Buying my first 36er

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Well it’s been a long time since I posted. I thought about getting ideas on what unicycle to get. I went with the Nightfox after thinking it all over. I was concerned whether or not there would be any flex, but after reading all the reviews and watching videos the Nightfox sounds like it will hold up.

I weigh more than most riders…about 250 right now…have been up to 270 and down to 235 in the 3 years I’ve been riding.

The other one I thought might be stronger was the Coker V 2 because of the frame.

I had a 29er and sold it after I got the Oregon. The 29er had some flex and the spokes would make a pinging noise especially when mounting. The Oregon is solid as a rock at all times. The 24 Oracle holds up well too probably because everything is shorter.

So anyway I’m ready for a 36er…imagining most of the riding will be on level ground so I went without a brake. I struggle to get to the brake during most riding anyway. Hopefully that big wheel won’t get going to fast.

I will post some videos learning to ride it, doubtful that a mount will happen anytime soon.

2

Good luck with it, BrickMan! There will be lots of us interested in knowing how you get along and what you think of it. Gotta be cool knowing there’s a new 36er is on its way. :smiley:

3

Hi Brickman, youve been riding a whole lot longer than i have, so i dont think youll have much problems… I can tell you i love mine at very first moment on the saddle. “Whoa what a feeling” to be so high up…
.then you eventually get used to it and it doesnt feel so tall anymore.
I have a feeling youll like yours too. It rides like a 29er but a lot smoother with nicer rolling momentum, much less twichy than the 26er. (Yeah, once you get used to the 36er, going back to the Oregon will feel very twichy)
Once you get rolling, you dont need so much balance to stay up, just that sufficient rolling speed. Jumping off it is not as bad as i imagined either, just takes much deliberate practice on your current one, so you wont get hurt on this new one.

Good luck, and please post vids;)

4

I got my first 36er on Thursday, there’s been hardly any learning curve at all - I got the freemount first attempt, so don’t worry too much about that! :smiley: One thing I’m struggling with is getting it up to speed. If I reall concentrate I can break 15mph, but my average speed isn’t any higher than it was on my 29er (about 8mph). I think I’m in the mode of ‘pedal slow and just cruuuuuise’ whereas on my 29er I was always in race-mode.

Keep us posted! 36ers are a big step up (literally) from anything else, but they’re still unicycles so will still cause you to smile uncontrolably all the way :smiley:

5

Hi ya Brickman :slight_smile:
It’s great to hear from you. Sometimes when one of the gang hasn’t posted for a while I worry that they’ve stopped riding.
So this is great news. Especially a nightfox. Do keep us posted with updates.
I’m gonna have a look at some of your vids now, though I think I have already seen most of them but that was a good while ago.

Good Luck :slight_smile:

6

I have also recently taken the 36er plunge - and it’s a total joy. I cannot quite believe how much pleasure one very large wheel can bring, but it does. Previously I was on my fat Oregon - which also had its own lovely charm and a floating, bouncy ride - but now the KH 36 is a true flying machine. It purrs along and it takes so little effort to ride once rolling. I highly recommend the T-bar - well, as you have the nightfox handlebars are already in the deal. Handle bars (bar) really help with tucking into the wheel and finding that ‘just falling’ part of the 36er’s very stable and wide balance envelope. When it tips forward more than you expect it should, is the point at which spinning the wheel seems more possible.

I’m still just enjoying the grace the size uni gives to my rides.

Anyway, happy flying… sorry, riding on your new 36! :slight_smile:

7

I have a V2 frame in my garage. If you buy something else and would like to try the frame, send me an email and we can work out the details. :slight_smile:

I don’t have the rest of the uni; Coker sent me a “test and write” model in 2007, with both frames, both seat posts, etc. I no longer have the rest of it; just that cool frame, which is a little wide. If you’re not tall, you might find it a little too big.

8

I donno… i wouldnt recommend a handle bar for beginners…
Heres my reason why…
1)expect to fall when you first learn
2) practice to fall when you first learn

And yes, you will fall and/or jump off if not a little, ALOT!

I can tell you, i fall alot, sometimes unintentionally, when mounting, sometimes when not warmed up and lose balance and jump off.
( Thats my secret to learning, yeah to me its that effective, i dont need a huge area to practice, i dont need hundreds of miles of flat bike trails to get better)
Most other times, yeah, i do it deliberately. I practice on soft, thick layer of woodchips
Under trees and rolling over root stumps twisting and turning until i can lose balance and create a fall. It is thru fall that i learn the science of applying enough pedal pressure and the finesse of balance. It is through fall that my jump offs become automatic. It is through fall that my muscle reflex greatly reduce my chance of injury. It is through fall that i am able to enjoy muni in such a short learning time. For me, i have to master the fall before i can tame that huge tire.

The bar gets in the way of my falls. It struck my leg a couple of times. I like to fall but i dont like to be struck. When i get struck, i naturally reduce my practice of falls to avoid the pain

Also, the bar is a great distract, I’m already paranoid of my nut crushing incident. That bar looks like its only few inches from slamming into them, even though it really doesnt.

Besides, the bar doesn’t help me a bit in balance. Im still at the beginner stage with the big wheel, so i need my arms as a balance apparatus. I need to twist my torso. Holding on to the bar inhibits that movement.

THough, with that being said, i can see it’s great potential, when i do decide to go for really long distances. But not for muni or 20 mile or less rides, and not for beginner stage, in my humble opinion. :wink:

9

I have rode with handle bars before fortunately never been stuck by them and yes it is a distraction at my level of riding.

I use both arms a lot on any size ride also. I figured all the extra money for a brake that I probably can’t get to wouldn’t be worth it for me.

