Maybe a 36er should be the next step up if I can adapt one to fit my short inseam!
It’s a good dilemma to be in. I think my next uni will be 36er to, but you never know.
Can I use a Nimbus Oregon 36H Wide Disc ISIS Hub in a Nightfox?
My kids are growing up fast and I will soon be in the market for a Nimbus 36" Nightfox. My question is, can I use a Nimbus Oregon 36H Wide Disc ISIS Hub in a Nightfox? The UDC website says it “fits ANY Nimbus 36 inch frame”. So now I just need a D’Brake Disc Brake Mount, and a Magura MT-2 Disc Brake Kit. Are all these parts compatible? Is there anything else that I will need? Has anyone done this yet? Someone want to help me talk Josh at UDC into building this ready-to-ship?
It should work since it says it has 127mm spacing which is what the Oregon has.
Yup, There is no reason it shouldn’t work. Mine is in the mail and I am going to do the same thing, but with a Shimano brake I have from another project.
Nightfox frame crown clearance. Legs rub?
Has anyone had any experience with their legs rubbing on the Nightfox frame?
I got my daughter a Nimbus Nightfox for her 11th birthday and as a reward for learning to ride her 20" Nimbus Club. I ordered 127/110 cranks. She would need to grow into longer cranks. My 9 year old son (who has renewed vigor practicing on the 20") is anxious for the day he will inherit the Nightfox. She wears my old KH Percussion knee/shin armor (medium), her own KH pulse (fingerless) wrist guards/gloves, and a helmet. So good so far. Knock wood.
A few observations:
The lower legs do flare out towards the bottom stopping the upper legs from sliding too far down while the frame still clears the tire by a couple of inches. The picture you see on UDC has it set to it’s shortest setting. Those couple of inches are the difference in my son’s feet reaching the pedals.
I ordered it with All Steel Wide Disc Hub because, let’s face it, when she finally gets those 110mm cranks spinning, she is going to have to learn how to use a brake to clean even the slightest descent.
As she is a relative beginner, I’ve replaced the intimidating Shadow Handlebar with a 12" straight (No “T”) pipe (Ergo grip/field hockey stick end). It’s far from optimal but you’ve got to have somewhere to mount the brake lever. My main problem is what to do with all the extra brake cable? I’m not cutting it down because she will eventually want the Shadow “T” Handle and I like the lever all the way out on the end. For now, with the short straight handle, the cable barely clears the tire so I’m running it without a brake.
The tire, you will notice is of the Off-Road variety. I don’t mind the extra knobby tire (as compared to the Nightrider) even when riding on the road. The “Todd” tire on my geared 36er is wearing down (or, as I like to put it, getting even lighter) pretty fast.
If she tires of struggling to roll the big wheel and goes back to riding her 20" Club then I’ve got a pair of 165 cranks (which were never an option on my KH36 if I wanted to be able to reach the shifting button) just waiting for some Coker MUni. There, you caught me! Daddy’s got an alterer motive and he’s somehow trying to convince Mommy that the +$850 he just spent was “for the kids”.
Still, this brake cable is going to be a hassle when raising and lowering the seat/frame from her height to mine.
Update: She just took off. I’m never getting this thing back. Check out the video.
Yeah, you can put those 165s back in the box. It’s hers now. 
Great job by her, and by Dad too getting her such a great birthday present.
Just seen this photo on instagram,
Awesome nightfox and riding from your daughter.
I just finished writing my review for the Nimbus Nightfox. What do you guys think? Are we not going about it all wrong teaching our children to ride a 20" unicycle? Should we not start big and work our way down? Discuss.
The Nimbus Nightfox is a game changer for young children. The minimum inseam requirement is 70cm (27.5”) with 138mm crank arms but I went even shorter with a pair of 127/110mm Spirit cranks. My oldest daughter was tall enough for a Nightfox by her 11th birthday. Her 9 year old brother still too short but does have renewed vigor, seeing her take off, riding his 20” Club around the neighborhood counting the days until he can join us doing serious miles on our local rails-to-trails path.
