Nimbus Oregon Review!

Unicycles and Equipment
16

@ Wes, dude, just ride your 26, you don’t need another muni. You rode my Surly, do you remember how much more challenging it was to ride than your Torker? As to a 29er, yeah, they are great for going fast on XC, but they are also more challenging to ride on technical terrain. For example, Haw Ridge is harder on a 29 than on a 26 due to all the roots and rocks, whereas Concord is easy XC and is better with a 29 because you can go faster. When we rode Raccoon Mountain, do you think you could have handled a taller wheel and/or a harder to ride muni?

Last Spring I rode an 18mile single track mtb race at Panther Creek, two laps of nine miles, first lap was on the 29er, second lap was on the Oregon. The Oregon most definitely wore me out more than the 29er and though the ride was softer, I had to expend more energy to do the same job. The trail was variable from easy XC to moderate technical terrain, might have been better to ride a 26 guni :smiley:

17

Like rolling on a bloated hoop-snake! Terrific video and review and the ending was much appreciated by me, myself and I and the other guy.
Mighty fine riding by the way.
What psi are you rolling on that Larry?
Shug

18

Thanks Shug. I don’t know what psi I was running since I kept letting air out until it just “felt” right, haha. That’s how I usually do it, and go by feel. But it’s probably around 10 psi I’d reckon.

And here’s a little breakdown of the “making of” the video:

Making this video was more complicated than anything I have previously done, and required a lot of trial & error. When I started talking about the features of the Oregon while on the trail, there was a great deal of wind noise, so I had to go back to a local trail the next day, to re-record the narration, replacing the original that was mostly inaudible.

Then, rather than just have one long shot of me talking about the features, I decided to intercut close ups of each component as I described them, to make it more visually interesting. Later, while giving my review, you notice I’m wearing my sunglasses. I did this because I had my written review in front of me next to the camera, so I could read it, while still appearing to be looking directly into the camera!

I had just written it about an hour before and didn’t have time to memorize it all, plus, my camera was about to lose battery power, so I had to get it done in one take, which luckily I did. It’s also why I seem to be speaking pretty fast, haha!

Then the “picture in picture” of the spoke “nipples” part was tricky to get right, and took a fair amount of time. The animated morph segment was actually the very first thing I made, before any filming was done. It took about three days to complete, starting with finding the software to do it, then learning how to use it, and coming up with the idea and slogan. I must thank Dani Buron for helping me a LOT with learning how to use the software!

Finally, and by far the most challenging part was the “stop action” end sequence, with the unicycles “reacting”, laughing and talking. Talk about trial & error; there was a ton of that! For example, just the “shaking heads” segment consisted of close to 100 separate clips, less than 1/10th second each!

The only part that was filmed in “real time”, was the Oregon’s moving brake lever/mouth. I attached fishing line to the spooner, and ran it up to the ceiling, fed it through an eye hook, then back down to me, out of camera. I simply pulled down on it to make the lever go up and down.

I did all the voices, but the “laughing” sounds were from the movie, “Evil Dead 2”, where the possessed furniture starts laughing demonically. It was great fun making this video, and I basically learned a lot of new filming and editing techniques as I went along.

So, if you want to “Roll a Fatty”, get yourself a Nimbus Oregon! :slight_smile:

19

Great review Terry. Now it’s time for a road trip up North so that you can test the Oregon on some Oregon soil. I’m your first stop just across the border. See you soon.

Geoff

20

I have been riding a few days a week of muni and rideing to school on the street so i am going to do the 29er

21

Since it’s started, here’s another review of the Oregon:

http://youtu.be/w9nL3XWx7fM

Sorry if it’s not incredibly well produced or synced to music. Just some of my thoughts.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting someone to film some riding shots. We do have some quite technical East Coast riding around here, but the time I wasn’t riding solo I was trying to get as many locals on this beast as possible.

I’m not the greatest at video, so here’s my written review:

The short Nimbus Oregon review: Awesome*, but awesome isn’t for everyone.

