I’m seriously considering buying a 36. What is the difference between the Nimbus 36, Radial 36 and Coker? I understand that there is a new Coker coming out soon…worth waiting for?
thanks for your input!
I like the nimbus frame (hunter style) over the standard radial 360/coker design. It makes it feel a bit more like a cycle to ride further, comes with brake mounts and thinner frame bars make for easier cycling computer attachment and makes turning smoother than you could imagine.
have you ridden both styles? I want to hear from GizmoDuck and DustinSchaap on this I beileve both of them have ridden with both frame… I think they’ve both stuck with the orignal coker frame too… I’m not sure though…
You forgot the Qu-Ax, I don’t know how available they are in the states but they’re the most different to the products you mentioned.
I think you have to think what components you want, and then work out which uni will supply them, you need to decide:
wide hub vs standard hub, wide hub builds stronger wheel
airfoil rim versus steel rim, steel is weak and flexible, but will fit coker tyre, airfoil only fits TA tyre and there have been problems with them blowing off
12g steel vs 14g stainless spokes, the stainless are better in every respect
coker frame vs raidal frame vs nimbus frame, the radial has v brake mounts, the nimbus had magura HS33 mounts
rail seatpost vs 4 bolt, the N36 has the former, which allows you to adjust seat angle accurately for beter comfort, the other two have the 4 bolt which offers minial adjust ment but is lighter
Personally I’m riding something approximately the same as the nimbus 36" deluxe
the new qu-ax looks like the best.
Its hub isnt as wide, but it is their red hub so it is quite strong. ALso you get isis cranks which is nice, although probably not really a neccesity for 36"
You do get an aluminium rim, which should be better than the steel rim, although dont know if it fits both tyres.
I understand it’s the corect size and thus fits both tyres, and it’s a 48 holer.
I don’t quite agree… the 3 unicycles are all so different. You can say there’s the standard 36" unicycle (Radial + older Qu-ax + Coker), the Airfoil ‘unicycle’ and the newer Qu-ax unicycle. I have left Nimbus out of this for a reason, which I will explain in a second. The most important difference in the unicycles I just named is that they all have a different rim and a different hub.
The standard unicycles use the steel single walled rim, which is very heavy and not so stable + quite narrow flanges on the hub. Bad!
Skipping the airfoil and going directly to the Qu-ax: it uses a strong aluminium double walled rim, which is light + also quite narrow flanges on the hub. Good! Why is the narrow hub good on this unicycle and bad on the standard unicycle? The wider the hub, the more stable the wheel. True, but, the stronger Qu-ax rim can take a narrow hub 1. because its stronger, there wont be that flexy and 2. because it has 48 spokes for extra stability. Putting a narrow hub on a weak wheel, such as the standard unicycles is a bad idea as the whole wheel will be pretty weak.
Finally coming to the airfoil wheelset, it is usually spoked with a 127mm UDC extra wide hub (127mm), I would say that is pretty much overkill. Because the airfoil rim is so strong it can take a narrow hub. I think the UDC extra wide hub was designed before the airfoil rim and was made for the steel rim, but I cant be sure.
A wide hub provides more wobble -> less speed, so in theory you go faster with a narrow hub.
That is the difference between the 3 unicycles, if you look at the frame, seatpost, even the saddle, they are pretty much the same. This is why I didn’t name Nimbus, because it uses the existing wheelset and goes on on that. The benefit of the Nimbus is that the frame has brake brackets welded on, it has a slick design that should reduce flex. And it has the 25.4mm seatpost tube so you can easily put a rail adapter on (Qu-ax and I believe Radial have a 25.4mm seatpost tube as well) the handle is not my personal choice, but it makes riding a lot easier.
I can’t say that I have much experience with the Nimbus frame, I have only ridden Roger’s prototype frame, which is not the final version as it uses a different kind of steel, and a slightly different construction. When I rode it it was running a pretty low tire pressure so that probably caused some flex in turns. I like the design, but I’m not sure how much flex it removes.
Airfoil and Qu-ax, they’re both aluminium double walled rims. The airfoil has 36 holes and a braking surface. It will only fit the TA tire nowadays. The Qu-ax has 48 holes and no braking surface! Note: You cannot install brakes on the new Qu-ax rim For me this is no problem as I don’t use them, but I can see how some less experienced riders, or riders in hilly terrain will want a brake. Those are the main differences, also I think the Qu-ax is a little narrower and a bit lighter, but I’m not sure about the latter…
Okay, this was pretty lengthy and I’m not sure how clear I was, so if there’s any questions do please post about it.
couldnt you still use a brake on the qu_ax rim but it would have less traction?
I just bought a Nimbus 36’er and LOVE it… I also bought the Magura brake with it… it’s great!!! I’ve already put almost 12 miles on it in 2 days! distance is Addicting!
I was just speaking to Amy at the U.S. UDC and she said that the new Coker that was billed to be coming out soon is all up in the air. Two people were fired from the project, she noted, and the production schedule is nebulous at best. Anyone else heard this? I was thinking of getting a Coker when the new ones came out, but now, who knows.
Is it safe to assume that the T7 would work with a Nimbus 36?
Finally, Amy was talking about the Radial 36 (that UDC makes, I believe). Has anyone ridden one to rate it?
Thanks,
Phil
I have the T7 on my Nimbus 36 it’s AMAZING! so yes it would work and i’ve never ridden a radial 360
I have and it doesn’t feel the same as the nimbus version for some reason. 
I’ve got that, along with the T7 handle and it is wonderful, I really like the whole setup. I got it used here on the forums.
I have the cheapest radial 360
I like it a lot. It is easy to ride here in flatlands. The quality seems OK for the price.
I am just starting to learn to idle and ride backwards on a 20. For rolling ahead, the heavy steel rim is fine. Perhaps the extra rim weight will make idling harder etc. , I am not good enough to say yet.
sorry for the delay. Yes, I’ve ridden the standard 36" frame and the nimbus 36 frame.
Has anyone tried fitting one of the latest batch of Coker tires to the Quax aluminium rim? Is it definite the coker tire won’t come off?
jim
havnt tried yet, but the diameter is bigger than that of the original airfoils
As I understand, the only reason the UDC airfoil rims did not work with the coker tire was because of a mistake with the UDC supplier. UDC was reluctant to piss off the supplier by stating so as they could not find anyone else to make the rims. I dont recall off hand what country the qu-ax uni’s are from, however if they use a different supplier for rims there shouldn’t be a problem.
I have the standard coker frame and the previous version of the airfoil rim which fits both tires. I have gone over 1,000 miles this year alone with my setup and the standard coker frame works fine. I tried the T7 handle, but I am more a fan of the GB4 handle…which I currently have on my setup.
The nimbus 36 is a great unicycle though and if it were out before I purchased mine, I probably would have gone with that instead of the standard coker frame. It will work better with brakes and can fit the schlumpf hub from what I have been told…if you ever plan on making a geared 36, plus it comes in a nice smurfy color.
All in all though, the frame does not appear to make too much difference from what I have experienced. The TA tire does appear to be quite nice on the road though. I have been only using the coker tire on my setup, but once I run it to the ground I will switch to the TA, because it is much smoother on the road/trail.
Is there a reason why QU-ax got a 36inch rim made without a braking surface?