Great Uni Pictures!

Hey all, I know I promised this stuff a while ago, but better late than never.
The one marked IJA contains pics from the International Jugglers festival in Reading PA. There are some REALLY COOL custom unis in there.
The one marked Unithon IV contains pics from said unithon. They include some pretty gory pics of Unatic Thom’s severely gashed leg.
Enjoy

http://tinyurl.com/18kz <-- IJA
http://tinyurl.com/18l0 <-- Unithon IV

-Kap

The RuntUni is cool. A giraffe with a suspension.

Did you see the RunUni riden? Did you get to try riding the RuntUni?

I’m trying to figure out how he deals with the chainline shrinkage when the shock is compressed. Due to the position of the pivot when the shock compresses the chainline shrinks, and when the shock rebounds the chainline grows and could snap the chain. I see the white chain roller, but it’s in a fixed position and I don’t see how it would keep the chain tensioned throughout the range of the shock. Unless the pivot is positioned right at the middle axle, which it doesn’t appear to be.

Really cool, I’m just not convinced that it would function as well as it looks.

Although I let the guy who owned the runt uni take my personal uni out for a spin, he wouldnt let me do the same with his. :frowning:

Thats what I learned from IJA though, Jugglers can be mean like that. Thats why I’m not going back anytime soon either.

dude, look closely. There are two separate chains. Thats why I took pics from the left and right side. One chain goes from the cranks to the hinge, and the other goes from the hinge to the wheel. at no time to either of them get messed up by the compression or expansion of the uni.
-kap

I can see that there are two separate chains. The problem is the location of the hinge. The top chainline is going to grow and shrink as the shock compresses due to the geometry of the design.

A better design would have the pivot point at the axle of the middle chainring. Something similar to the Brooklyn Machine Works TMX
<http://www.brooklynmachineworks.com/bikes/tmx.htm> [www.brooklynmachineworks.com]
Or the Arrow Racing DS3
<http://www.arrowracing.com/default.asp?link=bike&bike=DS3#> [www.arrowracing.com]
Click on the Photos link on the DS3 page to see some better pictures of the frame and the pivot point.

Notice where those two bikes pivot. The chainline on these bikes will not grow or shrink as the shock compresses and rebounds.

The RuntUni probably rides fine on smooth surfaces. But anything bumpy that causes the shock to move would likely cause problems. I’m also not to sure how well it would idle or handle backwards riding because of chain tension and how changing loads on the chain could affect the shock. It’s still a very cool uni.

RE: Great Uni Pictures!

> Although I let the guy who owned the runt uni take my personal uni out
> for a spin, he wouldnt let me do the same with his. :frowning:
>
> Thats what I learned from IJA though, Jugglers can be mean like that.

I don’t think he was being mean, unless he was not polite about it. I think
the Run wheels are made of plastic. I’ve seen broken ones in stores. If it
gets broken in the store (who knows what people do to them at Sam’s Club,
but at least the floor is flat), the wheel can’t be that strong. He probably
knows this.

So I thought it was a very cute giraffe, though you probably have to take
care of it if you want it to last.

Also, if Aaron Anderson is listening, sometimes there are valid reasons to
not let someone try your equipment, such as a crowded gym getting ready for
another part of a show, or a fragile part that you need for shows and can’t
afford any extra wear & tear on. If I’d know you wouldn’t be at the rest of
the convention (?), I would have let you try my B.C. wheel right then and
there. Many others tried it on a later night, when the gym was a lot less
hectic.

Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com

“If we are what we eat, then I’m easy, fast, and cheap!”

RE: Great Uni Pictures!

> The RuntUni probably rides fine on smooth surfaces. But anything bumpy
> that causes the shock to move would likely cause problems.

I don’t think the Runt suspension has very much travel, so the change in
chain tension may be within the parameters of safe riding. Worse case
scenario, you fall off from something that’s only a little higher than a
regular uni.

JF