*Now to qualify that statement:

Universally, the first detail noticed about the Oregon is the mammoth tire- a Surly Larry 3.8in wide mounted on a Large Marge rim. In fact, the Oregon is only 1 of 3 production unicycle frames that will clear the beastly combo. The other 2 are the Surly 26” Conundrum (no longer in production) and the Triton MUni frame. I’ve now experienced all 3 frames.

Getting almost a 4in wide tire to clear a unicycle frame isn’t an easy task. The small diameter tubes of the Oregon keep the overall crown width to a minimum. The dual crown design keeps the frame from flexing too much; more on that in a minute.

The other attention getter of the Oregon is the inboard disc brake. Nimbus is the first brand to embrace the inboard disc design, having both the frames and hubs manufactured to their specs. Fitting a disc inboard while keeping a reasonably strong wheel build required moving from the 100mm standard bearing width to a 125mm width- the common width for 36” wheeled unicycles. Even with the wide hub, there still isn’t a lot of clearance between the brake caliper and the spokes. Only certain brands of brakes will work with the setup. Fortunately Unicycle.com has done the homework.

Enough about the hardware specs. Unlike bicycles, it’s hard to find a lot of places to test ride unicycles. This makes the ride report extremely valuable.
The first thing you’ll probably notice is that the Oregon is a bit hefty, but not as heavy as it looks. Surprisingly the weight isn’t too bad as the Larry is lighter than the 3.0 Duro tire. Once on the trail, the Oregon’s weight isn’t that noticeable.

The tire volume is, however.

Having spent close to a year on the Larry (on my Conundrum with 150mm cranks) I’ve come to the conclusion that it does at times have a mind of its own. Off camber situations coupled with low pressure (less than 20 psi) can cause it to pull. I’ve discovered trusting Larry by hanging on and pedaling gets me through situations I never figured I’d survive. Proper tire pressure is critical. Too much loses traction, and too little can cause it to act like a pogo stick on Ritalin. Taking a bit of time to find the sweet spot is well worth it. I’ve found when I hit the right zone for the trail the 3.8 is every bit as fast as my 29er- if not faster. In addition to the speed the shock absorption is incredible. The volume allows the unicycle to plow through situations that would hang up lesser tires. When hopping, the spring available from the tire is tremendous. The 65mm wide Large Marge rim gives great support to the tire during side hops or Pecking. From my personal experience a tire as small as a “large” 2.5 can be used successfully with the LM rim.

I had some initial concerns about the Oregon: crank length, crown width, Q , and torsional stiffness. The 165mm long cranks on the Oregon are 15mm longer than what I’ve been running on my Conundrum. I’m a fan of short cranks (as low as 100s on my 36er for road riding), but the 165s really make sense on this uni. With such long cranks I thought the Oregon would ride comparatively slow, but those fears were unfounded. The almost 29in diameter of the tire helps keep the speed up.

I had to send my Triton to a new home because the crown was too wide. The Surly works for me, but once the Magura rim brake calipers are installed it’s really close to my legs. The frame of the Oregon offers the most clearance out of the three.

Q is the distance between the pedals. I typically like the smallest distance possible. The Oregon is about 1in wider than any of my personal unis. I figured the extra distance would put a strain on my knees. Surprisingly, it didn’t.

I really like climbing. I’m able to pull on the seat enough when climbing to make the brakes rub on most unis- my stiff KH 36 included. I noticed a lack of flex in the Oregon. I realize it doesn’t have discs, but there isn’t a lot of lateral clearance between the tire and the frame. The KH stiffener plate installed on the prototype, in theory, should put the maximum force through the frame. Even with all that force through the frame I never noticed the frame twisting.

I spent 15-20 hours aboard the Oregon over the month of August. I climbed some pretty steep technical off road trails. I descended trails too steep (and loose) to climb. I took it down 2ft+ drops and through rocky rooted technical sections. I rode it for 3+ hour rides. I didn’t take it easy or treat it gently. I rode it as hard as I could. The only conditions I didn’t get to test the Oregon in were rain, snow, and excessive mud (responsibly). From personal experience I can say that the Large Marge with an aggressive tire works better than lesser unicycles in adverse conditions. The vertical tire clearance on the Oregon is fantastic- better than any other unicycle. This should really help in the mud and snow.

