I’ve been riding for a little over a month now on a torker LX 24", so I’m still pretty new. I’m a short 5’7, 150lb.
I have a bit of money saved over and I noticed a sale over at municycle. for a Nimbus oracle 26". I was thinking of upgrading because I wanted a bit faster unicycle then a 24 (I don’t think I want something as big as a 29-36) and something stronger so I can try jumping on objects with. My travel distance is probably around 2-4 miles give or take.
So this is my thought:
KH26muni - lighter, but $680~
Nimbus Oracle 26 muni -$120 OFF so $524 - about 3lbs heavier, BUT has brakes which I think are highly useful in case I go down hills. (I actually have to call them and ask them about the shipping fee because they say it’s only free in canada but it’s giving me the free shipping option even after I put in my address in the US.
Nimbus II 26" road bike - $290
That being said, I know they’re both mountain unicycles, I actually will use them to bike back and forth in the suburbs and probably in the city. So it’ll be mostly on pavement, uneven asphalt roads, hopping up on curves or whatever is blocking my way, etc. So they’ll be used for all kinds of terrains but mostly concrete.
So I was wondering what are some of your thoughts on this matter. Is 3lbs heavier that much of a deal between the two? Should I save up for the KH or since there’s quite a sale on the oracle 26, that I should get that instead since it also comes with brakes?
Or is a nimbus II sufficient for me to jump around a bit and handle probably 2ft drops or so?
I want to do some jumping around on objects but I’m not a dare devil for crazy tricks like riding on thin railings high up etc…maybe jumping on benches, stairs, sidewalks, etc.
Can someone also recommend me crank sizes that would help me deal with the uneven asphalt roads (I tend to trip over those) and sometimes rather steep curb ramp. Sudden change in street elevations trip me up all the time. I’ll experiment with tire pressures to see if it helps me some.
First, I find it hard to believe that there is a 3 pound difference between the two unis. I’m guessing that quite a bit of that is because the nimbus has a duro tire which is very heavy.
For that much price difference I’d probably go for the oracle, brakes are expensive. The KH does have a nicer saddle and nicer cranks.
Yes, the nimbus II should be good enough for your purposes, you would probably have to be very heavy for it not to be. It has a very strong 48 spoke wheel, the muni’s are both 36 spoke. The hub is ISIS, the strongest type.
Crank length is tough to know on without trying lots of different lengths. I’d recommend 150ish as a good place to start. As you get better at unicycling you may want to go shorter.
I bet if both unicycles had the same tires and brakes the weight difference would be negligible. If choosing between a KH or an Oracle at those prices it would be hard not to choose the Oracle.
The cranks that come with the Oracle are just way too long for what most people are using these unicycles for. I would have them changed out for some 150s. 137s might be a better long term choice but going with your old crank length will make you almost instantly comfortable riding the slightly larger wheel.
If it feels too heavy for your liking ride on over to your LBS and see what they have for tires in the 2.3 to 2.5" range, combined with a lighter tube you can easily loose up to 2 pounds off the wheel. (then you might want to go or shorter cranks again)
EDIT: a Nimbus II would be more than adequate for what you described. It just doesn’t have the same bling value though does it?
Yeah I was thinking in the long term that’s why. I’m sort of interested in going mountain riding (but I’m not sure). Nothing big, just regular trails etc. You know what it is, it’s those darn u tube videos.
Considering my height and the 26", is it easily possible to do similar jumping tricks that can also be done on a 24"? I really want to try tricks like these:
I just sorta want the 26 upgrade because I THINK it won’t be too big looking since I already have a 24" and I would like to go faster.
I was thinking of getting the oracle and switching out the tire with a thinner tire such as the one on the nimbus II 26". This way I can ride the street and if I want to do some bigger jumps or do mountain cycling, I’d switch it out. Thoughts on this? Because I was also reading that oracle could handle thinner tires than the KH. By the way this is just thinking on the cost of the long term in case I might want to do muni one day I don’t have to buy another unicycle.
