I’ve had a Nightfox for almost a year and I love the 36" wheel. When I ride though - I can’t help this feeling that something is not quite true. It seems like I’m always correcting in ways that would suggest some misalignment or something.
It could just be me - but I have this nagging feeling that if I got a more conventional 36er, like the new KH 36 (which looks pretty sweet), I’d discover a more easy, graceful and comfortable ride.
I have no way to test my theory without spending $905. … Hmmm
Has anybody else with a NF had this sense? Or is it more likely that NF rides just as good as anything and really it’s just a balance/technique issue and a different uni would not change anything?
Have you tried to fix your wheel? I ask because I had a similar experience with my 29" Oracle that has a Big Apple tire. I always felt like it leaned to one side which made it hard to ride when the road was slopped a certain way. About a year after riding it I got a flat and took it to my LBS for a new tube. The mechanic noticed it was slightly out of alignment and the tire had worn more on one side. I left it for him to tweaked. I think it’s called dishing the wheel. Anyways, after his changes it was so much easier to ride. He said it was off by 4mm. That tiny bit of misalignment made a huge difference to me.
could be a few things. An incorrectly dished wheel is one, but the nightfox doesn’t have a disc hub. The legs on the nightfox have also caused issues, where one is adjusted slightly off, so your frame is crooked. (actually one person had one side of the frame loose and the frame obviously tweaked in a weird way so that the wheel looked out of true. It could also just be road camber. You can look up more about camber in other threads, but ride on the other side of a road if you’re feeling the effect and see if the effect changes sides. If so, it’s likely road camber. A higher tire pressure can help reduce the effect with a nightrider tire.
Check your frame to make sure the saddle isn’t tweaked where it mounts to the frame, but it’s probably fine.
sounds like you’re eyeballing the KH. It’s a fantastic wheel. O: ) Nothing wrong with wanting a new wheel.
There are some issues with the nightfox of course. You can’t adjust saddle angle for instance, but as far as ride goes, it should be just fine. There’s nothing inherently different if everything is adjusted properly that would make it ride any different than the KH. Heck they have the same rim and tire.
The KH will be lighter, and have a more narrow hub, which may or may not be more comfortable for you, and it will probably be stiffer, but I haven’t ridden a nightfox.
I have never ridden a Night Fox, but have a Nimbus II 20" and a Nimbus Oracle 26" muni. I also have the 2015 KH36. I’ve never been dissatisfied with either of my Nimbus uni’s, and they have taken quite a few nasty spills & drops without damage, but the KH just feels much more solid in comparison.
As Vertigo suggested, try to get the wheel fixed first before spending $905, (and another $100 if you want the handlebars as well), or, if you have your heart set on the KH36, perhaps try to sell/trade your Night Fox on the board to fund it?
I own both a KH 36er and the Nightfox. I’ve ridden the NF hundreds of miles, and when outfitted the same, i.e., T-handle, aerobars, I can detect no discernable difference in “feel” between the two, other than that the NF has a KH fusion freeride saddle, and my KH has the “Flatfish”, which I prefer for long rides. Both feel equally smooth and true.
Can you tell us any more about the nagging feeling that something isn’t true, uniwheel? Like, when you’re feeling it, what type of riding, right away or after a bit, when free mounting, when cornering, etc.,?
I’m facing the very same issues. I ride a nimbus impulse, and after a few experiences, like changing the saddle and the seat post I’m quite sure it’s a mix of road camber, body weirdness and unicycle age. When my uni was new I didn’t have that feeling. Changing the saddle helped a little bit, but changing the seat post was the best choice for me so far. I used a nimbus adjustable seat post, and I changed to the KH adjustable one, which forced me to improvise a way to fix the nimbus touring bar under the saddle.
I think that changing the uni would solve the problem, at least for a while.
Cafi, what you may be experiencing is simple tire wear. The nightrider tire (and others) experience more wear in the middle of the tire, especially at higher pressures, and eventually that wear added to a weakening sidewall as the tire ages means that you have a more square tire profile which is much more prone to camber. I have the same nightrider tire that came on my nightrider pro in 2009, and while the tread isn’t totally worn down to smooth, it is noticeably more worn in the middle. I recently got a new tire for my geared 36, and have noticed it handles camber much better. If you haven’t replaced the tire and have over 4-5000 miles, I would consider replacing it if camber is becoming too much of an issue. Unicycle age in and of itself shouldn’t be an issue.
It is a constant feeling as though the uni is cocked to the left under my butt - even as I am sure my hips and weight distribution are square and my pedaling force even even side-to-side I am chronically trying to pitch the thing back to the right to straighten it up to keep the frame from slapping the back of my right thigh (never slaps the left one). Where I ride doesn’t have any camber. It’s just while riding along.
Now, with a 36.5" stand-over height I have this thing pegged with little meat left to grip - so maybe that has something to do with it. UDC recently added the little note on the order page that says 34.5" max (could swear it wasn’t there when I ordered) - so I guess I shouldn’t be on this one anyway.
Gotta get a new uni I suppose - good excuse to get one where I can practice more tricks and different mounts, etc too. UDC has not been able to tell me if the Nimbus 19" Equinox Street would fit me with the stock 200mm post (they were quick to refuse substituting a 300mm however) - does anybody know if this one will work for me? I’m nervous about getting another “too small” toy
thanks a lot for helping me again!!! I’d replaced my original nightrider tire to a 4PLY one last year, so maybe that’s the reason for the camber problems. Changing the seat post really helped a lot. In 8 days from now I’ll ride the havana marathon, in cuba. I hope it’s not an issue during the event…
