I’ve finally conquered my 24" unicycle and have decided at my age I need a larger wheeled machine like 29" for touring. I’ll never be an off-road rider.
In looking over the Web I’m seeing that Kris Holm uni’s are twice the price of the Nimbus. I’m driving a Torker right now.
What makes Kris Holm’s machine worth twice that of Nimbus?
Thanks,
Old Martian:o
I’m not a senior citizen – I’m a recycled teenager
The KH is more durable and better for hopping and doing drops. It has a two-walled rim rather than a one-walled rim for the nimbus. The KH has much stronger (and heavier) cranks. Both have brake mounts.
Depending upon your interests and how far you are riding, you might consider adding a handlebar later. I also prefer the KH freerider seat to the Nimbus seat, but for short rides it does not matter. Some of the upgrade paths maybe better with the KH.
For road riding I see few advantages for the KH. I would get the Nimbus, put on a good road tire and go riding.
Scott
I agree with scott, for a 29 on the road only, nimbus is the way to go, you won’t ever notice the extra weight saved. The KH fusion street is my weapon of choice for distance. You can ask if they’ll switch it out for the difference, sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, depends on how pricey the cycle is.
Nimbus/Holm
Juggleaddict and Scott:
Thanks for the quick replies. You’ve put my mind to rest. I know KHolm is the top of the line (esp. in seats), but I wasn’t sure Nimbus was good.
I just picked up doing this late 2008. I’m 68 years old, so I won’t be putting on tons of miles or riding hard.
Juggleaddict, you’ll like this:
I’ve always been a good bike rider, and in mid-life (45?) I learned how to juggle, although basic 3 balls (bags). In 2007 I decided to learn to juggle on my bicycle. The neighbors saw me and were reasonably impressed (no one is really impressed with anything nowadays). One neighbor fellow joked, “Yeah, but can you do it on a unicycle?” Well, that’s where I am now: I have to learn how to unicycle first, which I’m almost there. On YouTube search for “oldmartian” and “unicycle” and you’ll see my progress, or lack thereof. I made the videos for my grandkids, who weren’t that impressed (as I expected, of course). I think my dog was more impressed, as she’s no longer afraid of the unicycle because it doesn’t crash onto the ground like it used to.
There are several videos I’ve posted, so press the appropiate button to access them. I’m going to thin out the list of videos soon. There’s a lot of non-uni stuff there, too, that has to go.
Again, thanks to both of you for your comments on the Nimbus vs. Holm.
Oldmartian
I have the nimbus 29" touring and love it. (be sure you get the faster blue color when you order it)
Buy the Nimbus and with the money saved buy a lighter tire. The one that comes stock on the Nimbus 29" touring is a TANK. (see below)
I don’t think you can buy a heavier tire than what comes on it. While it’s not offered as an upgrade on the website you could try asking if they will replace the Duro Easy Ride with the Schwalbe Big Apple for just the price difference.
The Schwalbe Big Apple is a very popular choice as an ‘upgrade’. There is an extra light version if you don’t mind spending the extra dollars.
You want the 29" by 2"
http://www.schwalbetires.com/big_apple
Schwalbe Big Apple: 29" x 2" 700g (for the light version) 885g (for the regular, what I ride)
Duro Easy ride: 29" x 2.35 1300g !!! - thats almost 3lbs !!!
Skinnier Tire
Thanks, Ezas.
I’m going to take the Nimbus specs to my local bike shop and have him order and assemble the uni. I’ll have him negotiate for the thinner tire. I won’t be buying until Spring, though. I have more practice to do on my 24" Torker this Autumn, and then ski season comes upon us…
This is what I’m hot on:
http://www.allunicycles.com/unicycles/commuting---touring-unicycles/nimbus29inchcommutingtouringunicyclewithisishubblue.cfm
I’m hot for the bigger (29 in) but I know in my heart I’m ot that ready for it yet. I don’t want to beat the new uni up as bad as I did my Torker.
I like tips and tricks from the experienced. Thanks again.
Yep that’s the faster blue color . . .
… and the big heavy tire.
68 and still skiing. Rock on. I had to quit two years ago. Knees couldn’t take even just cruising (fast) the groomers. And skiing slow is boring.
Yep that’s the faster blue color . . .
… and the big heavy tire.
68 and still skiing. Rock on. I had to quit two years ago. Knees couldn’t take even just cruising (fast) the groomers. And skiing slow is boring.
I agree. If I had to ski slow, I’d quit. … And I, too, am doing a number on my knees with this unicycle business. The only other option is to curl up and die. Unicycling is more fun than doing that! I think, anyway.
I vote for the Nimbus 29 as well. I have the meaner red color. It has become my favorite unicycle.
Just be extra careful in the beginning. It takes your muscles a while to adjust. One of the few times I fell and didn’t land on my feet was right after I got my 29er. I took off before I really had a good feeling for the weight on turns and ended up limping around with a sprained ankle for two weeks.
The lighter tire will certainly help. I need to look into that myself.