Do I like the Oregon? Absolutely.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but not to a brand new MUni rider as it sits. The tire rim combination is a bit excessive for some situations. Fortunately I’ve found that a 3.0 Duro (or even a smaller tire) changes the feel of the unicycle completely. I’ve had a 2.5 Specialized Butcher on the Large Marge (on my Conundrum), but I wouldn’t want anything smaller for it. Dropping the tire size makes shorter cranks a consideration. Andy, one of our other local testers, noted that he experienced a learning curve moving from his 26” Nimbus (with a 3.0 and 150 cranks) to the Oregon. An inexperienced rider’s needs would be better met by another uni in the Nimbus line.

That being said, for someone who is looking for a second (or third, or fourth, or fifth) MUni, the Oregon is definitely worth considering. I still keep other MUnis around as the huge rim/tire combo is sometimes a bit excessive.

But sometimes excessive is just right.

22

Thanks Geoff. I’m on my way! Oh, I’ve already made some changes to my “Nimbigon”.:slight_smile: I changed to my 150/125 moment cranks, changed tubes to a maxxis DH with schrader valve, and tomorrow will be back at the trail to put it to the big drop test and see how fast she can go in the 125 holes! :smiley:

23

Hey gang, before too many “reviews” get posted to this thread, can you all repost you stuff in the reviews section under the existing Oregon review thread?

That will prevent the info from being lost.

24

Well the 125’s on the Oregon are amazingly FAST! I was also surprised to find that moderate climbing grades are very doable with 125’s. I then changed back to the 150mm hole for a few test drops and other stuff, and I really like this combo, so I will stay with this setup. Now it’s like having a kick ass 26er that is almost as fast–or even a bit faster–than a 29er, and can do so much more! And by going with shorter cranks and a beefier tube, I also noticed there was a lot less “self-steering” going on. :slight_smile:

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25

whats the size of that drop?

26

Haha, pretty small. The larger ones all had crumbling ledges and cave in if you get within a foot of the edge! :frowning:

27

how are the nimbus pedals handling the drops? they scare me. they feel like they are flexing when i hop or drop.

28

I was at a bike shop today and saw a Surly bike with a Larry tire on the front. I’d never seen one in person before. Now I know how huge that tire really is!

29

Yep it’s a fatty! The nimbus pedals (Plastic w/steel pins) are great! I’m loving them and they are super grippy; every bit as much as my Drilliums, but time will tell how long they last under continued assault! :smiley:

30

When I had mine at school, I had a student ask me why I had a motorcycle tire on my unicycle. It is really fat!

31

When i look at my 26" Duro wildlife leopard 3" tire i think “motorbike, small one” and i’ve seen 4" and wider slicks on some customized bicycles, my Yamaha 500XT had a smaller tire than the Larry.
Pretty impressiv and according to your comments i had the right feeling about it, good for snow and sand, but surely not for my XC needs (and my skill and condition, more than 3" inch would be way more exhausting).

Greetings

Byc

32

Here’s a Speed test I did yesterday using 125mm cranks…this thing FLIES! :astonished:

And a side by side comparison with my G26er and KH 29er.

3 sizes.jpg
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33

Gee, just when i decided, after much thought and browsing the forum, that i’ll do with my KrisHolm 150mm cranks on my new/used 26" Qu-Ax-Nimbus Muni, you come up with this video here and i the mouse cursor moves to the “order” button on UDC.

Greetings

Byc

34

That is hilarious!

…the girl on the trail is probably gonna have nightmares about what she thought she was running into!

Thanks for posting the pic of all 3 unis next to eachother, it really puts it into perspective. Beastly!

That would make a cool stereo/3d image.

35

so terry. is the oregon a keeper?