That just made me die a little inside.
The uni looks beat up because i did a photo shoot with it at a natural trials spot so you can guess what a couple mess ups and lots of rocks will do. the decals are only stickers, NOT the real decals becuase its only a test model. and the cranks are ugly becuase we had problems with the first cranks so we fixed the problem and they didn’t paint them because they are also being tested. You have to realize, first prototype isn’t always going to look pretty, why put all the decals and paint on it if something may not work right?
Also, i asked about making an aluminum frame to see if it would hold up, they just want me to test this frame for now, I honestly don’t know if this style frame would hold up well in alum. You guys also need to realize that Torker is also done by the same people that make redline bicycles, so they have alot more going on than unicycles, they can’t put all the time and money into them like Koxx and KH, so don’t expect every little detail to be perfect.
Also, about the saddle, it may look to curved, its not. i ride it and love it. i have ridden a KH a few times and maybe its the particular KH saddle i rode i am not sure, but i like this one better to be honest. This saddle feels really good for street and trials.
they aren’t going to make multiple style frames for 24 and 20. its not gonna happen. they are more than a unicycle company, they are also Redline bicycles so they have alot more to deal with then most all other unicycle companies. I am just trying to help them come up with a good ideal uni that everyone can ride and is of course way better than the previous. this uni wouldn’t be what it is right now had it not been for me being there, so i am going to try and make what changes are doable and easy. I can try and get a 36 spoke rim and have them take most of the crown nubs off. we are also going to be working on a new seatpost with supports so the saddle mounts won’t bend so easily.
You cant just throw an ISIS hub in a piece of crap and expect it to sell.
Is Torker just gonna rely on there bike shop accounts to move this? That frame is ugly, way to big and bulky, prolly pretty heavy(im sure lighter than the oldies, aha). Rim is outdated. No one wants 48 spokes.
If Torker does not try to one up the nimbus and stay in the similar price range, what the hell are they making a new uni for?
The cranks look like the only nice feature, although I am getting the feeling they have to much Q-factor… at least it looks that way in the pic. But if they are ISIS then people can just buy the cranks and forget about the out of date bulky rest of the uni.
Torker can’t take time off from designing a 19" and come back with something that looks 4 years old.
If you look around the forums you will see a lot of people talk about ugly frames, light frames… The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the frame needs to be strong. The other thing people agree on is that the wheel is the bulk of the uni. You really can’t ignore what people want in the wheel. The hub is a good start, but it needs to have a wider rim, and it should be 36 (or 32) spokes. The hub should have 42mm bearings, and have 100mm spacing to be compatible with the current standards.
The attention to the seat is great. It sounds like the seatpost is on the right track as well. If the wheel is up to current standards/desires I think the uni will be solid. People will certainly be turned off from the knee basher frame. It seems like a lot of trials and MUni riders would prefer a round (or at least roundish) crown.
There is only so much Torker can do at a time to the unis. you and everyone else knows that this is a huge step alone for Torker. they aren’t shooting to be the top of the line unis by any means. I am helping them get better, had i have not been riding for them and able to just drive to thier HQ to talk to them, this uni would not be near what it is now. I know we still have changes to make but we can only do so much at a time. The company, like everyone else, is kinda on a budget. I may be able to get a 36 spoke rim on there as well as knock the nubs down on the frame, i do agree about maybe shortening up the frame a bit and possibly bring the frame in a bit too and no so wide. i will see what i can do.
Back when the KH/Onza hub was top of the line, people bought Torker bearings to make their hub compatible for 40mm frames (KH/Onza bearings are 42mm OD). If torker made these new bearings 40mm OD, many would be interested in buying them so they could retrofit ISIS hubs to 40mm frames without having to use the KH shimmed bearings.
Though, the bearings are probably 42mm OD unless torker decided to do a production run of their own custom bearings, but can you confirm MuniRyder?
Looks like a Nimbus to me, which is still pretty current, even though the frame design is older than half the kids here.
Torker will sell, Torker always will sell. Probably sells more than most once you step outside of the online community and walk into the bike shop.
True dat.
Most people who want to get into unicycling just walk down to the LBS where they find…
Torker unicycles!
Yup, I would guess that Toker outsells KH, Nimbus and all the other UDC brand combined, at least in the US. But they’re all about keeping the product affordable, and very much not about doing custom stuff, variations, etc.
A change from 48 spokes to 36 or 32 would be a cost-savings change, so it would work if they believe it will sell equal or greater numbers of units. But if they think their market (which is not us) will think 48 spokes is a sales point, they might leave it that way.
Is anyone riding 32 spokes for Trials these days? It’s still a bit of an unknown, to my knowledge, how they hold up to abuse. It would be nice to go to more of a bike standard, long as it still works well.
