf,trapping my leg between the crank arm and wheel.i hurt…

i ride 145mm Profile cranks and they are great for smoothing out the fast downhill and with a brake i could make up for torque loss on the downhills.

(one of my longer posts)

I’ve got brakes on my KH24 and find that there are times when I’m very glad I have them. The steep descents that I encounter typically come up very quickly immediately following a short but steep climb, without much room to prepare. Sometimes my feet aren’t in the ideal spot of a pedal revolution or I’m really spent and I’m on my way down the slope real fast. This is when I dab the brake and tame things down. It adds a degree of control and gives these 45 year old knees a break.
I had a great ride the other day on my 26" muni which at the moment does not have the brakes on it. I found myself wanting to brake a few times but by no means did it ruin the ride.

 By the way, I was looking at the Unicycle.com site today and noticed that the production model KH24  is out of stock.

Well,
Maybe I wont be getting the KH24 if they are out of stock (sigh).

just in time for the Pro model to be “back in stock”

its only $850.00 more…

still thinking

No way am I buying the pro model.
Cannot afford it unless the US dollar takes a dive and the aussie dollar goes up suddenly…