Thought I’d do a quick little writeup for those of you who wish you had a coker but couldn’t afford the steep $500+ price tage. Following this you can get a functioning coker for under $300 dollars! :]
Total of $270 + shipping and you just have to borrow the seat and pedals from that muni of yours which you never use and you have an awesome new 36" unicycle on a totally reasonable budget.
This is pretty much my Coker. Shipping is ridiculously cheap from Coker too. I would say that a tire from Coker is probably cheaper when you add shipping. Also, I don’t know if it will cost more to have the wheel shipped with a tire, but I suspect that the shipping won’t go up. That may be a way to cut the cost a bit more.
At any rate the Coker wheel is $118, but only $125 including shipping. I also got a seatpost from them for $12. Not bad.
I’ve actually been thinking about going from my built-up steel Coker Rim with UDC super-wide hub to one of these… is it worth it? Should I wait and buy a Nimbus Stealth wheel and build it up with a Square or ISIS hub?
Also… are the sidewalls machined for maggies?
As for whether or not it’s “worth” it brings more into the equation than just the wheel, or the cost. I’m sure that there is someone who can come up with a justification for the extra expense of the Nimbus wheel, but for most people the Coker is not just adequate, but a very nice wheel.
I have the Coker wheel, and I can say that it is a solid wheel with a nice double walled aluminum rim (I’ve heard its the Qu-Ax rim). It doesn’t have machined sidewalls, but the profile of the rim is perfect for brakes. I had maggies on it for a while and hated them, but I have V’s on now and they are great. When you consider that the stealth pro rim is $115 as compared to the Coker wheel for $118, it raises serious questions. If you really want an ISIS hub you might be better off getting the Nimbus and building it up, but it will end up costing three times as much as the coker.
If you consider the cost with shipping the Coker option looks even better.
I honestly don’t think I need ISIS but a 48 spoke wheel just ind of turns me off. It’s true though…even if I went Nimbus Stealth with a UDC superwide hub…which I have now, drilled for the monster 12ga. spoke on my steel wheel… it would cost quite a bit more than a Coker wheel set-up.
I’m just not sure it’s that much of a step-up from what I have.
Wow, thanks for this. I’ll keep this in mind - I was hoping to buy a 36er this summer, but was worried I might not be able to afford the $500+ price tag.
I might try to find a regular Nimbus frame instead, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I can say that it is a huge upgrade from the steel wheel with the 12g. spokes. You will notice how light it is before you even mount it on your uni. Once you get it on the road you will wonder why you questioned it.
Are you running a 29’er tube, or the original coker tube? That is easily as much of an upgrade and the two together are amazingly lighter than the stock setup.
I thought that I would want 36 spokes as well, but not enough to justify the expense. Once you experience how much better the ride is you won’t be too turne off by the extra spokes.
I think if you do it right and stretch it well before you mount it you won’t really notice a difference in the durability. Interestingly, the coker tube that came in my original wheel had completely deteriorated with cracks in the rubber.
Truthfully, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not going to last as long, but it is a $3 tube. I can buy a lot of 29’er tubes for the cost of one Coker tube. The performance gain from losing the weight at the tire is HUGE. This is one “upgrade” that pays off in every way, not to mention that you can get replacement tubes at any bike shop.
I would also never spend more than 5 bucks on a 29er tube. I usually get them for 3 dollars minus my discount.
But this is basically what I have. Except that I got an airfoil for cheap on the forums, then used an old hub I had kicking around. Probably cost about the same.
I’ve been wanting to get a 36er ever since I saw them on this site last November. Anyway, thanks to advice from everyone that contributes on this site, I finally got all the pieces in and together. Took my first drive last night, and it really is a trip. I have been riding 20" and 24" wheels for 30 years, wish I would have known about the 36er a long time ago.
I got the wheelset from Coker, and almost everything else from Unicycle.com.
I took the wireless computer off my hybrid bike, but need to change the setting to match the new wheel.
I got the handlebar grips from WalMart, they were only about $7 bucks, they are labeled X Games grips. The cool thing about them is they have endcaps that anchor into the bar ends. I only was able to get in a short ride with them yesterday because it was almost dark when I got my 36er put together, but they felt comfortable.
I think I ended up spending about $450 for everything. I wanted the Nightrider tire and a handlebar set-up too, plus the KH Fusion seat, so obviously couldn’t keep it around $300.
I was thinking about doing the same thing, but with an isis hub, but I have an older radial 36er frame, and the bearing caps are too small to fit the 42mm isis bearings.
Thanks for the compliment. So far I really love it. You are right about the cranks, they are 150’s. I took it for a nice run yesterday, and for me the crank size was perfect. I think you know how hilly it can be north of Atlanta, I don’t know if I could climb all the hills with anything shorter crankwise, plus I like the control I have over the 36" wheel that I am still adjusting to.
I have Profile 170’s on my 6 ft giraffe, and I can spin really comfortably with that. Maybe I need to develop different leg muscles to be able to be comfortable with shorter cranks. I read about everyone loving their 125’s or 114’s (or even shorter!), but for now I’m perfect with the 150’s.
I’m really psyched that I finally got a 36er up and running. It really is a cool feeling once you get the momentum going, but I need to get used to planning ahead a little more when it’s time to slow down.
From here on out I plan on riding almost daily to train for a 100 mile ride for charity. I want to raise money for my brother, a retired firefighter who was paralyzed last year. He lives north of Atlanta. So I am going to be working on a route somewhere around these parts.
reeeeally? north of atlanta you say . . . . sounds like a job for the silver comet trail!!!
I’d love to come with you if you ride it, but I’d have to meet you somewhere up there at a marta stop : P I have no car. It runs all the way to the alabama line and continues on, plenty of room to roam. . . oh and most of it is completely flat until you get out past mile 40, then you hit “the wall” : )
That looks like it could be the perfect route for a long ride. I’d love to have you along for the ride, I have never had the opportunity to ride with another unicyclist. I’ll send you a PM soon and see if there is a good day for you when I could meet up with you for a long cruise. Take it easy!
