First 36er experience

So my Nimbus Oracle 36“ was delivered last friday :partying_face: I must say, It‘s pretty impressive, in the flesh. Free mounting it is a bit of a challenge, but out of the 12 times I tried I was 9 times successful. I‘m quite happy with that, though it bugs me a bit that the very first try didn‘t work out. The 125mm cranks didn‘t help, I guess. Meanwhile I changed them for 150mm and am contemplating to go even longer.
I took it out for two short rides, so far. It‘s quite a gap from 29“ to 36“; feels much bigger than the difference between 20“ to 29“ (or 26“ fatty). And the height difference is impressive, too. When I rode under a traffic signal I stretched my arm out and to my surprise was indeed able to reach it. I rode past that signal several times with the 29er in the past but never even thought of trying to touch it, because it was clearly way out of reach. On the 36er I know what the world looks like from a tall guy’s perspective :smile:.
Cruising speed was a bit faster than with the 29er - around 17km/h vs. around 14km/h. Ascents are much harder. I‘m pretty sure that I will not be able to ride the ferris wheel all the way to the next town using my usual route because of this, at least not in the current crank configuration. Will have to walk certain stretches, thus end up spending more time than with the 29er… But it should work ok to ride to the city with it, since the inclines to get there aren‘t so steep.
I‘m not sure I have the guts to take it on the train, unless I can manage to get a written statement from the train company that unicycles can be transported free of charge. The 29er, the 26x4er and the 20er are no-brainers in this regard, since they can be nicely fitted under a block of four seats. Like that they don‘t get in the way; they probably don’t even get noticed by most people. The 36er is a bit different… The neon green stealth (what a name!) rim helps making sure that you will not remain unnoticed wherever you take your uni.
The riding experience was ok - neither did I immediately feel at home nor was I scared. It‘s just way less responsive than any other unicycle that I rode so far, but that was to be expected. After the first ride I mounted the 29er and was well amused how that tiny twitchy uni rode. I stomped heavily and wasn‘t able to ride it in a normal, relaxed way. Next time I should try the 20er after a ride with the 36er - should be even more fun!
It‘s a bit early for any serious conclusions. What bugs me a bit is that my knees already started to hurt after only 5.2km. I fear that 36“ could put a bit more stress on them than they can bear. On the other hand I‘m positive that things will smooth out a bit with more experience. Optimising the seat height (probably a tad too low at the moment) could help, too.
Anyway, I hoped for an interesting experience when I ordered this beast, and that‘s just what I got. The next ride is scheduled for tomorrow :sunglasses:

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The 36 is indeed a beast to tame. Lots of fun once your comfort level increases. Wait till it’s a windy day and you get your first taste of a strong crosswind on your 36er. Lots of fun that is.

Welcome to the 36er family.

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I’ve spent only a couple months so far with my Oracle (I can’t believe I’ve only had it since June!), but for me it’s been a blast to have once I’ve gotten used to the size.

For the first couple years of me riding uni, I’ve only had a 26" Club. When I did eventually work up the courage to buy a 36er, I knew that it would be big but… I distinctly remember opening the box that it came in and I just couldn’t believe that I would be riding something like this. I had to use a curb in order to mount it for the first few rides :sweat_smile: It also handled pretty differently than what I was used to, but since then I’ve gotten quite comfortable with it.

I ride mostly on 142mm cranks, though I still want to experiment more with crank lengths on it.

I‘m sure that‘s a good workout for the abdomen.

I think I began to realise the size when I tried to mount the seatpost. The crown was just so much higher than what I‘m used. It wasn‘t as distinct a moment as it apparently was to you, though. I had that moment when I first saw (and then tried and mounted) the Nimbus Oregon with its 26x4“ tyre. Diameter-wise it‘s dwarfed by the new kid in town, and I am still puzzled about the Oregon looking small compared to another unicycle.

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So happy for you @Wheelou
I have a tentative meeting planned with a guy from another state to sell me his KH36 next month, and then hopefully I can join your topic. Riding a 36er has been the dream pretty much from day one, so I understand the excitement. Hope it is everything you dreamed it would be.

It hasn’t been a dream for me, but curiosity finally won…
Looking forward to read about your experience with a ferris wheel.

36rs are so much fun IMHO. But even more fun if you can lighten the wheel! So if you are stuck with the original Nightrider tire you can take half a kilo off the wheel by simply replacing it with the Nightrider Light tire (the new one as of 2019). And another 2-300grams by replacing the tube with a TPU tube from that shop in Italy. Those 2 changes will transform your Oracle into a nicer dream. Without spending too much like I’m about to do by building up a carbon 36r wheel!

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The ideal wheel weight depends on what you use the 36er for. For faster acceleration from a start, a lighter wheel is an advantage. For a more relaxed touring road unicycle, a little more wheel weight that stores some rotational energy is a real advantage.

I read several times that inertia is / can be your friend. Not my friend, though :wink:
Had my two first UPDs yesterday, both related to the fact that the 36er was harder to accelerate, and decelerate, respectively. Of course the main issue is that I‘m not yet fully accustomed to the behaviour of the new horse in the stable. And I think that not being particularly tall and heavy isn‘t an advantage. Compared to a 1.80m 90kg guy I have less leverage, less weight and less power to let the uni do what I want. I have to compensate this with better technique, that I have yet to develop.
That said, I‘m happy to report that my knees didn‘t hurt yesterday, despite covering a longer distance and driving up some inclines. So, there must be some progress in my abilities to handle this beast.

