I’m kind of surprised it’s not a product liability issue.
Next time I endo on my Nimbus, maybe I’ll break my arm so I can sue UDC/Nimbus.
I’d chalk it up as ‘inherent risk’. Same as using uber-pinned pedals. One could argue that had he been wearing proper leg protection, it may not have happened.
That was not quite right. About 85% of the brake pad are on the rotor.
The new QX frames won’t have this problem, so it’s solved. Due to the immense time to market from the production places to our shops I can’t tell when they’re available.
If you have this frame, you can easily correct the position with a bigger rotor as described here.
Also the new QX Q-axle Disc unicycles have a new rotor that doesn’t look like a circular saw.
After reading this whole thread the consensus seems to be that the Spyke disk brakes are the ones to buy. Is this for muni and road? Can they be mounted inboard on an Oracle 29"? Is it hard for a newbie to do?
I’m considering my first road uni purchase.
Are you ditching the stock brake without even trying it?
Yes thanks for clarifying that.
UDC has three options for this unicycle, no brake, Magura MT-2 Next or Tektro Auriga. Perhaps these brakes are ok for road riding. Sounds like they are not so great for hard core muni.
mounting a spyre (or spyke) inboard is not much of a problem at all.
To make it easier I would buy a 180mm rotor and standoff mount as there is minimal clearance with a 160mm rotor. Any under saddle brake lever mount will do and a avid speed dial lever is both quite cheap and allows for a much more personalised setup. Compete it with good quality brake cable.
With a larger rotor, no pad adjustment is needed once you secure the calliper centrally on the rotor. I loosen the calliper to standoff bolts slightly then pull the brake lever and jiggle the calliper until it appears lined up. Then i tighten the bolts back checking if the rotor is being bent during braking, if it isn’t then it is fitted. With the stock 160mm rotor, you need to adjust the pads all the way to the left (from behind) before doing this to make sure it clears the spokes.
I just threw together this comparison for my own sake mostly.
610.00 Nimbus Road Uni.
80.00 TRP Spyre
15.00 Avid Speed Dial 7
18.00 Lever Mount
25.00 Starfighter. (Guess you could call this optional)
(+65 for spirit cranks optional)
700.00 KH 29" Muni
80.00 TRP Spyre
15.00 Avid Speed Dial 7
25.00 Starfighter
25.00 Big Apple 29x2.0
Nimbus = 748 (or 813)
Things I like: Hub won’t creak like a moment hub, round crown, stronger rim,
Things I dislike: Double quick release, Venture2 cranks, D-brake and internal disc (both of which are debatable)
KH = 845
Things I like: Spirits (127/110 is a really good road size), wider and drilled rim, frame mount disc tab, symmetrical wheel.
Things I dislike: Moment hub creaking,
If you are going to use it for MUni and road having the Ardent is probably nice and they cost around $50. I really hate Venture2 cranks, and so I would be pretty strongly considering getting spirits instead. Round crowns are nicer to your knees if you ever manage to smack it.
I am not sure whether the no brake option come with a lever mount, so you should ask UDC about that before ordering. I know the KH unicycles do come with the lever mount.
$10 to buy a bolt up one - not all that much when buying a $600 uni. You can then send me your unused double QR, as I’m regretting not getting one on my Oracle muni (I have Spirits and find I change the pedal position a lot more than I expected to) 
Thanks davejh and authoritimmy for all the detailed info.
Wow so many decisions!
I will definitely buy Spirit cranks. I really want the 127/150mm size but they’re not in stock at the moment. When I checked with UDC they didn’t know when the container with KH stuff would arrive.
Seems like I should be able to install my own brake or worst case take it to my LBS where I bought my Sun. It’s fun to watch them react to my fondness for unicycles. They’re bike guys that think unicycles are for grade school kids.
I haven’t though about the D-brake thing. Without any experience, inboard sounds better to me.
I’ll mostly ride it on paved trails and roads so I don’t need a super wide rim. An even smaller rim than what’s offered on the KH or Oracle would be better but I’ll leave wheel building for another day if this doesn’t work out so well. Also an asymmetrical wheel should be fine for me. I don’t imagine that I’ll be able to ride so hard that I’ll mess up the wheel.
I’m leaning towards the Oracle.
I just found this thread concerning inboard and outboard brakes.
So and inboard disk brake requires a wheel build?
No, you can run an outboard disk on a any ISIS wheelset. You can buy a stock Nimbus muni and put an outboard disk on it. If you want to put an inboard disk on it, then you would have to rebuild the wheel with a disk hub.
If you’re buying an Oracle, just use an inboard disk since that is what it’s set up for.
Outboard is easier to retro, it doesn’t require a new wheel build, it also allows a symmetrical wheel build which is stronger and has less flex.
I changed from inboard to outboard when the Spirits came out and have had no problems.
Does anyone know if the spykes would be possible on a Schlumpf wheel?
disc brake mount on a Nimbus frame?
Has anyone silver-braised or welded a disc brake mount onto a steel Nimbus Muni frame? And if so, is there any reason why you couldn’t put an inboard or outboard disc brake set-up on it?
I didn’t do it myself but I had disc tabs successfully welded on two Nimbus muni frames (including two on one) and a Surly Conundrum frame. They are all inboard. Looking at the one outboard setup I have with a D’Brake I don’t see how the geometry would work, but that’s not my strong suit.
Why not use the d’brake? It works just fine with inboard and outboard disc. I use the d’brake on my qu-ax steel frame with an outboard disc and it works fine. I don’t believe there’s so much difference between nimbus and qu-ax steel frames.
Thanks Waaalrus, for confirming that it has been done. In theory, I would think the mount (tab) would be in the same location whether it is for an inboard or outboard disc brake set-up. Has anyone set up one of the newer KH frames with an inside disc set-up attached to the stock frame mount?
Eric, I have read there are problems with the D’brakes chattering, bending, and breaking. Also, any time you take it off you would have to realign it to the disc. I wonder if Nimbus is going to add a mount to most of their frames in the future. It seems as if it would save them some money, and it would be a better design overall. Don’t get me wrong–I think the D’brakes are a really cool idea for retrofitting frames that don’t have mounts/tabs.
Nimbus was the first company to offer frames with a disk tab.