I’m back! I’ve now got internet again; unfortunately, it only works about half the time, but that’s better than it never working.
Here’s a new question. I’m thinking of buying or building a commuter unicycle. Before anyone says, “buy a Coker,” I want to point out that it’s completely out of my range. I don’t want to spend any more than 200 bucks.
I want a 29er because it’s the next best thing for commuting. Looking on unicycle.com, the only things in my price range are the sun 28" ($89) and the Semcycle XL 28" ($200).
Now my questions:
I’ve read that the Sun rim doesn’t hold up very well, even doing drops off curbs. Would it be worth buying the Sun and upgrading components, or would it be better to get the Semcycle? If it is worth upgrading the sun, what components should I get and stay under the $200 ceiling?
Could I build my own 29er for under $200? Is it worth it?
For $45 more, I can get the Yuni 29er. I really don’t want to spend that much more, but is it a substantial enough upgrade to justify the cost?
I’m planning on doing street commuting, but would appreciate a wheel that could withstand hopping onto ond off curbs without fear of deforming.
What are your insights?
I have the Yuni 29". I bought it about a month ago from unicycle.com. I got it with a Schwalbe 28 x 2.35 Big Apple and
it seems to be a sturdy unicycle. It has the Sun BFR alloy rim and a unicycle.com cromoly hub. It is actually lighter than my 24".
I have only ridden it a couple of times because I’ve been into riding my coker. The 29" Yuni is a lot easier to transport and a lot lighter than the coker. I can’t say how it is off-road because I just do street riding. I’m considering selling the 29" to buy a custom coker frame but would expect to get close to what I paid for it.
> Get the Yuni. If you get the Sun, you’ll probably end up spending at
> least the same amount of money before long.
Right. Sun wheels are junk. Soon after I replaced my rim, the hub
broke. The Sun comes with 150mm cranks, which are too long for a
light duty unicycle. Lastly, before you even assemble the unicycle,
I’d replace the seatpost clamp (requires grinding off two small
welds), since the stock clamp is not round and will crimp the seat
tube and seatpost.
Based on prices from unicycle.com, a Sun with a new wheelset (rim,
spokes, hub, cranks) and seatpost clamp will cost $171, assuming you
can build a wheel from parts (otherwise, figure $30 more). Compare
that to $179 for the Yuni, which probably has a better tire and
saddle.
I figured the Sun wouldn’t hold up long. I really would like the Yuni, but I still don’t know if I can justify the cost.
On uni.com, it says that it can be used for light offroad duty. Would anyone recommend this/ has anyone tried it? I’m talking light offroad use, like riding through the park. How much can it withstand?
its funny that this thread is here,im on the same path.im building a cheap 28/29er too.So far all i have is a $25 dollar unicycle.com hub.i plan on spending alot less than $200 though.
the only way to do it and have a uni that doesnt end up riding like a total piece of crap is to be pacient and buy or trade alot of quality used parts and do you own work.you can save a load of cash building your own wheel.dont be afaid,it may seem like spagetti in your lap but it is not exacly rocket science.just make sure you have the right sized spokes and find a step by step wheel laceing tutural.time consuming but cheap and the feeling you get when done is cool,you did it yourself!
if you can do balloon animals,you can lace your own wheel.
on the other hand,you could just buy the Sun,ride it tommorow and learn how to work on a wheel with that.hardly a risk for $89
use some of the left over budget for some shorter cranx or ask them if you could have them put on shorter ones for a slight price increase.make sure to get a little credit for the ones your trading off though.
Wow jag, is that really you? I can’t believe it. I also can’t believe that you are putting together a 29er right after selling your SH. Why are you doing it anyway?
Back on topic:
I have a 26" Sem that I really like. It seems about as strong as any other wheel built on a non splined hub. My only experiance with a Nimbus is my MUni frame. It seems solid enough but it’s wider then you will need unless you plan to MUni with it. The Wider frame does mean that you have more options in terms of tires, but I have a tendency to hit my knees on it. So if you weren’t going to make full use of the wideness, I’d stick to the Sem.
I concur with JohnFoss. I love my Yuni 29", and I got 110 mm cranks. Got the Big Apple tire planning on doing road, but I ended up doing a fair amount of off-road (very small drops) and enjoying it a lot!
I’ll give you a hint. I can’t blow up the balloons either. That’s why I use a hand pump. Most of the professionals do nowadays, especially if they work for 11 hours straight like I do every Saturday.
And FYI, I can both make balloon animals and lace a wheel, although my wheel building could use some practice.
I’ve heard people mention 2 kinds of rims that come with the sun 28. I think I have the newer one. Is it possible that those rims are not junk? For those that know first hand that certain sun 28 rims are weak, please tell us if it is the old or new rim.