BTW I ordered 165 cranks because I’m used to that size and will mostly be offroad on easier trails and flat areas.

Does anyone think the V2 frame is any stronger…I’ve read stories about the Oregon breaking. It’s frame looks close in design?

My rides are still measured in 100’s of feet not miles. lol

I’m really excited…hope to get a ride by Thursday.

10

It has already been shipped!!

11

I believe the wheel is the weak point on a 36, so you need not be too concerned with frame strength. When you get it just make sure your wheel has been built up ok. Squeeze the spokes together, make sure they are all similar in tension and that the wheel is true.

I’m about 210 lbs, and have been really sucked into riding only my 36 for the last 5 months. It’s really whipped my butt into shape so well that I don’t want to stop riding. I’m no where near all these folks here that ride 30 or 50 miles at a time, maybe I’ll get up to 30 in a couple of months.

I still don’t ride with a handlebar and really have no desire for one, I like my rides to be simple. I had a brake for awhile, really helped going down some of my steeper hills but I’ve got enough strength in my legs now that I don’t need it anymore.

Enjoy the new ride, it really is the most fun size.

12

I’m one of those guys that rode a little as a kid and is re-learning as an adult (53). I have been riding a KH 29" for 4 months with the goal of getting to a 36" once I “master” the 29". I’m also a big rider at 5’11" 225 so this thread interests me on several levels. As of this weekend, I have covered 210 miles on the 29" but I’m starting to realize that mastery may take a lot longer than expected. My definition of mastery is the ability to ride 4-5 miles without a dismount and 18-20 miles in a day without feeling too beat up and sore the next day. Right now I can do about half that. My longest ride is 9.3 miles and my longest distance without dismount is 3 miles. I have ridden 9.3 miles on back to back days but it definitely leaves my quads flat.

My question is, am I wise to hold off on the 36" until my skill set and endurance is better or should I jump to the 36" and grow with it?

Another reason I have waited on the upgrade is unicycle.com has been sold out of the KH touring handles for quite some time now and I figured I’d get brakes that fit the handle all in one purchase. After reading this thread I’m thinking that for my style of cruising on mostly flat surfaces I may not need the handles or even the brake. At least not now.

Looking forward to progress reports BrickMan… thanks!

13

I say, BUY, BUY, BUY!

The 36er will make distance riding so much easier than a 29er. Using handlebars bars will increase your distance riding even more due to more economical body movement.

Buy the 36er along with the KH handlebar set. It shouldn’t take you long to get riding the 36er although free mounting it will take some practice.

To learn to use the handlebars I suggest that you first mount them on your 29er with the the handles close to the saddle. Using the handlebars requires a more refined sense of balance because you will be using your torso more to make those balance adjustments.

Over a given distance, you will feel a lot less tired riding the 36er especially when you master riding it with the handlebars on. Riding with your arms raised and flailing burns up extra energy.

My new years resolution this year was to learn to ride using handlebars. I achieved it and now I wouldn’t ride long distance without them.

Have fun…:slight_smile:

P.S. Maybe you could call UDC and ask when the KH bars will be in stock, before ordering.

1 Like
14

I believe if you decidedly to jump into a36er right now…youll be perfectly all smiles til the ride home, however, …your 29er will be quite sad and lonely, youll need to find it a new home:D:D

15

I just checked the UDC, U.S. website and the KH handlebar set is in stock for $110

16

awww, don’t say that :frowning: my trusty 29er that I’ve ridden every day for over a year is now sat in the kitchen, all his customisations unused!

As to the thread’s conversation. Riding a 29er for 20+ miles is hard work (My furthest on the 29er was slightly over 40 miles, it took me all day and I took a break every 8 miles or so…). If you’re wanting to do that sort of mileage, definately go for a 36er. Handlebars… meh, I’m not bothered - I ride with both hands gripping the saddle handle anyway. Don’t worry about freemounting the 36er - I did it on my first try, and have only bailed it once or twice in the 5 days I’ve had it (doing 1-2 rides every day). With the longer cranks that tends to come ‘stock’ on 36ers, I found it basically felt the same as a 29er with short cranks!

17

Riding with both hands on the hand grip is very effective, but in my experience not as comfortable over long distance as the touring bar. Also if you want to stretch your back and lean forward more, then the extended touring bar is needed.

18

Sweeeet! :slight_smile:

19

It sounds like you’re doing really well there, Legdog. Keep in mind that unicycles are a lot slower than bicycles and 18-20 miles is pretty big in terms of time. That’s at least two hours of aerobic effort, closer to three probably, which is not a small thing. And I’m guessing that as your skills continue to develop you’ll be riding with fewer balance corrections and less tension, and so putting in less effort even at the same pace and with the same distance between UPDs.

Having had an assortment of hobbies in my day, I tend to think there’s a period of at least 18 months for most activities where mastery improves pretty much in a straight line.

But do remember that we’re coming up on the holiday shopping season. There were some screaming unicycle deals last year starting in late November. No guarantee that a 36er will be among them this year, but perhaps that’s a good reason to hold back for just a little while.

20

Ooops, before some of us decide to convince others to drink out of the same Cool aid, that not every body likes Coolaid and its not everybody’s cup of tea…
The 36er IS harder to ride, you do jump from a higher distance, You Can get hurt and stretch a muscle…
. I forgot, i did buy my used. I inquired on 2 and decided on 1. Both cases, the owners were older and, preferred the 29er for the easier ridability.
It is alot to blow 400 to 800$ on a new piece of toy…
You gotta really consider, it does take some time to get used to riding it…not everybody enjoys to be so high up and losing control at a higher speed.

Just my thought. …