I know many questions like this have been posted, but none of them seem to have really pitted these two unis head to head in a way that was helpful to me.
I am seriously considering buying one of these very soon. I need to know which one will be most suited to my needs.
I plan on commuting to and from work with it. The ride would be approximately 5 miles each way with a few hills (most of which aren’t long, but moderately steep). I don’t really intend to take this uni off-road much, if at all. If it helps at all, I have never ridden anything larger than a 24" (that probably won’t be a factor).
Regardless of which model I get, I am going to include both 125mm and 150mm cranks, the linear pull brake system, and the Pi handlebar.
I also need opinions on the tire. I’m leaning towards the XLR street tire, but haven’t seen much as far as riders’ experience with it.
Also, do I want the seat post to be aluminum or ChroMo?
The price difference between these unis is not a consideration.
Maybe he wants to buy local? He’s in Tennessee, Home of Coker.
Between V2 and Big One I’d break it down like this:
For exotic looks and a super-rigid frame, go with the V2
For everything else, get the Big One
The V2 frame is about twice the weight of the Big One frame. But that said, both are a small percentage of the overall unicycle weight. Coker says the V2 frame is lighter than the Nimbus/Hunter frame.
The XLR tire is reportedly the same as the TA, so I’d go with that. The regular Coker (button) tire is the lightest, but in my experience it gets sensitive to road camber as it wears down. I think the TA is great. The Nightrider is also very popular among the hardcore 36er riders.
I thought about calling in the order and seeing if I could pick it up to avoid shipping costs. With the way gas is here, that’s not really an option anyways, even if they would do it.
Honestly, I don’t care where it comes from. Most of it comes down to price. the KH36 and the Nimbus 36 (with no options or shipping) are very close to the price that I would pay for either coker with all the options I’m looking for and shipping. And the brake system is far more expensive then the one offered for the Coker.
The $750 (approx) I’m looking at spending on this is already way more than I’m comfortable spending. I can’t see enough benefit of a KH or Nimbus to convince me to spend another $200-300.
Their prices are about the same as UDC, but the free shipping will save about 60 $ I would guess. I ordered an ax 29 from them a while back, it came fast and in perfect shape.
Frame weight is mostly noticeable in your mind, in the appearance of the cycle and in the overall weight. It’s really hard to feel the difference. As you said, the crucial weight is in the wheel, and a 36" wheel is pretty heavy no matter what.
For post, I’d get the aluminum. Save a little more weight and minimal risk of failure unless you’re hopping or crashing a lot.
The v2 might be better if you want to add saddle bags for touring. I could see bolting a u shaped piece of alum to the two tubes on each side, going around the wheel in back, and using that to mount a plastic fender. Then soft bags could be draped over that.
No one with the big one frame has said that they feel it is flexy. So no problems there. Other than supposed stiffness, the V2 offers no advantages.
$100 extra for a stupid looking frame is silly. You can lock up all the really expensive parts of a coker (the wheel) very easily. John was basically being nice about the V2 - it has no obvious advantages at all except if you like what it looks like. It’s basically like a $100 fluffy dice.
On the flat, frame weight makes little difference - although I did reduce the weight on my 29er by 800g or so and it is noticeable - I’d expect the difference between the V2 and Big One to be perceptible (in a bad way). On hills it might make a bit of a difference, and going up kerbs it does certainly make a difference.
I sorta agree with what everyone has said. The idea of multi day touring makes the v2 look good to me. Rigging saddle bags in the back that could hold light yet bulky stuff. A rain suit, tiny sleeping bag and tent. 5 lbs of fluff in back, balanced by 5 lbs of heavier stuff in front.
I think fitting rear saddle bags on the v2 is not so hard. Bonding all that weight at a sharp right angle to a single tube frame would be failure prone.
So the v2 will become popular in the touring niche IMHO.
I have owned and ridden both. The V2 is heavier, but rides smoother on flats and downhills, more comfy ride. The Big one is lighter, turns better and is an advantage on the uphills. I had both and chose the bigone for RTL and have since sold the V2. I miss it though because it was cool and has the best brake mounting set up!
I’m essentially going to buy a Coker “The Big One” but I need to know what the real difference between aluminum and ChroMo seat posts are. Any help will be appreciated. Sorry for ressurecting this thread, but I figure it’s better that starting a whole new one.
The aluminum one is lighter. They both look about the same. Aluminum is more likely to fail if you abuse it, but most 36er riders don’t. Get the aluminum, that’s what I’m using. The steel post I also got with my Coker is in a box in the garage…
