demand for a high-quality "Coker"

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Seems like most Coker owners are pleased with the Coker unicycle but have
expressed concern about its quality and durability. Perhaps Semcycle or The
Unicycle Factory or someone else could make a high-quality cycle with a larger
wheel like the Coker. They might even be able to use the Coker tire and tube
assuming there wouldn’t be any proprietary issues.

Overall, the wheel size seems very appealing to many people but the quality just
isn’t there yet.

Dan Whalen

2

Re: demand for a high-quality “Coker”

Hi folks. Having worked with the Coker Tire Company for about four months, we’re
continually impressed with their commitment to quality and customer service.
We’ve sold a bunch of 36-inch Coker unicycles, and very few have had problems.
In those cases, Coker reps quickly resolved the problem, including a complete
replacement on one of them. We continually ask our customers for feedback after
each purchase, and we forward the feedback to our suppliers. David Coker is very
interested in producing quality cycles. We’ll let him know about John Taylor’s
concerns. David asked our team (and John Foss, during his visit) for suggestions
to improve the unicycle. We requested quick-release handles. So Coker owners:
are there other requests we can forward to David Coker?

Regards,

John Drummond, Partner UnicycleSource.com

danielw994@aol.com (DanielW994) on 06/17/99 01:44:38 PM

Please respond to danielw994@aol.com (DanielW994)

To: unicycling@winternet.com
cc: (bcc: John Drummond/Atlanta/IBM) Subject: demand for a
high-quality “Coker”

Seems like most Coker owners are pleased with the Coker unicycle but have
expressed concern about its quality and durability. Perhaps Semcycle or The
Unicycle Factory or someone else could make a high-quality cycle with a larger
wheel like the Coker. They might even be able to use the Coker tire and tube
assuming there wouldn’t be any proprietary issues.

Overall, the wheel size seems very appealing to many people but the quality just
isn’t there yet.

Dan Whalen

3

RE: demand for a high-quality “Coker”

Does anyone know if you can just buy the 36" rim? From there you could customize
the uni to taste. jd

> -----Original Message----- From: danielw994@aol.com [SMTP:danielw994@aol.com]
> Sent: Thursday, June 17, 1999 10:45 AM To: unicycling@winternet.com Subject:
> demand for a high-quality “Coker”
>
> Seems like most Coker owners are pleased with the Coker unicycle but have
> expressed concern about its quality and durability. Perhaps Semcycle or The
> Unicycle Factory or someone else could make a high-quality cycle with a larger
> wheel like the Coker. They might even be able to use the Coker tire and tube
> assuming there wouldn’t be any proprietary issues.
>
> Overall, the wheel size seems very appealing to many people but the quality
> just isn’t there yet.
>
> Dan Whalen

4

Re: demand for a high-quality “Coker”

>David Coker is very interested in producing quality cycles. We’ll let him know
>about John Taylor’s concerns. >David asked our
team (and John Foss, during
>his visit) for suggestions to improve the unicycle. We requested
>quick-release handles. So Coker owners: are there other requests we can
>forward to David Coker?

I don’t even know how useful a quick release would be (hope that wasn’t my
suggestion…) because: The seat post is very short. This is necessary to fit
riders onto the unicycle. The amount of seat tube above the tire is also short,
for the same reason. Any longer, and you’re limiting even more the leg length of
who can fit the unicycle.

So with a narrow range of seat adjustment, it’s important for people to be able
to order the right post with their new Coker. The standard post should be one
that can go all the way down. Then you probably need two or three longer ones,
to not only accommodate taller riders, but also allow them the maximum ability
to lower their seats for others. The longest post should be one that Jamey
Mossengren (Twin Cities) could fit on, then work your way down from there. Jamey
has the longest legs of any unicyclist I know. Is he done growing yet?

>Overall, the wheel size seems very appealing to many people but the quality
just isn’t there yet.

