I think I have, by accident, discovered my perfect, most versatile unicycle. When I first decide that I wanted to learn how to ride a unicycle I thought that I wanted a 26” so that I could actually go someplace. As my interests and skills progressed I started to specialize as I built my uni-stable. I got to the point where I hardly ever rode my 26” street uni. However, I slowly replaced some components on this ride due to breakage. Then Gary from 3G-bikes offered to let me test a proto type 26” tire (the Sticky-G). In testing this tire I pushed my 26” set-up harder than I had ever imagined, taking a 3’ drop, numerous, seemingly endless flights of steps – up and down. The tire has a long, 82” roll-out which makes for a high enough gear to do some traveling. What I discovered was that I have an awesome street unicycle that will allow me to travel around the neighborhood, doing hops and drops all the while AND use it to do local errands and even ride with my wife as she runs.
MY perfect, most versatile uni is:
• 26” Sem XL
• Sticky-G, 26X2.125 tire (coming out soon)
• Mavic 521 DH rim
• 4-cross spoke lacing
• Odyssey cranks
• Bullet Proof pedals
• KH / Velo saddle
One of my street set-ups is with a 26" Dyno Fireball. That is a great street tire as well. Super grippy with a fat, completely round profile.
I settled on some 150 steel BE cranks. It’s a real fun versitile ride.
By the way, I knew Gary Silva (3G) for many years down here in So. Fla. Glad to see he's back in action.
What length cranks are you using for that? I’m guessing on 150’s or 160’s for that type of urban riding.
I’m getting really excited about the 3G tires. In my case I’m thinking of the Hoggy-G which is a 24x3 tire. I can’t wait to give the Hoggy-G a try. But that 26" Slicky-G also looks nice. A fat 26" tire is good for city riding. Still small enough to be maneuverable, but big enough to get some good cruising.
Lately I’ve been wondering what kind of a design Gary would come up with for a custom unicycle. How do you turn a unicycle into a cruiser? You can’t exactly ride a unicycle very well in a laid back style like a cruiser bike.
My cranks on my “perfect, most versatile” uni are 150s.
I. too, have a Fireball. In fact, I pulled the Fireball off to test the Sticky-G. The rubber on the Fireball seems to be more sticky but the trade-off for the Sticky-G is (besides the fact they are in production and in a warehouse ready to be shipped) is that the diameter is larger. I haven’t put a tape to the Fireball to check the roll-out distance. The Sticky-G has more volume and I found that I was riding it at about 10 psi more than the Fireball and still getting plenty on cushion and could easily could maneuver it.
The Hoggy-Gs are soon to be out too. In fact, when I first talked with Gary it was about the Hoggy-G. He had intended to have this sent but a mistake was made in Taiwan and the Sticky-G showed-up at my door by mistake. Luckily I did have a 26", fat tire uni so I could test this one too. As a result I rediscovered my 26". The new Hoggy-G (yes, there is a “new” Hoggy-G even before the “old” is available) will be available with a colored side wall. One of these is scheduled to be at my door any day. Even if it is truly a 24 X 3.45 I think that it will fit on my Wilder. It might be really fun. All of this said, with all the excitement about a new product that may give us that extra cushion for another 6" of drop, I really LOVE my Fireball.
Tired of shredding knobbies, I was using a Conti Town and Country on my 26" Pashley before I got the 20"er. I really enjoyed the smooth, cushy ride. I only use the Pashley now for off-road, but I think that Pashley/Conti combo would make a great dedicated cruiser. And Pashleys are dropping in price!
Sweet! Let us know how the Hoggy-G is when you get a chance to try it. I saw one of the “old” Hoggy-G tires at the Seattle Bike Expo last weekend. The 3.45 on the sidewall is an exageration. Actual width when it is on a rim is around 2.6 or 2.7 which is similar to a Gazz.
I hope the rubber compound on the Hoggy-G will be sticky enough to make it useful for trials. It would be a bummer if the tire ended up not having enough grip.
I can’t speak to the colored side wall issue ( nor the tire’s performance) as I haven’t seen them but I’ll be sure to post a report with pictures after I get the goods.
I’ll try to get a pic of the tire this afternoon or tomorrow.
I played with this tire inside for the first time last night at our MUC practice. It was fun to zip around, so fast, inside. I was surprised how agile it is too. With that much volume of air you can bring up the presure (for spins, et al.) and still have some good cushion.
It’s about 4º right now, and we just got about 4 inches of snow, so It’s probably going to take awhile. That being said I think he is starting to make fork crowns on warmish days.
Max, dude, sorry to hear about the blast of bad weather - again. We went off-raod today and it was 47 degrees and we were all complaining (two days ago it was 65!) and I reminded the group of our bretheran in Minneapolis. We are with you in spirit, brother. Remind your Dad that my name is one one of those crowns.
Tommy