Saddle? Are people assuming there was a change there? I could be wrong, but it still looks like the classic Miyata seat they’ve been using for years. The KH seats are an improvement on that, but for a very long time before those came along, the Miyata seats were far and away the best unicycle seats you could get. So I doubt there was any change there, except maybe cosmetically.
For the frame, it does look like a knee-basher, though I haven’t used such frames myself. If it doesn’t bother one person’s knees, it may be different for someone with a different leg length. Frames like that are probably good for doing tricks, though the top parts probably don’t need to go up nearly as high.
Most of the frame requests have been for a completely different frame, which probably won’t happen this time around because Torker probably has very limited funds for R&D. It’s cool to see that they’re listening to a hardcore unicyclist at all! Also you can’t just make a steel frame out of aluminum; what works well for steel may break very fast in aluminum. You’d have to design the frame with the material in mind.
I agree that the frame is too big, if it was made a but narrower, and the nubs cut off the top would it also be cheaper to produce as it doesn’t use as much material? Also a 32 or 36 spoke set up would be better if they are trying to loose weight. If I’m honest if torker are trying to make a lighter uni they haven’t tried very hard… it could still be greatly improved.
This uni will be a lot better if just those things could be done.
A round crown isn’t an option, for a lot of people a torker is their only uni so it needs to be as versatile as possible and a round crown is only good for trials.
Absolute musts IMO: 36 spokes (32 would be too much of a risk for Torker); 1" shorter nubs on the crown (pref rounded, like Brian suggested); 42mm bearings & 100 mm spacing; and a wider rim (preferably more than 42 mm).
It would be nice if (in order of what’s most needed IMO): 135-140 mm cranks; the crown is knurled (if the nubs are totally rounded) or just slice the tops of the legs @ 45 degrees almost to the crown like the Tritton; the legs had ovalized tubing w/ size to match the bearing holders; machined bearing houlders; a bit less tire clearance on the trials; the reinforced post as mentioned; more reinforcement in the seat base (esp the front); the weight is slightly less than a Nimbus.
Any info on the Muni yet? For the frame, it’d be cheaper to just make longer legs, but IMO it’d be better to only have a rounded crown for the 24".
The Miyata style saddle is on the LX and AX models. The DX has a KH/Nimbus style saddle. This new one looks like it’s a shaved down version of that saddle. It does look too rounded, so I’d shave off 1/2 inch more of the foam in the front and rear to flatten it more.
I agree 48 spokes may sound better to the uninformed buyer, but this could be easily remedied by the salesperson being educated (ie by Torker) and saying something like “36 spokes is lighter and plenty strong as long as you check the spokes’ tension once in a while”
Enough of the round crown. This is meant to be a budget high end unicycle (I’m hoping they’re going to keep that mentality), and like Brian said, it’s meant to be versatile as well. Round crown is just a bad idea for something like this, unless the muni crown is rounded like skilewis said, but that would just be more work that probably wouldn’t happen.
I will try and get the crown nubs knocked down and a 36 spoke rim put on, no promises though. I don’t know how much they will be willing to change at this point though. As for the Muni, it will be exactly like the 20" just as a 24. so basically whatever is done for the 20 will be done to the 24. they aren’t going to make multiple style frames. I do agree about the nubs on the crown for sure. i have already hit them hard enough to bruise the inside of my leg. I still don’t know if the frame is quite as wide as a Nimbus, i know its now as wide as my older Nimbus 24" frame. but thats an older frame too. either way, no matter what, this uni has come a long way from the last DXs. I am having far more fun with it, the weight is totally noticable as well. spins are faster and side hops are higher.
ask them if 32 hole would be an option, i mean like, its nothing huge or dire in the unicycling world, but it would make them at the top of the game sorta. (in some aspects)
32 hole hub = different rims, different rims = trial bicycling rims, and those rims are STRONG.
but whatever, i’m sure it’ll be fine no matter what you guys make. Good luck man!
Any idea as to the release date? And I’m pretty sure it’s too early to have a price fixed for these. Or am I wrong?
maybe depend on the different stores that are getting them but i know one torker dealer in Portland is gonna have them in the next month or so, they will be running around about 350. of course, that depends on where you are getting them as well. but not to much longer.
Word from Torker is probably available in November. I have my local bike shop calling them trying to get a firm price but I’m not sure that decision has been made yet. MuniRyder07’s estimate of $350 sounds familiar so perhaps I’ve seen it somewhere before, it’s the amount I’ve been assuming as well.
On a side note: I swear there is only one ship stocked with unicycle parts, regardless of manufacturer, and it only arrives in November! A friend is waiting for a KH36 with the same arrival date. 