I only have one post with such markings so wasn’t aware of the markings not being consistent but I see how that can be a pain!
I also just made a small scratch on one side that shows where I have mine installed to in case I need to take things apart and reassemble.
I do have one question though - what on earth is patent pending about that pivotal post, and why?
On the old KH Moment cranks, they had steel inserts rather than being specifically machined for the pedals, and over time the inserts sometimes had a lovely habit of coming loose and losing the back locking ring.
The Zero-Q Q-Axle cranks also use steel inserts, but they’re single sided affairs rather than the two sided locking things KH used to use.
I noticed on my spirits that the surface wasn’t perfectly parallel, but despite the specific machining for the pedal mating face on some other aluminium cranks, they’re not always completely parallel to the threads either!
Patent application has been filed but is not yet granted (source)
I assume the saddle is too patent pending…
On my KH Spirit cranks the pedal axle sits perfectly perpendicular to the crank and also perfectly parallel to the wheel axle. If it didn’t, the cyclic wobble is very easy to feel and rather uncomfortable. If you’ve ever ridden a slightly bent crank or pedal axle you’ll know what I’m talking about. So, if they can get the pedal axle threads right, why not the mating face?
I know what Patent Pending means, but it’s a seatpost. People have made Pivotal seatposts before.
Yeah it’s an odd one.
Perhaps the design of the crank itself is a fraction of a degree off horizontal on that front face, or one of their jigs isn’t perfectly aligned.
Darn. My local dealer has just emailed back telling me Qu-Ax can’t deliver the unicycle due to covid-related supply shortages. I see most KH gear is also out of stock at unicycle.com.
OK so I got the QU-AX RGB 29. It looks good but that’s about it… on close inspection it has been a disappointment.
Bearing housings are welded at slightly yet visibly different angles which would causes stress on bearings and . I mean… do these people not use welding jigs?
Bearing housing design is just stupid. The bearing doesn’t sit in the middle but, rather, closer to the inside of the housing. However, the housing bolt IS right in the middle, which loads the bearing unevenly. This could have been easily remedied by making the axle a 1.5-2 mm wider or adding a spacer to push the bearings outwards by the right amount. I can’t see why anybody would make this design choice.
The non-rotor-side spoke holes are 6-7 mm off-center to the side of the hump/ridge that runs down the middle of rim (this is so by design, according to QU-AX website). Unfortunately this design didn’t take into account the fact that the rim isn’t flat (the ridge!). This results in all non-rotor-side spokes to meet the rim at an angle less than 90° (looks like 80°), causing the spokes to be awkwardly bent near the nipples and putting extra stress on the nipple-spoke threaded interface. The asymmetrical spoke hole placement, intended to give a stronger wheel build, only works if properly executed, which is not the case here.
I got a different brake and saddle than advertised. (KH Slim instead of QU Saddle), though this could be down to my particular retailer, because they seem to have put the unicycle together using bits from here and there due to supply shortages.
Packaging was inadequate for such an expensive product, especially the brake lever and caliper, which came in a plastic bag with the mount bolts literally thrown in without any protection to prevent the various bits of metal colliding during transport. As a result, the caliper has multiple unsightly paint chippings.
My favorite feature of the unicycle is the seat post because the crown bolt slots are very long, which means you can slide the saddle forward a long way to give a flat rear for increased comfort.
Here I’ve just listed the main issues. There are other minor issues such as not including washers with the bearing housing bolts, or the slighlty crooked brake hose routing mounts, but I’d be splitting hairs…
I’m writing all this down on a Google Docs file to let QU-AX why this unicycle is going back.
Ouch, that sounds nasty. I would be disappointed in that too, especially the bearing housings. Regarding the wheel, I’m slowly reaching the conclusion that if you’re picky and want nice wheels then you need to build them yourself.
Be aware as mentioned above that my Mad4One frame is not quite symmetrical. It’s only offset by 1mm, but that means the tyre being 2mm closer to the frame on one side, so it’s noticeable. I plan to dish the wheel to centre at some point to make it look better. Sample size of one and all that, maybe I just got unlucky. It’s a very nice frame otherwise…
Also one other thing to be aware of which I didn’t consider when ordering: I have the large muni frame and an outboard brake. Since the frame legs are not parallel, clearance is a bit limited between the frame and the rotor. I’m currently running a 160mm rotor and clearance is acceptable. 180mm would probably be ok too. 203mm might be pushing it.
This is probably not a problem on the medium frame, and obviously a complete non-issue if you run an inboard brake.
The worst part is that I actually liked some features of the unicycle. The cranks and the hub are pure beauty. The seat post and clamp are also very good, and the frame looks very nice. QU-AX really are onto something, they just need to step up their QC.
IIRC mad4one frames are made in Taiwan. Basically all uni frames are, AFAIK. Just curious, did you try flipping the wheel around to check it’s definitely the frame and not the wheel? Anyway, my first uni was a cheap yet rather nice Teliang 19" (a Chinese brand) that also had this problem. Luckily, the offset was just over 1 mm and I sorted it by sandwiching a strip of very thin plastic between the top of the bearing and the housing. This uni had perfectly parallel and level bearing housings though.
Haha indeed. Maybe I’ll email mad4one first, tell them all the issues I’ve encountered with other brands and ask if they will be able to deliver THE unicycle—one that doesn’t have any of those issues.
Is that a mad4one uni? What hub+cranks are you running for that set-up?
Yeah, the RGB munis sure do look pretty. I’ve never actually seen one in person though
Yes, it’s definitely the frame. Personally I’d rather dish the wheel than shim the bearings.
Actually three out of my four unis are slightly off centre like this. My Mad4One is the most expensive and the least symmetrical. My Athmos is the cheapest and the only one that’s perfectly straight .
It’s bit of a frankenuni. It’s a Nimbus hub (KH hub would work fine too but I wanted 32 spokes) with KH Spirit cranks. It looks like this .
I told them end 2006 as I had contact between 170mm crank and bearing housing on my 1st QU-AX 24 with aluminum frame, I had to put washers between frame and bearing housing to avoid this contact …
I told also to Dmitry Nechaev from Triton and he modified immediatly his drawing and applied it on the next production batch …
That looks proper. I was never a fan of KH frames but I think their wheels are the strongest out there (eyeletted rims, wide-flanged steel hub, no dishing). My dream uni build would be basically your unicycle but with the KH wheel. BTW I like the way you’ve attached the brake lever directly to the handle, vs that dodgy mount mad4one sell.
About the frame legs potentially interfering with a large ø rotor, the QU-AX 29" rocks a 160 mm rotor. Just checked KH’s website and my KH27.5 apparently has a 203mm rotor but I never cared to measure. I would have sworn it was 180 mm, but the large wheel probably made it look smaller. Do you find the 160 mm rotor provides adequate braking power for your 29" uni?
Thanks! The KH rim is super nice, and surprisingly light for its width. It was actually my first choice but is currently scarce and pricey due to supply chain madness.
Agreed, the Mad4One mount is pretty poor. If I wanted a centrally mounted lever I would make a mount myself.
I spend most of my time riding a 36" with a 180mm rotor, so the muni brake feels very powerful to me even with a 160mm rotor. I suspect the real advantage of a larger rotor is preventing fade, but I’m a pretty tame muni rider so that hasn’t been a problem.
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