I love my new kh 36er, but I feel that the square-ish, low profile nightrider rim is not nearly as strong as the very high profile, rounder airfoil rim I have on my radial 36er. I’ve done tons of pretty big drops with the airfoil and it’s stayed totally true; not so with the nightrider.
Even small drops tend to knock it out of true very easily, and each time I have my lbs true it back up. The 14g spokes are the same as on my kh and radial, and tensioned the same on both unis. I’m wondering if i should switch rims, since I like doing drops on my kh.
I mean now that I have the KH isis hub/cranks that will stand up to it, I figure I should have the strongest rim possible. the airfoil does weigh more than the nightrider rim, but I don’t mind as long as it will stay true and hold up to drops and hard riding…as the nightrider rim does not seem too. Your opinions and thoughts are welcome.
haha, yeah, I know I’m one of the very few who do the more extreme 36er stuff. Maybe I will inspire more to get out there and try it! I also know a lot are afraid of breaking their 36ers, but the kh is strong except for the rim. Great for regular riding, but not for drops.
Alright, I have never seen a Nightrider tire in person, so this is probably going to be so two years ago, but here goes anyway.
After looking at every thread I could on 36’er tires I came to a couple of realizations that don’t seem to be so common. First of all, the original stated weight of the Nightrider tire at 1660 grams was off by 300-400 grams by the time the tire hit the road putting the weight right in with the Coker Button tread, and the TA. I found one thread that compared the various tires and had a bunch of different people who had weighed the tires independently. The results were that you were as likely to get a “light” TA, as you were to get a “heavy” Nightrider.
So, money being an issue, I went for the TA. The first thing I did was weigh my Button Tread with the threads showing through the center of the bald tread, and it came to just over 2000 grams. The TA with a brand new tread, and all of the little hairs is the lightweight at around 1700 grams. I can’t say I notice the weight difference very much when I’m riding, but mounting seems a little snappier. All of this weighing is completely inaccurate for general use, but for comparative results I think it’s effective. I used a cheap kitchen scale for the weights and averaged 10 weights for each tire.
I know that the Nightrider is a better tire for more than the weight. From experience in the bike world I know the liveliness of a 2 ply casing is worth it. That said I think I’ll be happy with the TA for a couple thousand miles.
Winter is finally departing and I’ve just got in a couple of rides on my new 36er. Each ride was about 6km. It takes me about the same time it takes me to do the ride on my 29er as I am not that great at getting going once I’ve dismounted yet. It usually takes me 3-4 tries to get started. I am using the 150mm crank holes on my dual holes and I can’t imagine having the strength to spin shorter cranks…some day.
i definitely find the 36 a bit tougher to ride but I am getting used to it fairly quickly. I spent quite a bit of time holding on to the touring bar on my second ride. It seems to help me to keep the cadence up.
Climbing hills is a bit of a challenge. I’ve been riding 167mm cranks on my 29er which make it much easier so I will have to adapt.
Having fun!
When I first started riding my Coker with 150’s I thought all you short crank people were crazy. “No one could climb a hill with anything shorter,” I said to myself, “and it’d be way too risky to ride fast or on anything but silky tarmac.”
Well 4 months later I just put on 114’s. Turns out there was a lot of room for improvement in my technique and now I can even relax a bit while cruising or climb in a slow, controlled fashion with the tiny things.
I’m sure my unicycle specific strength has increased, but it is amazing to me how much can be accomplished by skillful application of only modest force.
I got my used Coker a couple months ago, and I’m really glad I got it with the 125 cranks. Up to that point, I hadn’t even switched the dual-holes on my KH29 to the 125 setting, and at first I had a difficult time riding the 125’s on the Coker. But it’s coming along nicely, and I think 150’s would defeat my purpose in getting the bigger wheel for faster riding. If I had dual-hole cranks ont he 36er, I suspect I’d still be at the 150 setting for a long time, to my detriment.
I’ve got the big tread Coker Non-Skid tire. I’m considering switching to a Nightrider, mostly to be able to run it at higher pressure (it’s probably lighter, too, but not so much of a factor right now for me, riding mostly flatish roads). But if everyone runs low pressure in the Nightrider tire anyway, I’ll skip it (for now).
So my question to those of you with the Nightrider tire: what pressure do you run in the tire for road use?
