Coker Rims

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I am going to be putting together a coker of my own and need some help deciding what to get.

I am deciding between a stock coker rim with the unicycle.com wide hub wheelset ,
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=572

or the airofoil rim wheelset. http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=570

Which is the better choice? What is your experience with either of these rims?

Also, I’ve heard that having brakes on a stock coker rim isn’t a good idea. Is this true? How badly will I wish I have brakes if I ride around a semi-really hilly places? If I do get brakes, what do you suggest as good coker brakes?

I weigh 130 and am 5’ 6"…

Thanks
-Lee

2

Having extensive experience with both, I can answer fairly.

If you can afford the airfoil rim (although I think they are sold out and the machine broken, I think I saw in another post) and intend to get into MUni, or Rolling Trials, or are heavy (maybe you have heavy friends that you want want to let them try), you will appreciate it’s strength.

The stock on is steel, it’s weaker, it can rust, and you can fold the rim over much easier. The rim will teach you to ride with finesse, I was able to fly through rough technical trails for a whole year putting way more use than the average rider, I garuntee that.

I think I am such a strong coker rider because of the skills I needed to develope to push the coker to it’s limits (and almost beyond)

I have only used brakes with the airfoil, but ‘they’ say the stock rim wobbles too much for an effective brake. I think it would be less than ideal, but certainly not ineffective (no need for too much brake power on a uni anyways)

So get the airfoil if you can, but don’t think the stock Coker will crumble under you immediately (although keep that in the back of your mind at all times once you start riding hard)

I have been beating my Airfoiled Coker for 8 months or so now, plowing, smashing through/over everything, drops trials, stairs, anything my brain will let me go over.

I have still only trued the wheel (kinda halfass’dly) once

There is a very cool Coker scene in TWNR

(and a scene in the bonus where one stunt is smashed into 5 or 6 times (not all times are filmed!) in order to finally get over it. It spun true afterwards, it’s great

3

I’ve had my coker for about 8 months and have really enjoyed it. I ordered it from unicycle(dot)com with the KH seat and standard rim. The rim is not perfect. There are some rim/side wall variations large enough that I would not consider installing brakes. The rim imperfections are small enough that I do not notice them at all when riding.

Of my two unicycles neither of them have brakes and I have no personal experience with brakes so my opinion is rather limited. However, I have really enjoyed riding in Logan, Utah where it is impossible to find a stretch of road without any hills.

Jim F.

4

i myself do not have a coker but my close friend does ive ridden it before and after he upgraded to airfoil i couldnt feel much of a difference but a the airfoil looked alot cooler and his old rim/wheelset was beginning to deteriorate(spelling) so if u have the money and want it to last longer i would go 4 the airfoil. oh and remember u still have to lean back when you use the brakes otherwise u will go catapulting off of the uni. brakes arent really that nessasary unless you are putting a shorter cranks on or b going down really steep hills.
PS we had alot of trouble managing to get the tire onto the airfoil rim 4 some reason we bent a few tire leavers.

5

Thanks. Does has anyone tested the strength of the stock rim with the stock hub, compared to the stock rim with the unicycle.com WIDE hub? And does anyone know when the airfoil rim maker machine will be up and running again?

-Lee

6

the stock rim is featured here (it spring back to shape before it hit the ground, and i road eit out of the woods. has the stonck rim/hub

there is a scene of the airfoil rim/wider hub in the trailer link in my sig

7

wow , I have never seen a rim do that before!

Sprang back to shape like a rubberband !

That can’t be good thou. Such stretch of metal like that fatigues it’s properties.

8

I knew the standard rim flexed, but Brian’s video is amazing. Glad I upgraded to the Airfoil last summer. Hopefully attached a picture from Brian’s video below to prove an 18Mb download is worth it.

Keith

logbridgetoofar.jpg

9

Had my weight been on it more when it hit, i would have bent it quite easily.

I barely had to spend any time truing it (but really, it hadn’t been trued in a month or so, so most of it was probably pre-taco)

I rode it for months after that, including the 24 hour race that I decided it was time to get an airfoil…and make a UW36 before I ruined the rim completely

10

Yes, it can be very difficult to get a tire on the Airfoil rim. The first time I tired I couldn’t do it. I broke a good plastic tire lever and still couldn’t get it on the rim. I ended up taking the wheel to a bike shop, with a look of absolute frustration on my face, and getting help from one of the mechanics to finally get the tire on. I just couldn’t do it by myself.

But there is hope. Check this thread for the lowdown: Easy Coker Airfoil tire change. The secret is in the rim strip and using a toe strap as a third pair of hands. Rox Ultralight Rim Strips rock.

11

Go to a bike that sells DH mountain Bikes. Ask them for DH tire levers. The Park tool ones (bike tool insdustry standard, and well worth it) are about $15 cdn each. or so. They are metal, and much longer. They work perfectly.

I bout two (for around $20-30cdn) and prmoptly lost one.

I have been using one all along, but two would be better.

It goes on and off like a dream, and worth every penney