Diet Coker!!!

Unicycles and Equipment
41

You don’t have to think too much Cathy. Nice as all this ‘super-light-weight’ optemisation can sound, it doesn’t make nearly as much difference as riding lots.

Unless you get obsessive about it and go for every possible component, like Ken’s machine, the factor of improvement will be pretty low.

I recently upgraded my 36er wheel from a stock Quax one to an airfoil-rimmed, stainless spoked one. Possibly the most significant change was the wider hub and carefully tentioned build, giving a tighter wheel. I never thought that it felt ‘soft’ before (over 2500 miles of road use), and hasn’t ever so much as hinted that it may even consider looking into the possibility of beginning the process of the slightest amount of tacoing. I also changed from 114 to 102mm cranks, which may affect the apparent feeling, but it certainly did feel like it turned more deftly and responsively.

So, I felt that the new rim/spokes (though I think I really got it largely due to the old one being increasingly rusty, and the visual appeal of the airfoil) can make sudden sharp turns feel ‘lighter’. But I don’t think it makes it feel much different to ride along. Going up hill on a grim day and it can easily feel just as sluggish as it did in such situations before. After all, it’s only a reduction of (plucking a figure from the air) something like 20% of the wheel’s weight.

(Deadly) Des may be the ultimate advocate of the minimal factor of equipment. He rode his first 24hr Mountain Mayhem race on a standard stock Coker, which had never been off-road before. He says that despite having an airfoil rim currently (I think due to the standard steel not being sold seperately when needing a replacement), he’d be just as happy to go back to a steel rim. He just rides whatever, and is one of the fastest/best at it.

There may be a significant mental placebo effect. If you feel like you have a good, strong, light, fast wheel, you’ll probably feel stronger and ride it faster. If you think that you’re wheel sucks, it will probably seem heavier and slower than it is. May some go-faster stripes is what we all need.

Crank length, on the other hand, can have a huge effect. :slight_smile: A 36" wheel with short (eg 110mm) cranks feels like a completely different creature to one with longer (eg 150mm) ones. And cranks can cost only £7/pair.

My tuppence.

Sam

42

UDC US doesn’t have the right size frame for less than $500, it also doesn’t have a 36" tire

43

John,
Not a major problem with burping. When the tyre is freshly converted to tubeless, you can make it burp by squeezing the tyre at low pressure. It’s not a major problem as all it does is squirt some sealant in your face and then plugs the hole. You will need an aircompressor for the conversion though, or get your LBS to do it.

Cathy,
As you can see from Joes list- it doesn’t cost that much to drop the weight significantly. And even from my Coker- it doesn’t cost alot more than any other custom Coker. And you can see how little it costs to swap the cranks and pedals over to something lightweight.

Mark,
If you’re riding around pedestrians, a lighter Coker is easier to decelerate and steer around them. The Diet Coker handles like a much smaller unicycle because it has less momentum.

Sam,
I like your Sig line!
I do find that lightening the wheel makes a difference, and I’m pretty sure it’s more than psychological. It’s far easier to decelerate *(especially if you don’t use a brake), and it feels more lively- easier to twist/turn/hop etc.
When I first changed over my spokes and converted to tubeless, I found that I could go up a crank size (eg from 125’s to 110’s) and it would handle in a similar fashion. When I ride a regular Coker- it feels quite sluggish.

44

This shouldn’t concern you, once the latex dries at the bead, it works like a glue. You have to peal the tire bead away from the rim. Resealing a previously Stanned tire after removing it completely is a chore, though. Mine (H36) weighed in at 16 pounds, 11 ounces/7.56 Kg.

45

I was wondering about this, as I’m considering taking apart my currently No-tubes’ed coker tyre and airfoil rim in order to use them to build up a Schlumpf coker. [Why not get a new tyre and rim, you may ask? Well they are very hard to get hold of in NZ.] What is the deal with re-using No-tubes’ed tyres? Do you have to scrape off the latex or something? A solvent might help, I’m thinking…

46

No, the latex will peel off like a fried egg on a teflon pan that has been slightly scratched.

47

They’re the pedals Roger was using at Unicon when he broke his wrist - the ones he was using didn’t have pins put in them.

They are light, I have them on my 20" and they’re lovely, but you really need to make them grippier for Coker use…

Paul

48

I’ve always found that not all of it comes off the bead (rim, no problem). I don’t think solvents will work because of the water base of the latex. Your results may be different.

49

To add to what Sam said, I reckon you don’t get much control of a coker until you’ve ridden about 1000 miles or so, and it’s a bit of a waste of time upgrading stuff until you’re hitting that kind of mileage.

I’ve still got a stock coker except for cranks seat and pedals, and it was fine for going 100 miles in 10 hours last year.

Joe

50

I agree. I’ve done maybe 500 miles on my Radial 360 (non-stock seat and pedals) and only fairly recently have I been getting really comfortable on the thing. Almost toooo comfortable, as I had my first fairly gnarly wipeout this past June.

It showed me I’m not good enough yet to stop respecting the machine.

51

Can anyone recommend a make / model of plastic BMX pedals which can accept metal pins? I’d be inclined to put some lighter pedals on 36er, but there’s no way I’m using pedals without pins :wink:

52

The Odyssey Twisted PC (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=213) have pins, but are plastic. I’ve never slipped off mine, I don’t grind on them either.

53

My Odyssey Twisted PCs are getting sort of worn…

Don’t expect those little plastic nub pins to last forever and you won’t be disappointed with these pedals.

54

For my Magura install I managed to put on two releases (one on either side) so I could swing both almost completely out of the way - no squeezing required.:smiley: :astonished: :sunglasses:
Right side
Left side

55

I think none of them do as stock. To put pins in you need to do clever stuff with a drill or something. To be honest though, despite what Klaas says, the difference between any two pairs of pedals is next to bugger all. You’ll get far more of a decrease in performance by using super-light pedals that will inevitably be substandard in terms of grip and longevity than you’ll get by removing 100g of weight near the centre of your wheel. I’ve just had a look and I’ve had pedals that weigh 400g a pair and pedals that weigh 600g on my coker, and there is absolutely no performance difference.

I think really the only sensible reason to use plastic pedals with metal pins is for grinding, because there having a smooth plastic side of your pedal apparently makes a big difference, but you still want the grip on the other side.

Joe

56

I could have put 250g narrow plastic pedals on, but I went for the 370g Wellgo’s precisely because they were similar to what I was used to (ie a broad platform). They are grippier than my Snafu’s too.

It makes a difference if you save 250g on the pedals, and a further 200-250g on the cranks. That’s half-a-kg less going around at over 100rpm.

57

I went to the bike shop and weighed it yesterday. The official weight is 6.75 kilojoules. Quite a loss less than the full sugar version.

Diet Coke(r).jpg

58

hahahahahaha nice diet coker pic

59

wow, that is cool!

you should go to a sticker store and get them to make a better one for you.

60

Re: Diet Coker!!!

GizmoDuck <GizmoDuck@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> writes:

> I went to the bike shop and weighed it yesterday. The official weight is
> 6.75 kilojoules. Quite a loss less than the full sugar version.

Have you double-checked their equipment? That measurement works out
to 0.000000000000166 pounds, the unit of weight we are most familiar
with in the US. Of course kilojoules is a unit of energy, so the
conversion depends on relativity (E=MC^2) and Earth’s gravity (G).

What’s that? You meant kilograms? Oh. Never mind.