Hi there, I have been skulking about on these forums for about a year now- so now I need to ask a couple of questions, I guess I had better say hello.
So, Hello.
I’m Jim- been riding for about a year now and I am mainly into muni-
I currently have a Qu-ax DH muni and a KH 29
But!
I am in the throws of ordering bits to build a coker at the moment.
I feel the need for speed.
Roger should have built my wheel over the weekend- I just need to decide what I am going to order to build the rest.
I am going for a Nimbus frame/ airfoil rim on wide hub. Probably five inch cranks…
Where I need guidance is brakes. I have V-brake adaptors on my 29 which I plan to use on the coker.
My question is, what kind of lever is suitable for running Vs as a drag brake?
I am thinking of using a non-indexed road bike gear lever on a KH under the saddle type brake lever mount. Will this work ok? Will the brake be too grabby or the lever/brake combo have the wrong pull? Am I best off with a traditional brake caliper?
The tube you use shouldn’t effect the tyre blowing out, but you need to take time seating the tyre before you inflate it so it stays there. I found getting the 29er tube to be a major pain, infact I never managed it without puncturing the tube so am stll on the 36 tube.
Can’t help you with the brakes I’m afraid, I’m using the magura HS33s the nimbus frame was designed for.
I guess I shall just have to try the 29 tube, maybe buying a 36 as well, just in case I am thwarted.
I thought a Magura would be a bit too powerfull for a drag brake. Do you get any face meeting tarmac moments? Or is the modulation so good you can be really accurate with them?
I had thought that cokers need relatively weak brakes, just to scrub speed.
Facially I don’t have much to lose, but pain might be an issue…
No it’s never happened, the wheel has such inertia that you can slam the brakes on if you’re practised at it, on steep downhills I pull on the lever pretty damn hard no problems. The modulation is great though, you can control them very precisely should you want to. Roger designed the frame with magura mounts for a good reason, they work very well. The only downside is you can’t get a drag lever for maguras, you have to hold the lever continuously. However with a T7 holding the handle is dead easy.
It’s true that the stopping power of the Maguras is overkill, but you can set them so they grab just the right amount at maximum extension. The reason to get the Maguras is because they’re buttery smooth, which is what you want for a unicycle. A grabby brake is going to send you right off the front. I personally haven’t had good experiences with cantilevers, but others here have.
I also think there’s an issue with fitting cantilever brakes in the Nimbus frame.
Unfortunately, I don’t know a way of setting up a Magura as a drag brake, which would be nice.
I have been dithering over the handle- it may well become a later addition. I can see the benefit of it. But to be honest, I wasn’t going to bother with it as I don’t like the look of it.
Sounds stupid I know, but what drew me to unicycling was the minimalism of it. As soon as you start bolting bits on, it detracts from it.
I speak as a reformed downhiller and bike candy addict.
I swear X-lite was kept in business by me…
I have gone very much the other way now, the only reason I am allowing myself a brake is because my home town is all steep hills, I would die without one…
I know what you mean, my friend’s coker does look very clean compared to my tricked out N36". Mscalisi has a good point, mine are setup up so that i can pull the handle full on without the braking being too high, so I can’t pull them too hadr, this also gives more clearance on the rim to reduce the chance of it rubbing when the wheel flexes like it used to on my steel rim.
I am new to unicycling, but my ultimate goal is to ride the Rosarito to Ensenada fun ride. It’s 55 miles and it has two good hills and a long downhill.
My question is being 5’7" and with an inseam of 29.5 what would be the biggest wheel to allow me to ride the full 55 miles. Also would i need brakes or can i do without them?
My problem would be reaching the pedals. Any ways around this limitation to make a nimbus 36 Inch work for me?
You might need to chop the frame but people alot shorter than you have ridden 36", particularly if you use short cranks. Do they sell the short person’s coker frame in the US?
My inseam is aprox 69cms. I have a Nimbus 36", they had to modify it a little but that was because of the T7 handle. You should have absolutely no problem, especially if you use shorter cranks (mine aren125s).
If I have a 29.5 inseam and don’t use the T7, would I be able to use a non-modified nimbus with 150s cranks. There are quite a bit of hills on the Rosarito to Ensenada Fun Ride.
It would be less efficient and not significantly safer, you’re 6 inches closer to the ground which makes some difference but is less significant than the speed you’d travel at.
I bought a nimbus 36 and I fit perfectly without the t7 handle. I got the magura brakes with it. I tried putting the t7 handle and I also fit on it however the brake hose is too short to mount the brake on the handle so I took the handle off. Does it really make a whole lot of difference having the t7 handle for control? How do you mount this beast since I can only mount it using a curb?
I wonder if that was the one we put the spokes on the wrong way? (Only kidding).