Hi everyone, I am new here but have been occasionally reading posts on thisboard in the last few months as I awaited my Rick Hunmter 29"/700c unicycle.
I received it from Rick a few weeks back and am gathering top-notch parts for it as my budget allows. I have a Thomson seat post and Wallis CF base in the works. The uni has Magura mounts.
I told Rick that I wish to use the Profile hub on it. He mentioned that I need the version with a 40mm bearing specification. Are there other hubs that are perhaps not quite so picey that also have that same bearing specification? I see a 48 hole Suzue hub listed on UDC that says 40mm but I am not sure about the width.
Also, are there any of you in the Davis, CA area and if so is there a unicycle-friendly shop that one of you might suggest to where I can bring my hub and rim to be built up? I have the impression that many bike shops won’t have a clue about building a unicycle wheel. Any ideas?
More generally, I would be interested to know about any unicycle gatherings in the Davis, CA area where I might learn from some more experienced riders.
Best wishes to everyone and stay well. Thanks, Chris is Davis, CA
Some of the other splined hubs are an ISIS crank interface pattern (10 splines), which is about as good as the Profile spline pattern for strong cranks.
Among the ISIS hubs, some use a 20mm axle diameter. And Torker makes a 20mm ID / 40mm OD bearing that would fit into your Rick Hunter steed.
Sorry I don’t know from memory which of those hubs are 20mm, but that is an option.
As for hub widths, the Suzue is about the same flange width as the Profile. But Suzue is a square taper, and if you plan on landing on the pedals, a splined hub of some kind will be more durable (ask Harper!).
I don’t think any ISIS hubs use 20mm ID bearings, if they did, the spline pattern would not be ISIS sized. All UDC square taper hubs use 40mm OD, so just choose one with the correct width and you should be fine.
If you need 40mm bearings, 48 holes and a splined interface then you should see if you can get a hub from a Torker DX. I have never seen one but from everything I have heard it would match your needs perfectly. I don’t think you can get them separate from a unicycle though so you would have to look around and it would be used.
Profile has two bearing standards that fit it: 17x40mm and 3/4x1-5/8in. The old KH pro frame is made to use the latter. The beauty of this is that 1-5/8" OD is 41.275mm, which is very close to 42mm, the current standard among ISIS hubs. For that reason, I would have Rick build to that bearing standard, sonce that way, should you choose to later, you might be able to cheat and put a 42mm bearing in if you switch to ISIS.
My KH Pro frames have the 1-5/8" bearings. I have not yet tried fitting a 42mm bearing in there yet to see how it would fit. I am hopeful though that I will be able to switch to the ISIS hubs and still keep my KH Pro frames. But I suspect that I still would need to hone out the bearing holders to get a proper fit.
If centralvalley is getting the frame made custom it might be better to get the frame made for 42mm bearings and use the UDC bearing shim or a custom shim to fit the 40mm Profile bearing size. That way the frame wouldn’t be obsolete if he wanted to later switch to an ISIS hub.
If you don’t want the 48h Torker hub, another possibility is using a Koxx 36h ISIS hub, which has a 25mm axle, and a 6805 series bearing, which has a 25mm ID and 37mm OD. The only fabrication would be a 1.5mm thick spacer, 37 ID / 40 OD.
Hi centralvalley,
I’m also in Davis, CA. The only shop in town that sells many unicycles is Ken’s Bike and Ski. I can’t vouch for their wheel-building ability, though. I have gotten their help in removing cranks, etc. They seem to know what they are doing.
By the way, I have yet to meet any other unicyclists in Davis. What kind of riding do you do?
I do in fact already have the Hunter 700c unicycle, and I will initially use it for mixed street/dirt trail riding here in Davis, california.
I thought I might use a 48 hole hub because I have a new Mavic T520 bicycle touring rim in 48 hole drilling that I had intended to use for a rear whell on my loaded touring bicycle. If I get the inexpensive Suzue hub from UDC I can build up a less costly wheel while I am saving up for the Profile hub and a really tough rim (perhaps the Kris Holm 29"/700c rim) as a more durable option that will allow me to jump off things and land on the pedals, etc. However, it is my hope that the Suzue 48h/Mavic combination will work well for the imemediate purpose of getting this unicycle rolling. I’ll probably mount the Schwalbe fat apple tire.
I do have a CF base and Thomson seat post on order from Scott Wallis. I also need to come up with some more cash to get a Magura brake.
If I build it up without the brake initially, what size bolts fit into the Magura mounts? I thought to place bolts in there to keep the threads clean until I can get and mount the brake. Will M5 bolts like are used for bicycle water bottle mounts work?
Again any thoughts about a unicycle-friendly bike shop in Davis or Sacramento would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to my post.
I can attest to the strength of the UDC CroMo hub. I have wrecked three pairs of cranks on two of those hubs and the hubs are still in perfect condition.
The flanges are also 13mm further apart on the UDC hub resulting in a stronger wheel build.
This would be a good choice until you can get your splined setup.
My unicyling up until now was on a cheap borrowed unicycle some years ago. Now that I have my Hunter frame, I hope to use it for all around fun and exercise as well as commuting to my office on the UC Davis campus.
I think the shop “Ken’s Bike and Ski” is the one near the Davis Food Co-Op?
If it is I should certainly stop in because I live about a block away on H Street. There’s a nice trail that runs parallel to the railway track that I ride along every evening on my bike to unwind. I am REALLY looking forward to the same on the Hunter uni.
I was told by a UC Davis student that there is a juggling/unicycling club in which some unicyclists get together.
Hi Chris,
If you are interested in riding, let me know. I have a 29er that I have ridden as far as Winters and back. Most of my rides are less in distance, usually 3-10 miles around Davis. Occasionally I make it up to the hills with my KH24.
I just got started about 2 years ago and unicycling is my primary… well actually my only form of exercise these days.
OK folks, thanks for all the suggestions and ideas about how to build up my unicycle. I am almost there with collecting the parts. I’ll have some competent shop build my wheel and will try to put it all together myself otherwise. I have the tools and some basic bike wrenching skills, hopefully nothing too difficult will come up.
Frame: 29"/700c Rick Hunter unicycle, powdercoat green
Saddle: Kris Holm with Holm rail adaptor (onto which the brake will mount)
Seatpost: NOS Suntour XC Pro, 28.6mm, 300mm length
Brake: Magura hydraulic rim brake
Hub: UDC Chromoly, 48 hole, 40mm bearings
Cranks: Sugino LH 152mm JIS taper (may go shorter once I get better at riding)
Pedals: MKS BMX pedals, anodized gold color
Rim: 700c Mavic T519 48 hole (a heavy duty bicycle touring rim)
Tire: Schwalbe Big Apple
Hopefully in a week or so it will be terrorizing the streets of Davis, California!
Hey, FlybyTire and CentralValley–you ought to come up to Chico one of these days for a ride. We have a small muni contingent and some great trails for 24 or 29er. We’d love company! Drop a PM if you’re interested.
