I have a Coker, which I really like, but with all the talk of 29” uni’s I was wondering how well a 29” wheel would work in a Coker frame? My main incentive is that it would obviously be cheaper for me just to buy the wheel than a full 29” uni.
Does anyone or has anyone done this? Are there any downsides other than swapping the wheel and adjusting the seat?
Thanks
Think about what you wrote: adjusting the seat… The seat is positioned relative to the axle, not the wheel size. You only need to adjust the seat if you change the length of the cranks, not the wheel size.
A Coker wheel is 36 inch diameter, meaning a greater diameter of 7 inches than the 29er. The radius is the important thing for frame size. You will have 3.5 inches of extra clearance between the top of the 29 inch tyre and the bottom of the fork crown than would exist between the top of the original Coker wheel and the bottom of the fork crown.
So, apart from changing the wheel, there would be nothing to worry about unless you are worried about the aesthetics (US = esthetics) of the new set up with its big gap.
You can easily and safely put a 29 inch wheel in a Coker frame.
DO be careful to put the wheel in the right way round. A carelss mistake could lead to your pedals unwinding and damaging your cranks.
Sorry, I had to!
Do you only have a Coker? Bedford’s MUni frames will fit those wheels
I did that when I built my first 29er wheel. At the time, my Coker wheel was taco’d so I wasn’t using the frame anyway. I even welded on some v-brake mounts. The nice thing about the extra space was that it made it easy to lock it up with a chain.
cheers… Joe
Oops! Carelss of me. Bollxo!
26?
Hmm, this is interesting.
This may mean I don’t have to go buy a 26" uni.
I never imagined putting a smaller frame on my Coker frame.
Thanks for that photo, I had to see it to believe it!
Will any 29" or 26" wheel fit? Will any other frame fill so neatly?
There may be width issues with different hubs, but I think it is possible to “sprag” a frame a bit wider to take the wider hub.
There may be flexibility issues if you use a long-legged frame for hard MUni. However, in principle, any size of wheel will fit in a Coker frame.
My train of thought for seat height, though I didn’t mention it, was that I’d have different size cranks on a 29” than on my 36” but I may not, thanks for pointing it out.
I think I’m going to get a 29” wheel now I know it’ll work OK, thanks for all the input guys.