I just got everything but my wheelset today for my coker. Im going to be running 150’s on it at first so I can build up the muscle for hills… I live in an area where pretty much no matter which direction I ride Im going to hit a pretty big and pretty steep hill so, I figured the 150’s would be better to start with. Once I am conditioned I think Im going to drop down to at least 125’s if not the 114’s… Be nice to pick up some speed.
I usually run 45 psi using a 29er tube for kh36. If the tire stops singing I know it needs more air pressure. If I’m out to do a century or longer ride I might raise the pressure to 55 psi.
When I got my 36er last August they came with 152s. In January of this year I replaced them with 127s. Yes, there was more speed and the moderate hills weren’t too bad, but I found that the decrease in leverage frustrating, especially when stopping at lights in traffic and having to pedal off with vehicles next to me. Riding downhill suddenly became treacherous and I ended up having to pedal really slowly. I became increasingly paranoid that I would come off at any moment even on flatter ground.
So I swapped the cranks back again. The uni really feels like bliss to ride once more. The extra control and ease of riding up and down hills makes up for the slower speed. I could always pedal harder to increase speed and I suppose that it is not that necessary to go super fast in a city anyway. The 127s were good experience and they helped me build up strength and skill and I suppose that if lived somewhere with long flat surfaces then they would be more of a benefit IMHO. Maybe next time I’ll try the intermediate 140s.
I loved my Nightrider tire for the pressure- that is the best thing about it. The tread picks up a lot of small stones but it is worth it for the higher pressure. I used 65psi but I heard of people putting more air in. I had a problem with glass and it ruined my Nightrider prematurely, with a big hole but not fully worn down tread, so I am back on my Coker button tread tire.
I use 114mm cranks and on hills I miss the leverage I used to get from 125s, but there is no way I would use anything longer on 36 for road riding, too slow!
In a city do you ride on the road or do you use the sidewalk?
I almost feel uncomfortable being on either of them. Cars seem to be really afraid of the unicycle, they even have problems with bikes… But what about people on the sidewalk, I dont want to kill them.
I pick routes that are a bit less traveled by cars, and ride on the road. There are bits that I do on sidewalks, but they are very wide and serve as bike routes as well.
might put things in perspective, or it could confirm your fears.
That seems a little over the top with insane. Haha. Well seeing as how where I live it definitly is not that busy I guess I shouldnt really have a problem. Its going to be interesting to see how I do things.
I’ve experimented with a range of pressures just to assess what it feels like. Settled at 65psi and it feels solid (without being hard) and responsive to the road. At the higher pressure it sings a nice tune at 12 mph and above.
I never had a nightrider but, with my modified TA I would run 40-45 PSI for road rides and 20-25 PSI for off road. I might have gone with higher road pressures if my tire was rated for it.
It’s weird - I think I’m the only person who doesn’t like high pressure in a 36er tyre. I tend to run mine (TA on Stealth Pro rim) between 25 and 30psi depending on how much off-road there is on my route. Anything over 30psi I just find myself spending the whole ride fighting against the road camber - drop it back down below 30 and it stops trying to throw me in the hedge. I pumped it up harder when I first swapped it from my old steel rim to the Stealth and it blew off the rim at just over 40psi.
I was coming to the forum to start a new thread with a question regarding a 36er but when I saw this thread I thought I’d just post it here.
After my unicycle ride yesterday/today I think I might have to finally buy a 36er.
I’m small 5’2" and I already posted last year and people were kind enough to tell me that I could ride one I would just have to cut it to fit.
My first choice is probably or was a Coker Big One but I’m not sure if the Big One would allow enough room to cut off part of the frame if necessary, or if I should go with a KH 36, I’m thinking the KH because someone last year said that they were similar in height to me and the KH was suitable.
But in any case my new question is and this is also an issue being vertically challenged…what is the best/most stable crank size that would work for me.
My history of riding basically is I started riding last summer but I had to stop after only a few weeks and never really rode far or much, (I ended up with vertigo and suffered with it most of the summer). This year I have quit smoking, exercised, and I am determined to ride as much as I possibly can, so basically I am a newbie.
Most of my crank sizes are 125s. I like this size and seems to work well for my needs but I’m wondering if 125s are a smart choice for a 36er. Anyway, I want to do this right because what I get I am probably going to keep for a very long time. Anyway what do you guys feel about the differences in cranks and what do you think I should start with.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Oh and if you have some suggestions as to which 36er would be a better choice the Coker Big One or KH36 please feel free with input for this as well. I don’t anticipate much off road riding with the 36er at this point, mostly paved or crushed stone riding at least until I have more experience.