Is there any preferrably free way to try on multiple crank size for my unicycle once I get it? Try them out and then choose a size and buy a good quality one of that size?
I’ve got dual hole cranks on a few of my unis. I love them because I can use the shorter holes for rides where the goal is a little more speed and the longer holes where the goal is to do more technical things.
The KH unis come with dual hole cranks standard but you can upgrade to dual hole cranks on a nimbus. Something I’ve always done and would always do in the future when getting a nimbus. It’s a cheap way to add a bit of versatility to a uni - and I’d be much more likely to swap pedal positions for a ride or two than I would be to swap out cranks for a ride or two.
Edit: I don’t know that you’re going to see a huge, huge increase in speed between the 24 and 26, I think the crank length would have a larger effect… e.g. which is faster, a 24 with 125mm cranks or a 26 with 150mm cranks? Answer, a 26 with 125mm cranks
Disclaimer: I’m the most lazy equipment person there is. I like to set things one way and just deal with it. Like if my 29er has the pedals in the 150mm holes and I’m just going on a short greenway ride I won’t bother moving the pedals to the 125mm holes because I know I’m just going to end up doing muni in a few days and I’ll want the 150mm crank length. I’ll just deal with the slower greenway ride. I’m lazy that way.
Now, moving on to the tire. I’d be extremely unlikely to swap tires out just to accommodate the factors of one or two rides. Swapping tires is just too involved for me to be bothered for just a ride or two. Now, I’m fortunate enough to have more than one uni, so I can just grab whichever uni fits the bill. I’m sure that contributes to my abject laziness. I’m also convinced that I’m one of the most mechanically declined riders on this site, another contributing factor to me not wanting to rock my equipment boat. That said, I would swap tires if I knew my practices were going to be focused for a month or more.
Yeah, I’m going to think hard about this as the sale ends at the end of the month. Does anyone know if they have oracle and KH sales often?
I’ve been checking on the dual hole cranks, but they’re expensive. I’m guessing you need an ISIS hub to use ISIS cranks and the KH ISIS crank are the only ones that seems to have the dual hole (was thinking of getting it for my torker but from this I’m guessing the upgrade is not possible). So with the nimbus, do I just buy the dual hole crank and just put it on or do I have to get anything else?
I was thinking about it a bit and was wondering. If the oracle came with rather large mountain tires, would it be more practical for me to change them out for significantly thinner, lighter road type tires if I plan to go around in the suburbs and city? I don’t know if they’re worth changing out because I do have some uneven asphalt roads that I have to deal with, that’s why I also thought of getting the 26" to deal with it better. I plan to travel 2-4 miles every other day, I want to get to a place at a decent pace, but I don’t plan to commute too much (anything more and I’ll probably use a car anyhow)
And of course I was thinking about using the mountain tires to try possibly hopping on objects (again those utube videos…)
Or maybe what saskatchewanian said:
In this case I just get thinner muni tires, probably will help to meet half way since it will probably be a bit lighter but retain the grip and toughness for me to jump around and onto objects?
I have a question about the tires, I hear that some people run their tires flat especially for the trials and some people over inflate their tires. If my tire says there should be a minimum of for example…40 psi, can I consider going below that and if I can, how much less until I should become weary of damaging my tires/rims?
And the question of post #4 first question if someone can?
I have both a KH24 and a KH26, but I still can’t do tricks like that. By the time you can do tricks like that, the uni you buy now will be largely irrelevant - even if you learn fast. Ask Killian about his deliberations around his first uni and where he is today.
This is a good idea. There are plenty of good 2.4 or 2.5 tires which will serve you well on concrete and for XC/Muni.
Crank length: My guess is that 165 will be far too long for you a) for your height, b) for your suggested usage on a 26. Your preferred length will change over time as you gain experience and skill. For either 24 or 26, I’d suggest you get dual-hole cranks at 150/125. They will probably do you very nicely for some time to come.