I always go cautiously and any new toy. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around what to expect:
Further off ground?
Going faster than I can run in case I slip off?
Applied muscle power causing fast speed changes?
Knee power enough to drive uni?
Being a retired engineer, my mind always turns to energy expended or dissipated trying to maneuver machine from previous equilibrium point. (Thus overthinking a situation when I should be concentrating on STAYING ON the damn thing.
you’re not much farther off the ground on a 29.
you won’t be able to ride faster than you can run off of it if you fall. I don’t even have that problem on the 36er unless I’m going full out on 125s, and then you’re pretty stable.
the bigger wheel will make you accelerate slower, but you can have some quick bursts of speed by accident, just step off if you feel uncomfortable. a broken uni is better than a broken arm.
knee/ leg power should be fine, if it’s too much, you can get cranks as large as 175s
you’re an engineer too? : P go figure, I’m about to graduate in Aerospace at Georgia Tech
a 29 inch rides much like a 24 inch, but the 36er is a big difference because of the weight of the wheel and the height.
My view is not as rosy but not meant to warn you off of a 29"
To me a 29" does feel higher and faster, enough that I don’t feel as confident that I can run them all out. I haven’t been able to run them all out on my 24". But the worst I have to show for those few was a skinned knee which a knee pad would have prevented.
I have some physical limitations that don’t help when I fall and need to run them out. They are getting better as a byproduct of rehabbing my knees so my ability will improve.
But in spite of this, my 29" is the only one of my 3 unis where I wear gloves, shin guards (for blown mounts) and feel like I should be wearing my knee pads.
The last fall I had (and the first in a long time) i was trying to pull up my knee brace which I had forgotten to pull up before riding. Easy fall, no drama.
I think my few ‘front’ falls were while trying to learn to mount the 29" so speed was low but for some reason they were awkward.
Other than that, good information from JA.
When I learned (actually on a kids 16") and I moved to my 24, I was terrified by both, so I practiced on a 20 w/ 125’s, 114’s and then 102’s over a couple of months (I’m a SLOOOW learner) and switching to the 24 was no problem, once I got used to the different crank length. A few years after I’d started Muning I briefly tried a 36. Although it was much higher than my 24 & I could easily ride faster than I can run which I could already do on my 24 (I can’t really run do to some paralysis in my legs) I very quickly got the hang of it. I’d be fine cruising on it but I doubt I’d do anything challenging on a 36.
You may want to practice falling on grass, so you learn how to somersault out if you don’t land on your feet. I’d practice both sides so it was automatic. And/or wear knee pads & wrist guards (I always do for anything challenging).
Because of the larger wheel’s greater inertia, it doesn’t change speed as quickly. No problem on accelerating, but if you have to slow down/stop suddenly, w/o brakes, from high speeds that may take several revs. It will also not turn as sharply. For me w/ a larger wheel or shorter cranks I turn more by leaning and less by pivot/twisting.
Missed edit
On technical terrain (which it sounds like you won’t be doing) the inertia can help and hurt. Rolling over large bumps would be easier, but it can get away from you. You may want to suddenly stop or turn, both would be harder. Which can be tricky/scary since you’re center of gravity is higher and your going faster.
Just discovered this community and joined. Already discovered quick answer to the same question … KH vs Nimbus. It appears I’ve made the best investment by going with my KH mountain trials.
Except that you were looking at a REALLY old thread. The Nimbus has come a long way since that post and most of that information is not true anymore. The only real difference now is weight. In fact some have even said the nimbus is a stronger uni.
My newest uni has nimbus oracle frame, nimbus rim, hub, seatpost, seatclamp, it’s all really good. I love it. KH Seat, spirit cranks with disc. Weight is pretty much the same nowadays.
I love KH and Nimbus equally now. It’s like picking Nikon vs Canon, or Coke vs Pepsi. It just becomes a preference.
Very outdated thread, a lot has happened in 4 years for the unicycling world.
EDIT: Make sure to read tholub’s post below me. He brings up really good points to remember. I just compare highest price models of both.
Well, that depends. First, there are two majorly different Nimbus MUnis, one called just the Nimbus MUni (~$300) and one called the Nimbus Oracle (~$640).
Both Nimbus MUnis have Venture 2 cranks, which are not as strong as the KH Spirits. The KH hub is better than the cheap Nimbus hub (I’ve seen Nimbus hubs snap at the splines), but the Oracle’s hub may be better than the cheap one.
But yeah, the Nimbus unis are pretty solid for the price. The Oracle costs as much as the stock KH, but the stock KH lacks a brake.
Yes, good points.
I actually wasn’t thinking of the Oracle line from Nimbus when I wrote that, I was thinking of the trials and regular muni line. Isn’t the cro-mo frame stronger than kh aluminum ? I also thought the older nimbus hub (the one on the nimbus trials and nimbus regular 24/26/29 muni) was the strongest out there?
Not sure if this is true or not, it would be good to learn the correct info…