I think the quality is excellent for a $300 big wheel. If you were paying $500,
you should expect a lot more. But as long as unicycles are manufactured in the
tiny numbers they are, it will be hard to improve much while keeping the low
price. The best way to bring down unicycle prices is to do everything you can to
spread awareness of unicycling, and teach lots of people to ride. As the market
grows, larger sales will drive competition up, and prices down.

Right now, Coker is probably seeing better sales than they expected (at least I
am, way more Cokers are being sold than I thought!). It’s great that they’re
asking what to do next.

Here are some other wish-list items from Foss:

  • Large wheels are inherently weaker than small ones, so this may not be
    feasable. But if the wheel can be made lighter, that would be nice.
  • Contrarywise, though I don’t know what the tread life is on the 36" tire, It
    would be nice to have a hard rubber compound that will be long-lasting. Since
    they won’t be ridden indoors much, trying to make them non-marking is probably
    not as necessary as with smaller tires.
  • The tread pattern is great for a 1902 Oldsmobile (or some other old car I saw
    recently at the Blackhawk Auto Museum), but I don’t know how useful it is for
    unicycling.
  • The hub is too narrow, probably compromising wheel strength. I realize this is
    probably a standard Taiwanese uni axle, but a wider one would be a nice future
    consideration.
  • I’d love to see the seat changed to the one found on the Cycle Design (as
    found on the Unicycle Models page:
    http://www.unicycling.org/unicycling/Unidb/qdesc/cd.html

That’s (more than) enough for now…

John Foss Angeles City, Philippines

5

Re: demand for a high-quality “Coker”

Greetings

In message “Re: demand for a high-quality “Coker””, jdrummo@us.ibm.com wrote…
>
>
>Hi folks. Having worked with the Coker Tire Company for about four months,
>we’re continually impressed with their commitment to quality and customer
>service. We’ve sold a bunch of 36-inch Coker unicycles, and very few have had
>problems. In those cases, Coker reps quickly resolved the problem, including
>a complete replacement on one of them. We continually ask our customers for
>feedback after each purchase, and we forward the feedback to our suppliers.
>David Coker is very interested in producing quality cycles. We’ll let him
>know about John Taylor’s concerns. David asked our team (and John Foss,
>during his visit) for suggestions to improve the unicycle. We requested
>quick-release handles. So Coker owners: are there other requests we can
>forward to David Coker?

With so much talk about Coker recently I thought perhaps I sould get one. Could
someone please advise me how to get it sent to Japan, and how much it will cost.

>Regards,
>
>John Drummond, Partner UnicycleSource.com
>
>
>
>danielw994@aol.com (DanielW994) on 06/17/99 01:44:38 PM
>
>Please respond to danielw994@aol.com (DanielW994)
>
>To: unicycling@winternet.com
>cc: (bcc: John Drummond/Atlanta/IBM) Subject: demand for a high-quality
> “Coker”
>
>
>
>
>
>Seems like most Coker owners are pleased with the Coker unicycle but have
>expressed concern about its quality and durability. Perhaps Semcycle or The
>Unicycle Factory or someone else could make a high-quality cycle with a larger
>wheel like the Coker. They might even be able to use the Coker tire and tube
>assuming there wouldn’t be any proprietary issues.
>
>Overall, the wheel size seems very appealing to many people but the quality
>just isn’t there yet.
>
>Dan Whalen
>
>
>
>
>

Regards, Jack Halpern Kanji Dictionary Publishing Society, http://www.kanji.org
Voice: +81-048-481-3103 Fax: +81-048-479-1323

6

Re: demand for a high-quality “Coker”

Jack Halpern schrieb in Nachricht <199906172249.AA01339@mail.kanji.org>…

>With so much talk about Coker recently I thought perhaps I sould get
one.
>Could someone please advise me how to get it sent to Japan, and how
much it
>will cost.

Email David Coker at dcoker@coker.com. He will be able to help you.

Martin. «

Es gibt nur eine Art Geschäftsidee: Die man selbst oder mit jemandem zusammen
realisiert. Alles andere ist nur heiße Luft. (Martin Hentrich in
de.etc.beruf.selbststaendig)