wow.
Crikey!
I thought coker’s were just for travelling until I saw all the photos you’ve put on. The video is amazing! It looks as though the extra speed (and momentum?) that the big wheel has is helping it to get up the ramp.
The photos of the leaning turn are cool as a very cool thing in a very cool place, the video of leaning turns is even cooler!
Can’t wait for the final video.
Good work that man.
T.
P.S Spyder, I like the photo of the “corker” !!! Well funny!
Re: wow.
Thanks a lot, Tom! While Cokers are great for travelling… they are also great for a heck of a lot more! The greater speed capability of the Coker opens up a whole new world of unicycling… for the first time unicycles can really bank turns, ride high up ramps, plow over obstacles, and more. It is extremely exciting and the possibilities are endless. You should also check out Brian MacKenzie’s Coker riding… it is quite impressive. He can do some amazing things on his Coker. With ace unicycle mechanics on the board like Harper and Unisk8r who are building various configurations of geared 36" wheel unicycles… the future for this niche of the sport looks quite bright.
The speed and momentum (and stability) of the big wheel definitely helps get up (and down) the ramp. I only wish the ramp were higher because I figure I had enough speed to probably get at least another revolution or two up the ramp which would have taken me anywhere from 3 to 7 feet higher up the ramp… thus I need at least a 12 foot ramp… but higher would be better (20 ft. would be ideal). As you can see from one of my rides up the ramp… I came real close to the ledge on top and rode parallel to it for a bit before turning to come down. Normally I go up the ramp a little slower and a tad lower and then just spin a 180… but with the extra speed and height, I had to ride parallel along the top because an abrubt 180 at that speed may have tossed me, plus I didn’t want to hit my wheel on the ledge as I spun the turn… so riding parallel to the ledge slowed me down and avoided my hitting the ledge with the wheel. I have lots more ramp footage to include… plus I’ll be getting more footage this weekend at a totally insane location!
Thanks again, Tom… I can’t wait to finish the video, but in the meantime I’ll be periodically posting some rough cuts of some highlights. The “corker” thing was funny 
Thanks HCR!
The Coker scene in TWNR will certainly show people what can…and should…be done with the Coker, Unicycle.com better order a new shipment of Cokers around the time of TWNR’s release.
Spyder, that was a hilarious picture of the Corker, you are a very funny person. How do you come up with such hilarity?
I’m only guessing, but I bet he did a search. Something the guy asking the original question might have tried… 
Andy,
Fun video! What a great place to be allowed to ride! Makes me want to ride ramps with my Coker too. Or my 29", which I’d be less worried about tacoing. You’ll be quite a terror when you get an upgraded wheel, I’m amazed your standard Coker wheel has lasted so long.
So this “going up the stairs” stuff. Are you rolling up? That’s something I’d expect a Coker can do pretty easily, with a fearless-enough rider…
Thanks a lot, John… it’s a work in progress, but I was eager to post something. I hope you like the finished product. Yeah, it is an awesome place to ride… I’m really glad they let me ride there (especially considering I got a ticket and nearly arrested for attempting to ride in the downtown skatepark - where uni’s are forbidden… go figure!). I had just discovered it around the time of your visit to NYC and wanted to take you there… but being that everyone from the club was eager to talk to you (it’s not often that we get a visit from someone so accomplished and recognized in the sport)… I didn’t want to pull you away from the group. Hopefully next time you are in NYC we can go there. Unfortunately, they are now closed and won’t reopen until the summer 
As far as being a terror on my better rim… that’s my goal! I intend to keep developing my skills and pushing my limits. Now that my mystery location has been revealed , I hope you checked it out (http://www.raysmtb.com). I’ll be riding D5’s stockton wheel over there
I strongly recommend ramp riding… it’s really, really fun! You should have no problem riding up a ramp the size of the one I hit (about 6 feet) on your 29" wheel. I tacoed my stock Coker rim twice when I first got it (just from aggressive turns), but I was about 190 lbs at the time. I think they may have improved the stock rim for me slightly… but either way, I haven’t tacoed the stock rim since I got my third rim (I’ve weighed about 170 lbs since then, too) despite some pretty abusive riding (down stairs and such… I went up the stairs on D5’s stockton wheel uni). It may have been that the extra 20 lbs I weighed was a significant factor. At my current weight the stock Coker (or slightly improved) holds up amazingly well! I don’t think the ramp riding abuses the wheel too badly. You gotta try it! I think it’s fun for people to watch, too. Check out my thread titled: “New Extreme Uni Contest - The Coker Wall Climb!”
Actually Dave Lowell (D5) describes it as “launching up the stairs!” I smack the first step at a pretty good speed and then it feels like I’m just flying up the rest… I reach the top before I know it! It’s not a difficult maneuver… but it is another example of the amazing capabilities of the Coker… which is why I think this uni can make the sport really exciting in numerous ways!
HCR, do you true your own wheel? That thing is is an accident waiting to happen if you are smashing into stairs with it.