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Yeah, ideally a carbon rim and a TPU tube. The former will probably not happen (though I thought this of many things - only to prove myself wrong, later), the TPU tube is something that I‘m considering. Have these on my other unis and am happy with them.

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TPU tubes are great on small unis… But they are amazing on 36er. You save a lot of weight for a small amount of money. IMHO, they should now come as a default on high end unis such as RGB and KH 36er.

I find for myself, at least, that the light wheel breaks down to an advantage 95% of the time, maybe 100%. I had the heavy wheel for a few years before getting the lighter tire then the lighter tube. I don’t benefit much, if any, from the flywheel effect. I could feel it and it was a bit like an autopilot but it was more of a feeling for me than an actual increase in stability. It’s not like I’ve eliminated the flywheel effect by lightening the wheel. It’s very present w/ the ridiculously heavy nimbus rim. I speculate that people get used to a heavy wheel and learn to accommodate it then when they go lighter there is an adjustment they have to make before they can fully appreciate the lighter wheel. But that doesn’t mean it’s not an improvement in almost every respect.

Stockholm Syndrome comes to mind when I hear ppl justify heavy unicycle equipment like tubes and heavy rims

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I wouldn‘t mind. They don‘t add a lot to the total price, after all.
I heard that there should soon be a supplier here in Switzerland… Due to the postage being expensive even for domestic shipments, I‘ll probably wait until I have to order other unicycle parts…

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Ha, ha, I like that analogy! I can imagine situations where inertia can be helpful, e.g. I imagine a uni to wobble less with a heavier wheel. But to be honest, I‘d have to do a side by side comparison to make any robust statement on this subject. But so far I have every time preferred the change to a lighter tube and tyre.

Sounds like you’re doing great! Snd yes, 125s are great later, but for starting I think you made a great choice switching to longer. When I first got my 36 Oracle I think I even put 170mm cranks on to help me learn to freemount. I only needed them a few weeks and then I could freemount with 150s. But unless you have some 165s or 170s lying around, I think you should be fine with 150s.

These days 125s feel almost long to me, although I keep them on mostly for more maneuverability in the city (I have the 100/125/150 VCX cranks). And I switch to 100 for any longer rides.
But the stability of the 36 is really nice.

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Meanwhile I switched to 165s. Mostly because I was pretty sure that I wasn‘t going to be able to ride the steeper stretches of my usual route to the next town. And I think my assumption was pretty much spot on. Yesterday I tried the inclines with 165mm cranks and could just make it - neither did I fall nor did I run out of power. An additional advantage is the better manoeuvrability. It‘s a lot closer to what I‘m used to - kind of like being the pilot instead of the passenger.

I live in Vermont and its to hilly for unicycles overall. I struggle to get use out of my 24" 'er. I miss living on flat enough land to go for a nice long ride. " I Love Vermont" Frankly, at 64 I’m not sure a 36" er is for me but best of luck with it.

Ha, I‘m not yet 100% sure it‘s for me, either. A 32“ may had been a wiser decision - but there‘s only one way to find out. That said, I’m getting more confident every time I hop on it.
You can always mount longer cranks to your 24“, but at a certain point it just doesn‘t feel right any more. Like the 165mm cranks that were on my fatty (~same circumference as my 29x2). Pedaling felt square instead of round when I rode it on a flat stretch. But with the bigger wheel and my little experience they feel about perfect, at the moment. I‘m of course not a racer with such a configuration, but I‘m fine with that.
Where I live I can chose between flat-ish tours with the occasional incline or riding up and down „all day long“. When I was young I loved long, steep climbs (by b!cycle, that is). Today not so much, no matter how many wheels I’m riding.
Will have to order a TPU tube as soon as @www.einradshop.ch has them in stock (I wanted to wait until I have other things to order, but soon enough realised that I need a different seatpost clamp for the 36er - I really don‘t like the quick release one, even if it looks quite nice). Should be a bit more responsive.

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I hadn’t rode in decades, purchased a 24" Nimbus mountain Uni. Got the adjustable cranks.I selected the outermost setting for torque as I have a 400’ curved and sloped driveway.I’d almost forgotten how to ride and was struggling for a couple of weeks to get any distance at all.I rode a 24" Schwinn countless miles on flat land when I was young.I moved the pedals to the normal position and my riding problems were resolved.I had the muscle memory to ride a normal configuration.I was out of shape and practice but I was up and running. After 2 or 3 months I decided to try the extra torque setting again. It was easier to go through the grass, up small inclines and I thought, this is great.It slowed my speed a bit.After a couple of days, I was mounting it. I place the seat in my crotch,step on the left peddle to bring the Uni under me and that’s my mount, place my other foot and peddle away. Well, Ha, I was out of my realm using that configuration. The extra torque generated made me shoot the uni behind me as I mounted and I face planted on my gravel driveway. I broke my left pinky finger and scratched up my glasses.It took surgery to repair the finger.I returned the pedals to the normal position and thats where they will Remain {:>) I share this as a cautionary tale. I rode the uni 2 days after surgery because I felt if I didn’t, I might never ride it again. I even filmed it, here is a link if your interested. https://youtu.be/wcKzRsvaLAI?si=QD85W2Pw_bYV5IsE
Enjoy the new Uni

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Just a little more patience. They should be here soon. They are delayed because the container ships are currently sailing around Africa instead of through the Suez Canal. I hope the freight surcharge is limited

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