A brake is a nice thing to have in lots of circumstances - if you can use it. You may find that it’s redundant for quite some time while you build on your basic skills.
The Oracle is great value, but, for you, today, the cranks are too long and the tire too heavy and you won’t get the benefit of the brake.
Buy the Nimbus 26 and use the difference to upgrade to the KH Spirits 127/150 and get a decent 2.4" tire (and probably some decent pedals). The Spirits put you in a good place to add a disc brake later, and the 26 with a lighter, thinner tire will give you a much more comfortable cruiser and XC machine than anything with a 3" Duro.
I guess I was just thinking in the long run because I plan to use that unicycle for years to come. It’s Christmas and I was wanting something nice, a present to myself and to cheer me up (been bummed out for awhile, candy can go just so far in cheering me up…)
But I’m bringing this up because the Oracle is on sale and I don’t know how often they’ll be on sale since -$120 OFF seems quite a bit, if it’s anything else like the Nimbus II 26" which isn’t on sale, I’d probably just stick it out with my Torker LX 24".
I’d also be too afraid to go down hills without a brake, I haven’t tried it yet but brakes are a good backup in terms of control, I was thinking this because that’s how I would feel while riding a bike but they are a bit different…
How long would it take to do those tricks? I might be underestimating them but it seems most of them are simple jumping tricks and a know how on how to land and roll out of it, I would be pretty happy if I learned just that and being able to handle 3-4ft drops. How long would that usually take? When I get to practicing I’m pretty stubborn, 2-3 hrs a day, about a month or so should make it possible? (lot of room on the estimate too).
Everything you said though, I understand what you’re saying and they do sound sensible and I’m thinking hard about it. I’m still leaning to getting the oracle due to the sale but I’ll see if municycle.ca will deal with freeshipping to the US and swapping out cranks like unicycle.com does. It seems though that on unicycle.com they said the minimum inseam length is 28" for the 26 oracle (EDIT nvm it’s 30, but I do have my 24" seat pulled up 2" so with the 26" i’d just have it at the lowest position, think that’ll work…) with that given crank size, are they wrong? Because I think it would fit me considering I have 31".
Nimbus uses ISIS. If you go nimbus you get the option to swap out the cranks, nothing else to worry about. The cost of the upgrade is less than the cost of buying a new set of dual hole cranks. Edit: Oh, I see the Canadian site doesn’t have the parts swap dropdown… they’d probably do it for you if you ask though.
The torker doesn’t use an ISIS hub, so the upgrade there isn’t possible.
I’m currently weighing the pros and cons of an oracle 36 vs. KH 36 so I’ve looked into this a bit, I’ve read some threads on the site and think I have it figured out, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
If you go nimbus the spirit cranks aren’t doing you any favors in the disc brake department (still help in the dual hole and q factor departments). Nimbus frames don’t have a disc brake tab welded to the frame, they use the d-break setup - the spirits disc brake setup has the rotor outside the frame and requires the frame tab to attach the caliper. You can still put spirits on a nimbus uni, they just don’t open you up to the word of disc breaks. The KH frames have the tab and the KH unis come with spirits as the default option.
If you go nimbus oracle you don’t have to worry about adding a brake later anyway
I have the nimbus 26" muni and I love it. I do find the duro tire overkill for my skill level and I am on concrete 80% of the time. I bought a magura brake from brycer used (he gives great deals!) and am going to get either a big apple or hookworm tire for it…just my two cents…I really like the KH and the Oracle but I didn’t want to waste money I could spend for upgrades and gear on the bling factor.
Yes, the Nimbus 26" muni gives lots of options. I haven’t seen a 26" Nimbus II road uni in person, but judging from the picture there isn’t much tire clearance even with the stock 1.75" installed. With the muni, you get the big Duro tire even if you aren’t ready to use it right away, plus Magura brake mounts and a lot more possibilities down the road.
