I’m wanting to try out some muni on something other than 20" trials. I’ve decided on a 26" wheel due to my taller stature and for maybe doing some slightly longer distances (for easy dirt track i could still use my 36").
There are quite a few threads asking the diff between the regular nimbus, the oracle and kh, but i was wondering how the oregon would fit in. I’ve ridden one before and it felt actually AWESOME - like jumping on a cloud, really smooth over bumps and i feel it could be a confidence booster - i tend to be a bit of a chicken, so if the ride was smoother, i feel i may find it better when starting out.
On the downside, i understand its heavier and wide tire means maybe not as much manueverability and harder to go longer distances.
General rider info about me: female, about 60kg, tall, background of basic trials and street and 36" distance riding witha pb of 50km in one day. Have been riding for about 10 years.
Any info would be greatly appreciated! And if my searching ability have been lax and there is already a thread on this, please send me in the right direction! Thanks!
With the disclaimer that I don’t have one myself, I’d say to go for it. I can’t imagine someone of your experience and ability not being able to manage it. You might as well get what you want and it sounds like that’s what you want. Good luck and have fun!
I just HAD to have a fat tire uni, even though I knew that it was impractical – and it is. It’s big and heavy and hard to ride and immeasurable fun and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
One of the great things about the Oregon is that it gives you lots of options. Put smaller tire on the Marge Lite… put a 29" wheel on it… put a new 26" wheel or build up a 27.5"…
Here’s one thread with some food for thought: Oregon "Lite"
The only problem with putting smaller wheels in a fatty frame is the possibility of the wide frame bashing your legs and the inside of your knees. That’s why i got rid of mine but the oregon is a much more knee friendly desighn compared to what i was using.
I don’t think that a fat tire is worth it in the summer but when i started riding off-road my 26x3 Gazz was a huge confidence booster but feels big and slow now.
You have ridden one before and it sounds like it made you smile. Sound like a good enough reason to get one to me.
I recently swapped my fat Duro Leopard tire for the lighter, thinner Maxxis Ardent. I am way happier right now. That said, the OP’s trail conditions may be better suited to a fat tire. I would avoid buying a niche first MUni, and rather get something middle-of-the-road. Several posters in the past mentioned that the Oregon was an awesome MUni, but maybe for someone that owns more than one MUni. A fat tire is a double edged sword; its inertia will help you roll over stuff, but may also tire you out, so to speak, by making you fight against this inertia. Again, I’d start with something a little more neutral in the MUni department, learn more about your tastes, then modify what you have or make another purchase. Unifire, it sounds like you understand the limitations of a fat tire. However, you are an experienced, strong rider, and you could probably handle the fat tire. Have fun!
Very much agree with elpuebloUNIdo on switching out a Duro for an Ardent. I’ve been very happy with that change on my 26" muni. But I don’t agree with the implication that a fattie like a Surly Nate or Knard would be like an even bigger, heavier űber-Duro. I’m seeing either 1570 and 1680 g for the 26 x 3.0" Duro Wildlife depending on where you look, vs 1255 g for the wider 26 x 3.8" 120 tpi Surly Knard on the 26" Oregon.
Where extreme downhill tires like Duros are pretty much built like tank treads, fatties are meant to float over soft surfaces and while they’re still heavy, they’re more lightly built for their size. I’ve got an Origin8 Devist8r mounted up and waiting for me to decide on a frame for it and it seems that way too, although maybe not as refined as those Surly tires. I’d guess that’s a big part of why fatties have gotten to be as popular as they are.
I was wrong about fat tires, they do not have to be as heavy as a Duro. Thanks for quoting the weight on the various tires, LargeEddie. I guess fat tires look scarier than they actually are. I hope to try one some day.
Love my Oregon 26er. My favorite uni next to my kickass 36er. I have the heavy as heck Duro 3.0, but I’ve gotten so used to them by now, that they just feel normal. Admittingly, you have to get a hang of them at first, and certainly not for the wussie legs. But if you do have twig legs, in no time it’ll build them up, if that’s one of your determined objective. My Oregon is a climbing machine and I have pics to prove. In fact, it did such a good job in building leg, calf, and of course, huge butt muscles. So much, that when i went to transition to my 36er it was a cinch, climbing was natural. Relatively, for a few month newb on a 36er, I can climb and and descend pretty darn well. I also hit the trails pretty darn well with the Nightrider, well into the mountain lion territory. I believe, in saying so, owed in large part from the time spent on strenuous hill climbing with my Duro 3.0.
As far as the fattie original Surely Tire goes… cant really comment. I didnt have enough saddle time on it.
That just reminds me… I gotta have em swapped back and enjoy em very soon on the beach, and hit the Redwood campground trails with em.
Love my Oregon, if it broke today, i wouldnt hesitate a bit to pick up another. But thats just me…
.And you either love fatties or you dont, that you’ll ultimately have to find out for yourself, and nobody can determine it but yourself.
So that’s it, you’re just admitting you were wrong and conceding the point? You’re no fun at all.
Definitely a fascinating idea, and how I ended up having that Devis8tor–that and having an Amazon gift card and wanting to use it for something unicycle-related. With spring here I’m busy riding the unis I’ve already got so that’s on the back burner for a while.
Looks like you’ve found my problem right there. My legs aren’t twiggy but I’m old and tire easily!
Don’t get me wrong, the Duro Wildlife is pretty much the canonical muni tire and there must have been a lot of riders who really liked it and did the kind of riding that needs an extreme downhill tire. At my skill level, I can ride longer on the Ardent before I’m a sopping exhausted wreck and that’s better for my muni progress. Being the canonical tire, the Duro ought to fit in any muni frame and I’m sure it’s great in an Oregon, but my fattie tire doesn’t even come close to fitting in either of my standard muni frames. That’s the big deal about the Oregon frame.
Let us know how that goes. It sounds like big fun!
After recently changing the Duro for the Ardent, I noticed a difference with the new tire. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe this phenomenon, but here’s what’s happening: there is more of a front-back displacement of the Ardent. I am not talking about the displacement of an object pushing directly into the tire; I am rather talking about the flexing of the tire tangent to the edge of the tire. I figure, because the Ardent is lighter, it’s also less dense, and it’s more susceptible to this kind of lateral flexing. I am not referring to sideways folding. If you’re looking at the unicycle from the front or back, it is flexibility along the z-axis (depth). Sorry, again for the long-winded attempt at a description. I cannot decide if this phenomenon is a good or a bad thing, but it is different. On a very small scale, the initial application of force to the pedals might flex the tire, prior to causing the unicycle to move. This causes a little delay in the reaction of the wheel, and maybe softens the feel of the pedals somewhat. I did not notice, to the same extent, this behavior on the Duro, though I figure every tire, to some extent, has this behavior. Again, a good or bad thing, I’m not sure. Ideas?
You don’t need to buy both, instead build a custom 650b, then you can run an Ardent 2.4 or similar tire AND you can run a mid fat B+ tire.
Honestly, though I love 4" tires, they are a bit of a chore and in all practical terms they are an overkill on a muni. A 3" tire is ideal for big cushion, but in the past these tires were all rubber and very heavy (1500gm+). Then new B + tires are 700-1000gm, so much more reasonable.
