I bought a used Nimbus Nightfox a little while ago, and when I bought it, I figured I wouldn’t need brakes because I’ve got functional legs. However, I live in a place where there is no flat roads or paths whatsoever, just hills. From my first ride on the Nightfox, I realized that I’d made a big mistake buying one without brakes. I needed brakes of some sort if I wanted to actually ride anywhere. This was a problem because the uni had none of the mounts and components for disc brakes. So I got myself some cheap caliper brakes. Because the Nightfox’s frame extends rather than the seat, I had to figure out some way to lower the brakes so they’d reach the wheels. My brother invented and welded a piece that bolted to the bottom of the seat and the hole in the frame that was already there. He shortened the cable and adjusted the brakes. The short handlebar came from an old b!ke handlebar (I might get a real uni handlebar eventually). To put disc brakes on the Nightfox would have cost me over $500. This only cost me around $50.
This is the result. The brakes both work great and don’t look too bad.
Might get some flex but certainly better than no brake.
Another way would be to drill the forks on either side then bridge the gap with bolted span of metal plate like a seat stay or chain stay brace on a bike frame. More work but less flex.
I think it brakes pretty good. It would be hard on a hill to full on stop with these brakes, but all I really needed was to take some pressure off my legs on the longer, steeper hills. There’s no vibration or squeaking. I haven’t tried any other unicycles with brakes…if my brakes are truly terrible I wouldn’t know
They worked, and pulled me through a 7 km ride on icy hills that day. They just took some time to engage, due to the flex. These plastic mounts were actually completely broken at this time and only being held together by a pair of plastic strips. But they still managed to serve as brakes!
This is a pretty neat way to add brakes to a Giraffe! We can now finally go down steep hills at a proper height. A nice multi purpose tool, as you now can more easilly reach obstacles at intesections, so you wont have to dismount or terrify pedestrians while idling, and you can also pick up your juggling clubs without dismounting, or begging pedestrians for aid.
Has anyone actually equipped their Giraffe with brakes..?
I don’t think he has a giraffe, but if he did, @UniGeezer is a good candidate for this. I’m sure it helps when riding downhill while mountain giraffing.
upon buying a used original style night fox frame I used the wheel of of my 32 udc titan with the help of bearing shims. This wheel had a square taper hub and the frame had no disc rotor mounts. I rode it this way for several weeks before rebuilding the wheel with a disc ready isis hub and with the help of a d brake mount I mounted a disc brake. Prior to this I was working on a design to use my pull, rim brake from the titan . My intention was to make a two piece bracket that fit on both sides of the frame and clamped on with screws and I would mount the brake the same as going through the frame. This way I can adjust it up or down for 32 or 36 wheel. I planned on using rubber liners on the clamps made from an old inner tube to protect the paint.