For the original poster, a 26" muni with a Big Apple or Hookworm as suggested would be great for road riding and easy trails. For learning street unicycling like in that video, just plan on getting a 19" trials unicycle too. Don’t kid yourself. What they’re doing is hard enough even with ideal equipment. And I don’t know if many people have tried this, but I’ve thought that a trials uni like that with a small, fat, not too heavy tire would also work well for getting started on really rugged technical muni riding.
Thanks on the recommendation on the tires. I wrote it down and will look into them. Hopefully my local bike stores carry them. I’m thinking of the Big Apple 26x2.35" if that’s what you’re talking about.
EDIT I was thinking though of a more hybrid tire. Maybe even a thinner, lighter muni tire so I can do some bit of hopping on objects and going on the dirt path a bit but won’t be too heavy or wear out too fast. The ones you recommended seem more for pavement. I’ll read more on it.
I’ve been working on some fairly rough single-track with a 26x2.5 Hookworm and it’s been fine for that. (My riding skills have not but that’s a different issue.) Just lower the pressure a little. Unless you’re on loose sand or snow or sloppy mud or something, knobs don’t seem important and might even hurt more than they help.
I don’t know what you have in mind for “a thinner, lighter muni tire” but I get the feeling you’re trying to split the difference in a way that’ll get you the worst of both worlds, not the best. The volume of air inside the tire is what lets you roll over rough terrain and absorbs the shock when you hop and drop, but air volume comes along with width and weight. That’s why I suggested thinking about a 19" trials wheel for hopping and more technical muni and that sort of thing.
And I found out there is a $50 brokerage fee and there seem to be a $20 tax (tax already charged).
So the $120 OFF is now more like $50
Did not know the fee would be that high, was told by municycle.ca that it is usuall around $20-30 (which I thought was a lot already). Guess I should have googled and found out a ton of other people complaining about it too…
Was never even called and told by UPS what the amount was and that credit card was not taken so I wasn’t ready and I guess it’s tomorrow then
First experience shipping something so big from Canada.
A little disappointed. I was going to assemble it and everything tonight too (where’s the cry emoticon when you need it).
Yah brokerage fees can be pretty random. Back when I didn’t know better (and there was no canadian UDC) I ordered some parts and had them shipped UPS, they added a $60 brokerage fee, I was surprised and asked them what the brokerage fee would be on a larger more expensive item and they told me it should still be $60.
A month or so later I ordered a 36er and expecting a $60 charge was nailed with a $180 brokerage fee on top of the duties.
Now I avoid UPS when making international purchases. USPS/Canada Post seems to be the way to go to avoid sneaky arbitrary charges. The seller has no control over brokerage fees other than choosing who they ship with.
What’s really sad was that (don’t you guys dare laugh :p)
Was that I was stalking my front door the whole day waiting for my package to come like a little boy stalking Santa Claus on Christmas. I live in a not so great neighborhood and usually have locks on the front gate (which works great for dealing with the Jehovah witness group that tries coming over all the time…their church is right down the street).
Oh by the way, I read this, this might interest you. It seems that Canadians can avoid that fee sometimes:
I was wondering about the USPS though, I wonder if municycle.ca could have shipped it through USPS too. But I’m guessing their free shipping on orders over X amount wouldn’t have worked with that or something?
I thought so too, was about to give myself a high five for finding such a helpful post. But then realize that it works for stuff coming from the US to Canada
Again…wish there was a cry emoticon, no forum is complete without it.
But there’s this:
But I didn’t stop when I started to realize that, I called UPS and asked them about it. They said I can’t because they already accepted it. Next time I buy something from Canada, I’ll double check to see if I can find a way out of it…
If I’m wrong and the UPS people are lying to me, someone tell me soon! Tomorrow I gotta fork over $50. (insert tears)
it won’t be too big looking since I already have a 24" and I would like to go faster.
