This is about as high up the ramp as I can go without knocking my wheel on the ledge on the top when I spin the 180.
why not gear the wheel and go for some BIG AIR!! 
I used to skate vert, so mucho props on your kahunas!!
Need a geared Coker! Geared my giraffe, meanwhile!
why not gear the wheel and go for some BIG AIR!!
I’d really love to gear the Coker… but now that I saw that really cool chain-driven Coker, I’m not sure whether to save up a bunch of money and wait for the company in Switzerland for the internally geared hub… or save enough to make a tempting offer (and beg and plead, if necessary) to one of my fellow unicyclists, such as Greg Harper or the other inventive fellow who built that radical chain driven 36" uni.
I recently geared my 5 ft. giraffe. I used a track hub and interchangeable sprockets on both sides of the hub, so that I can just flip the wheel around to change the gear. If I want to change the gearing, I can easily change the sprockets on either side. Right now I have it geared to give me the equivalent of about a 30.5" wheel on one side and a 37" wheel if I flip the wheel around. I haven’t flipped the wheel around and ridden the 37" gear ratio yet… but I intend to soon. Freemounting the giraffe with even the 30.5" gear ratio was a bit tricky and took some getting used to… so I’m sure the 37" ratio will be even harder to freemount. Riding a geared wheel on top of a pole is a lot different than riding the Coker… but it was kinda cool. I have some video of me freemounting the geared giraffe and riding it over the “hump” ramp at the skatepark that’s maybe three feet high. I hope to post it soon with my Coker video…
I used to skate vert, so mucho props on your kahunas
Thanks! Skating vert is pretty extreme… so mucho props on your kahunas, as well.
Re: Coker skatepark photos (#4) - Top of ramp
On Fri, 26 Nov 2004 22:45:00 -0600, “HardcoreCokerRider” wrote:
>I recently geared my 5 ft. giraffe. I used a track hub and
>interchangeable sprockets on both sides of the hub, so that I can just
>flip the wheel around to change the gear.
What about the different chain length required? Have the chain
tensioners enough range to compensate?
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
“Deflating pi does not reduce calories, it just concentrates them. - billham”
What about the different chain length required? Have the chain
tensioners enough range to compensate?
Your intuition is correct… the chain tensioners do indeed have enough range to compensate… barely! I have a 28 tooth sprocket up top and an 18 tooth and 15 tooth on opposite sides of the hub. I haven’t ridden the giraffe yet with the wheel on the 15 tooth side. I just flipped the wheel around today in response to your question to make sure that it did work (without having to get a different size chain). I’ll try and take it for a test spin tonight or tomorrow. Freemounting it should be interesting…
why not gear the wheel and go for some BIG AIR!!
I’d really love to gear the Coker… but now that I saw that really cool chain-driven Coker, I’m not sure whether to save up a bunch of money and wait for the company in Switzerland for the internally geared hub… or save enough to make a tempting offer (and beg and plead, if necessary) to one of my fellow unicyclists, such as Greg Harper or the other inventive fellow who built that radical chain driven 36" uni.[/COLOR]
Sorry, Pete… at the time of my post I hadn’t realized that you were the inventive fellow that built that awesome geared 36" uni! That thing is truly amazing! I have been training to go fast on my Coker for a little while now and have been yearning for a machine that I could go even faster on and take to the nearby velodrome… so I geared up my giraffe to a 31" and 37" (sprockets on both sides of hub), but with that kind of acceleration… sitting on top of a pole with a 20" wheel under it makes it quite difficult to go fast on anything but a perfectly flat, smooth surface. Having built the uni of my dreams, I would be tempted to consider a trip to your neck of the woods when I’m in CA at the end of March… just for the opportunity to take your high-speed dream machine for a spin! My hats off to you… Amazing job!