The Nightfox could (and one might argue should) be moved from the Commuter/Touring section to the Starter Series (Child Large) category in with the 20” unicycles because the smart move is to get your kids riding 36er as soon as they are tall enough for a Nightfox. Yes, a 20” is still useful for learning to mount and short bursts down the street or, like the mostly unrideable 16” that proceeded the 20”, for rocking back and forth in front of the TV.
My kids didn’t really “get it” until they tried a 36er that tracks straight without as much side to side wobble. And, once you get up to speed, the momentum of a wheel that big and heavy makes it less tiring to ride. Ask anyone who has just tried a 36er for the first time and they will tell you “It practically rides itself”. That is why so many of us first time Kris Holm/Schlumpf hub owners choose a 36er for our first geared unicycle. It is not until later, after you “get the concept” of shifting and geared riding that you might decide to lace your hub into a smaller wheel. The point is, a 36er is actually much easier to ride.
After they get used to a 36er, you can move them back down to the 20” and they will be able to ride it like never before. Now she has commandeered my 26” Oracle and it won’t be long before I finally have a Mountain Unicycle (MUni) riding partner.
We’re not going about it all wrong. It depends on the child, their size, and what riding styles interest them. Most of the younger learners we get here are not really interested in distance riding. If they do get interested in it and they fit the 36, we get them on it as soon as we can.
Learning on a smaller size also equates to a lesser falling distance. An important consideration when learning.
Good to hear your kids are into it. Having a riding partner is always good!
If it has to live in one place, the current category is better. Moving a $630 unicycle to Starter doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Those who want a 36er will find it there, but most who want a Starter unicycle look to spend less than $200. Kids most likely will need to convince a parent to buy an expensive unicycle for them rather than save their money up for it as a starter.
The Nightfox is an excellent choice for many people who are a bit vertically challenged, either by age or genetics.
As far as getting someone to ride a 36 as an early unicycle, I still can’t get my wife on hers. She has hip issues and the step off to the ground is just too far for her to bear. She loves her 29. She’s done several 10k races in competition and rides it up to 10 miles at a stretch. She tried the 36 a bit and gave up. Too far to the ground.
We’ve found the 16 and 20 to still be very useful. We have a now 10 year old that started on a 16 last Christmas. He could ride within 3 days. He got to the point where he could fit a 20 with the seat slammed, but would often grab the 16 because it was more maneuverable. Within 3 months he was hopping well and gapping to skinnies 2 feet away. He did move to the 20 more regularly, but still liked the weight of the 16.
A 36 in city and traffic situations is quite unnerving for many people. Many of the 36 owners around here grab their 26 or 29 to get around. While the 36 does have stability, they are not so keen on the lesser maneuverability and greater likelihood of more spectacular UPD should something go wrong.
As far as geared goes, the geared 36 is a beast. A smaller geared uni is easier to shift as the 1.5 overdrive gap is much lesser (26->39, 29->44.5, 36->54). We’ve had people give geared 26 a go, but they’re not interested in a geared 36. A geared 36 in traffic and on regular roadways is a whole different experience. Shifting for many people is not intuitive or nearly as natural as riding a unicycle becomes. I really like my geared 36, but my ungeared 36 still is automatic. It requires no thought and feel completely confident in using it throughout traffic in town. I’m confident on the geared 36, but there’s always the possibility of it not shifting exactly when I want it to.
After riding both geared 36 and geared 26, I vote that the geared 26 is a lot easier to get used to. I like them both. The geared 26 is a blast in the woods, and it’s great to have the versatility of a true muni and a distance gear. The geared 36 is great for steep hills in 1st gear, and then cruising in second on the open road. The added weight of the 36" wheel vs the 26" wheel makes a big difference too.