I smashed into the stairs with D5’s Stockton wheel… I wouldn’t dare attempt that with my stock rim! And… in response to your earlier reply… I definitely intend to go back to Cleveland a few times throughout the Winter (especially since they’re not open in the summer), so it would be awesome to meet you there!!!
Oh, no! That’s MY wheel we are talking about!
Do you think the force would be any greater than doing a big drop on the Coker? Didn’t someone do that with a Dave Stockton Coker wheel? It survived perfectly.
I think the “Strongest Coker Wheel in the World” will hold up to its name. But certainly everything has its limits. Do you think we are in the danger zone?
I didn’t know he was on your wheel, if he wrote it, I missed it
I do think the force would be greater though, as you are hitting the corner of the first step at speed, I bet there is some sort of impact area dimension * speed formula out there that would describe it.
[coff]
Klaas?
Re: Coker skatepark video - rough cut of intro
On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 22:55:08 -0600, “Brian MacKenzie” wrote:
>Klaas?
You may be right. 
“Deflating pi does not reduce calories, it just concentrates them. - billham”
I’d be more worried about the tire bottoming out when hitting that first step. That could cause a very localized impact to the rim and could damage the rim. Or it could cause a pinch flat. If the tire has plenty of air then these risks are minimized.
It would be cool to see a very high speed camera shot of the impact with the first stair. The cameras that take something like 1000 frames per second and let you do the super slow-mo. That would let you see how far the tire deflects and how close the corner of the first step comes to the rim.
If the Coker rider was aiming at the stairs with the mind set of hitting that first step dead on, going as fast as he could, then with the great possibilty of being slightly off of ‘dead-on impact’ perhaps a last minute over correction, or maybe even the wind picking up (granted this would be rare, but my wheel has suddenly shifted due to unexpected gusts of wind), that stock Coker rim could easily buckle immedeiately.
the Coker rim equivelant to a slow motion crash test dummy frontal impact test
High tire pressure or not
I was making the assumption that the Airfoil rim was being used and a good wheel build. A stock Coker wheel would not survive that kind of abuse very long.
HCR was using Dave Lowell’s Coker which has a Dave Stockton wheel. The bigger risk with the Stockton wheel is the tire bottoming out when it hits the edge of the curb or stair.
Ahh, gotcha.
On that note, I hit a corner so hard once that I was sure I would have popped the tube, as I could hear the rim smash into concrete…I have bottomed out several times, I have never popped, or pinch flatted a coker tube.
I do have a clip of my smashing into a rock, and the sound of impact…I had originally included it in the main feature of TWNR, but took it out, and I had completely forgetten about it until now, so I will now include it in the bonus songs 
thanks JC, that clip’s for you!
Riding in a skatepark with no helmet or pads? You’re asking for it, macho man!
I’m impressed with the riding, but I was waiting to see some aerials. I guess I’ve been conditioned to associate skate parks with big air. I’ve taken my 24" out to the local “Fun Spot” and launched off the small fun boxes a few times, but I can’t muster enough momentum to take on the large ramps.
Dammit, gimme a geared uber-strong trials uni! Now!
Why do I get the feeling we’re going to see many tacoed Cokers in the near future?
Great stuff! Cheers! Post more viddys!
You may have to contact Steve Howard or some other machinist to see if you can get a custom extra-wide splined hub made for the Coker. If you’re bending cranks you’re going to eventually break a standard square tapered hub.
Kooka cranks are good if you can find a pair. The problem with the Kooka cranks is that they’re strong enough to put more stress on the axle. The cranks may survive, but the axle is going to have a shortened life. The Kooka cranks are standard square taper.
Man, I can’t believe you’re doing that stuff without any wrist guards. You’ve got to go down sometimes, no???
Long cranks must help on those snap turns. I’ve just ordered a pair.
Another question: How to get hold of Steve Howard. I’m thinking of breaking out my Coker on the Muni trails up in Santa Barbara, but at 210 pounds, I can’t imagine the rig lasting long, even with the Airfoil rim.
Happy holidays,
JL
Thanks a lot, Jason! I’ll be posting the next release of my video next week. It will include additional footage of my riding at the uptown skatepark as well as at Rays MTB in Cleveland (Disneyland for aggressive uni riders) and will include a few guest appearances by Dave Lowell (D5 - NYUC) riding at Rays. If I can pull it off, I may try to get some video shot of my urban riding… but I’m eager to post the stuff we shot at Rays, so the urban riding will probably have to wait until the third release of my video (it’s a work in progress). I think you’ll enjoy the next (second) release. When we have more time to work on better camera angles (including close-ups) - next time we’re at Rays, perhaps - you’ll have a better appreciation for the size (and menacing appearance) of some of the obstacles. The video I’ll be posting will give you some idea, though. I look forward to your feedback.
I’m planning on upgrading to an Airfoil wheelset soon… do you think I’ll have the same problem with the hub on that wheel? Brian’s seems to be holding up pretty well!
Are Kooka cranks available in 150’s (or whatever size my stock cranks are… I’m pretty sure they are 150’s)? I kind of like that size - I find it very versatile and a good compromise.