Currently I have a 20" Sun, but I’m pretty sure I’m golden on the idea of purchasing a second uni, a 28" Sun. I know that a lot of riders seem to have a negative attitude towards Sun unis, but I’ve never had a problem with mine. Plus I’m on a budget. My LBS is really great about helping out with make sure everything is good to go so I’m pretty sure I’m going to go ahead and order it.
But then there’s part of me that’s still like “…what am I thinking?!” because I keep being told that a 28" will be more difficult to ride and steer. I don’t know.
Any thoughts on a 28" in general or just about switching or anything?
I’d love to get a larger wheel but there’s not a lot of room between a 28" (or 29") and a 36"?
28 and 29 are the same size uni. One has a tire that is less than 60mm’s, and the other is 60 or greater.
For a road going machine I don’t think the Sun is a bad choice. You will want a different seat, but otherwise it should be alright. I saw some of the new Sun’s the other day, and it looks like they have switched the seat. It looks better, but I still wouldn’t want to put too many miles in that saddle.
I’ve seen that some of them are offered with an aluminum rim, and others with a steel rim. If you have a choice it would be nice to get the aluminum rim. It will be a little lighter, and if you decide to run brakes they will work much better on the aluminum.
The last thing is the cranks. The stock crank is probably longer than you would want even as a new rider to a large uni. I had a very easy time with 125’s on my 29’er. I could easily have gone shorter than that, but didn’t before I got my 36. The nice thing is that square taper cranks are cheap so you could get a couple of different sizes without breaking the bank.
don’t worry about that transition ; ) I went from a 20" to a 36" in one day, it’s just a ‘feel’ thing. It may be a little harder to mount, but you should pick it up fast if you can already freemount.
the sun 28" is about the best cheap commuter you can get, once you go better you go A LOT better, at least price wise.
you should have a lot of fun with it : ) it’s pretty lightweight for a 28" . . . probably much lighter than the nimbus, from the one time I rode one. Really felt like a smooth ride, and holds up fine for basic riding, which is all you do on a wheel that big (unless you’re me, then you try tricks on a 36er : P . . . or unigeezer, he’s nuts!!)
You don’t say much about your skill level or what your goal is for gettting a 28" but there is no reason to think you won’t get used to a larger wheel. I did on my 29", and have downsized the cranks and gotten used to that. Now shorter cranks on a 29" feels and seat set very high feels ‘normal’ to me. In fact its my favorite wheel now.
You are making a slightly bigger jump than I did but if you have reasonable mount and ride around skills you can get used to the bigger wheel. It’s not like you have to relearn, it’s just a matter of getting used to how it handles diffrently.
Adjusting to a larger wheel is no reason not to get it. Learning how a big wheel is different improves you riding skill all around.
My experience was different and I needed to supersize my cranks for a few weeks. Having the bigger wheel and shorter cranks was a little to much for me to change at one time and still have fun riding.
That’s a good point. Like everything else in this forum we are all individuals. Still, it’s something to think about and when new cranks are in order they don’t have to be expensive.
I just picked up a new set of cranks for my Coker for $10 on Ebay tonight. I don’t think that would have happened if I was looking for ISIS cranks.