Geared 36 is great for rail trail cruising for many people. I like it for general road riding. I also realize that many of my uni friends won’t be comfortable enough on a geared 36 to ride it in situations where automobiles are involved. Many Schlumpf owners aren’t completely comfortable with shifting on the fly. If they are in traffic situations, an ungeared 36 with shorter cranks or a smaller wheeled Schlumpf may be more beneficial to their confidence.
Overall, a 36er isn’t necessarily easier to ride than a smaller wheel. While we’ve found many around here who learn with us to like the 36, most of them prefer a smaller wheel. The 36 carries speed and stability, but many times we find people gravitating towards wheel sizes between 24 and 29 because they feel a sweet spot of speed vs. control.
Most of our learners learn at the YMCA. We’ve had well over 100 in the last 5 years learn to ride successfully. We keep many wheel sizes available. Many who figure out that tricks aren’t of interest to them aim for a 24 or 26. When purchasing a uni, they find a sweet spot in the price point of wheel size, quality, and comfort as many people only are interested in spending around $200 max on a uni. There are definitely exceptions, and I’m a fan of those as I like to muni and distance ride and am always looking for riding partners.
Thanks for writing the review. Overall it’s AWESOME that you’ve got your children interested in riding and accompanying you on rides. We’ve all got our motives and biases when teaching others to ride. I personally prefer big wheels, Schlumpfs, and munis. I also realize that most people getting into it aren’t going to share my enthusiasm for 30-40 mile road rides. For them, I try to find what interests them and roll with it.
It looks like your kids have found their interest. FANTASTIC!
For those who may not have seen it, here’s a video review of the Nightfox:
Nightfox
I saw your review, and I thought it was great!
I’m still practicing on my 24-inch club right now, but it sure gave me a goal, as I’m one of those in the "under 6 foot " crowd!
Great job!
Is the Nightfox frame diferent in Korea?
normal:
Korea:
It seems so, it is kind of strange 
But I can imagine why: It might be that some people will always touch fork legs with the inner thigh. If you go forward with the saddle this can be eliminated.
Maybe this is the reason for this design.
It took me ages to spot the differences.
UDC UK has the new complete nitfox on sale as well
Wonder what that would be like with the new Qu-Ax saddle …
I was hoping the new frames (only) would be in stock. Sadly t’was not to be 
I think I’m gonna have to bite the bullet and cut down my Oracle frame :o
Oops sorry I spelt “Nightfox” wrong
I keep thinking it’s a ‘Nitefox’:o ( and I spelt that wrong)
The new design seems very strange… The old looks much better. But there are for sure some reasons they changed the design…
Do they have a possibility to change the seat angle now? Something like the adjustable KH seatpost? Or is there anybody who has changed the entire saddle? I ask because, I tried to change the green Nimbus gel and replace it with a KH street. But the screw holes were completely missaligned. I even hat pain to put back the Nibmus gel saddle… Without changing something with a rasp or saw, there is no change to put a KH saddle…
Can give me anybody advice?
It looks like the minimum required leg length has gone down from 72 cm to 70 cm (new model on the left)
You’ve touched on some major reasons I tell people to avoid this cycle unless you have a pressing need to go as low as you can.
Besides the fact that the frame design is weak because it’s a multi-piece frame, you cannot adjust saddle angle, further, the shadow base is not replaceable. You bend it by riding on it, or break it by dropping it, and you’re out a frame, not a handlebar or a seat post.
I also don’t agree with the saddle choice. If the point is to get it to as short as you can, why not use a KH slim saddle, or have a nimbus slim saddle made. That would knock off another 2 cm right there.
Check the base of the KH saddle you have, they should be the same base as long as the KH saddle isn’t too too old. Also check to see if perhaps the support brackets for the saddle have bent or warped from normal riding. I suppose it’s possible. The nylon base for the saddles are pretty flexible. I’d feel comfy giving it a little force to get a screw started.