It’s not the latest version, but the 2008 onwards model.
The slightly rounded crown looks good, but not sure about the drilled rim.
Also, I do like the Nimbus gel seat, which I already have on my Nimbus II.
I will only be doing light to medium muni, and don’t know if I would be better with the Nimbus (at £40 less).
Is your concern with the drilled rim purely aesthetical or are you concerned with wheel strength? The drilled rims are more than strong enough for light muni and they save a little rotational weight as well.
I don’t mean to disparage the nimbus brand, I love mine, but for that price difference I wouldn’t think twice about getting the KH - but I do a lot of things like hopping, etc. where overall uni weight makes a big difference. I don’t know what’s up with the weights for the two unis you linked to - it has the KH as the heavier uni. The nimbus has the non-oracle (steel) frame, so there’s no chance that the nimbus is lighter than the KH.
I’ve never ridden a nimbus gel seat but the overall consensus that I’ve read on the forums is that the KH seat is more comfortable. From what I understand the nimbus gel uses a KH license to arrive at the same overall saddle design so I suppose foam or some other aspect that is unique to the nimbus gel design accounts for the differences in comfort reported here. I took that to heart and upgraded to a KH freeride when ordering a new nimbus uni. In fact when ordering the nimbus I replaced the saddle and the cranks with KH parts.
Again I love my nimbus muni, that thing is bomb proof. Still if I could swap out that uni for a KH in the same size I’d do it. Just for the weight savings.
The difference in weight between Venture and Moment cranks is somewhere between 0.2 and 0.3 kg + there is a weight gain with the Nimbus hub compared to the KH one. That could account for the slight advantage of the Nimbus even with a slightly heavier frame and rim.
@joggerdude:
both muni are great and you will have a lot of fun and solid equipment. At that point, you can pick and choose the one you like most.
Another thing: don’t be afraid by release years. There isn’t that much fundamental changes between the 2008 model and the 2013. And on the upside, there might be a bit more room for easy upgrades on the KH without requiring taking things apart (frame is strong and light and the cranks & tyre are easy to replace to cut down weight)
+1 on the KH. I’d ask about upgrading to Spirit cranks. That’d make it cheaper to go to a disk brake later (you could do the same w/ the Nimbus, both come w/ mounts for rim brakes).
I’d actually put Venture 2 cranks on it. I have an Oracle 24 and for all it’s a great uni, I regret buying it in a way as I’ve move on to 29" wheels now and brakes on a 24 are pretty pointless IMHO.
Don’t worry about the wheel strength. It’s plenty strong.
On going to disk brake on an older KH frame: You will need a UCM or d’Brake mount, and if using Spirit cranks will also need to file down your right side bearing caps a bit. Removing some of the lip won’t hurt anything. The new frames are 2mm skinnier in this area for clearance of the disk bolts.
I would go with the kH but you should be happy with either choice.
True brakes are needed less on a smaller wheel and/or longer cranks & many feel they are unnessesary on a 24 w/ 150’s (not me). They’d be more helpfull on really steep or tech trails.
Another thing to consider is double hole cranks (Moment or Spirit). And Q-factor (how wide the cranks are at the pedals). Ventures are almost totally straight, Moments a bit more Q, and Spirits a bit more. More QF causes more wheel wobble at speed but more control at slow to moderate speeds and less likely to hit heels or ankles on the cranks. Some like zero QF, my Muni cranks have a lot more than Moments & I’ve never tied cranks w/ too much QF for Muni for my tastes.
Guys, I know you all want to get your two cents in, but lets remember what the question was here and not turn it into a debate about cranks and brakes… Of course if the OP doesn’t mind have at it though.
Nicer is relative. If you want a top end machine the KH is it. Does that mean it is better? Not really. It may be lighter, and possibly stiffer, but not stronger.
My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think the 2008 was the one that added the reinforcement to the seat tube at the crown. That is an important improvement as the earlier frames broke at that spot. Still Aluminum isn’t as resilient as steel, and when push comes to shove the KH will break before the Nimbus will.
The 2008 KH still has the steel moment hub which is prone to flange problems. The newer hub on the Nimbus is a big step up.
I would say if you aren’t going to ride it get the KH, it looks nicer. If you plan on riding it you can’t really go wrong with either. I like steel, so I would probably opt for the newer Nimbus with the better hub.
I’ve been looking at a 24" to replace my cheap 20" learner and to do a mix of improving my off road ability and some jumping and basic tricks.
Thanks joggerdude for highlighting the deal of the week at UDC. Everyone raves about KH unicycles but I’m not clear why. I’d happily go with either the Nimbus or the KH 24" Munis but my only experience so far is with Qu-Ax.
So, anyone want to convince my why I might choose the KH over the Nimbus (as linked in joggerdudes original post) or vice-a-versa?
