I got an KH 26 inch muni on the UDC sale and totally love it. Today i took it for a ride on the local mountain bike track. Nothing spectacular, a few steep climbs and a lot of mud, clay and narrow winding single track paths. I had a great time and the unicycle performs excellent.
Back on the parking lot i noticed that my leg armor was blue on the inside and sure enough the paint on the frame had rubbed off.
I wasn’t really disappointed, just surprised. It was my first ride on a dirt track and i have the KH for a week now. I also have a qu-ax 36 inch which doesn’t show any sign of wear after a year of frequent use. Rubbing the leg armor against the frame is not an issue there.
Is this normal for a KH frame, or any aluminum frame for that matter?
Is it just on one side or both? I think this could either be caused by poor posture or bad seat height or both. When I first got a nimbus muni I used to rub my knees on the frame a bit but with a little practice and seet adjustment I don’t anymore.
Yes, the seat post was too high. I cut the tube to fit but was a bit conservative since i did not plan on using the 150 mm crank setting. When i did i noticed that it was a little high for my taste. I will cut it down for an additional cm or so.
And yes I have a bad posture since i am new to muni i do not ride with one hand at the saddle all the time, sometimes i let go and use both arms for balance, especially when cornering or pushing vegetation or overhanging trees branches. In these instances i use my legs to control yaw angle and bend them inward to hug the front end of the saddle.
So the rubbing was done my me. Nevertheless i was surprised that i took the paint off on a single trip. I did not expect this because you can rub a qu-ax frame to your heart’s content and never notice anything. I guess that it is just a natural thing for KH frame to do so i will leave it at that:p
I ride a KH 24" and a KH36" . Interestingly my KH 24" shows paint wear like yours but my KH 36 does not. Also my Nimbus 26" shows paint wear in the same place as my KH24.
My conclusion is that this paint wear is a result of riding style and nothing to do with the brand. I use my 24" and 26" for muni where I have to lean more into sharp turns etc. causing my legs to make more contact with the frame thus causing frame rub. Whereas I use my KH36" for road riding only where I’m cycling more upright in a forward direction.
I suggest you bind the worn area with some tape to prevent further wear on the frame.
Well yes, but then again i don’t know what to expect. Anyway this is what it looks like after 4km of muni :-). I stress here that my intention is not to start whining. I just did not know it was this sensitive…
I’ve seen this before, had it myself - the key seems to be the KH Leg Armour. I’d ridden for months on my KH muni with no sign of wear, then I swapped my 661 shin pads for KH leg armour and the frame was down to the metal in about 2 rides. The blue paint was on the pads. I also saw it on other people’s frames - around the time that leg armour came it, it was rife!
The leg armour doesn’t strip the paint from the Oracle frames, though…
Is it the shape/structure of the leg armor that you think is causing the rubbing? I sometimes rub my legs against my frame while riding, but it’s really only when turning tight corners and things like that.
Had the same thing on mine. Used the Leg Armour and paint went off in one ride. They’re pretty hard material on the outside, also they had quite a layer to your leg, so that wasn’t surprising. I used black duck tape to prevent more damage - and I use more my other leg protection than those to be honest. I find them a little clumsy and uncomfortable.
Ah, interesting - I’ve not experienced this with my Oracle 29er frame and the KHLA. I wonder if it’s because my KHLA is far from new and has somehow been broken in. Maybe the hard plastic/vinyl has softened a bit, or it doesn’t stick out as much anymore.
I assumed it was because the paint job was hardier - it doesn’t chip as easily as the KH when bounced on rocks, that’s for sure.
