My NIMBUS26 showed up today. It looks like a good uni for my use. I put it together and was lucky enough to free mount it on the first try. I haven’t been riding long and the only other uni I have riden is my Torker CX24. What a different feel with the KH seat and the knob tire!
How hard is it to adjust to a new uni? I only have about 50 yards of ‘stick time’ on the new NIMBUS26, but the darn thing sure wants to turn to the right. Any hints? It is like the seat is crooked, but it is straight. The wheel rolls fine, etc. Is this just something that I will figure out after (like everything else)?
50 yards is not enough to form an opinion. Go back out and ride!
A knobby will handle more poorly than a “regular” non-agressive tire. Knobbies that are the best on dirt often don’t ride well on pavement. Give it some time. Enjoy!
Running the tyre at too low a pressure can cause problems with steering and handling.
On a knobbly tyre, what you sometimes get is a central ridge or a central row of knobbles. As the rubber is quite soft, this ridge (or row of knobbles) tends to fold over to one side or the other. Once it has folded in one direction, it will stay folded in that direction until something changes it (a tight turn, a change of camber, etc.) and this will make the unicycle tend to pull in one direction.
As soon as the uni starts to pull in one direction, the rider tends to twist or lean the other way to counteract it. This leads to an uncomfortable and ungainly riding style which can be very irritating for the rider concerned.
But you don’t buy a knobbly tyre to ride on tarmac. As soon as you ride on a soft or uneven surface, the problem disappears. The knobbles can dig in, instead of folding, and there are constant small changes of camber which mean that the tyre doesn’t “set” in one direction.
So the answers to your problem:
Try putting a bit more pressure in
Try riding it on the surface for which it was designed.
Ride it lots and lots and lots. :0)
And remember, a successful freemount first time is NEVER luck, it’s skill.
Hey man,
I live in Austin and there is a pretty good group of us that regularly do muni rides at Walnut Creek and sometimes The Greenbelt. I would love to hear from you and go riding with you. Later, gator.
it might be that the seat was not centered on your previous uni, and you got used to that, but now that you have one thats right, its different. But then again, my opinions should rarely be trusted.
