You’re welcome !
First Impressions
Just acquired a brand new Nimbus Oregon 26 with 165mm Nimbus zero Q cranks and monster 26x4 Surly Nate. First ride was yesterday, 8 miles on paved pedestrian path while my wife ran. Nothing crazy but was a good introduction to the unicycle. But just got back from first proper MUni ride. Our trails around here can only be described as glorified creek beds or rock gardens with occasional sections of smooth XC mixed in. On these trails the Oregon was right at home. Simply amazing and several unprecedented experiences today. There are a few technical uphill lines I’ve NEVER cleaned on the particular route I did today. With the Oregon I nailed it first time w/o any challenge! The large volume tire really flattened out the periodic rock gardens and the larger diameter vastly improved roll over ability. Most amazing to me, that set me to laughing repeatedly, was how easy it was to launch right over blowdowns I once only had mixed results at tractoring over. I mean LAUNCH over, I’d roll right up to the blowdown get light in the saddle and all of I sudden I wasn’t just rolling over the tree I was launching off it. Incredible. So far my experiences have been mostly positive. As far as weight penalty? I don’t really notice. Coming from riding a KH-Schlumpf MUni for years I can honestly say this Nimbus set up is noticeably lighter. Unfortunately I got a bit too aggressive (cocky?) late in my first MUni ride with the Nimbus and took a different steep downhill line that I would normally and ended up pinch flatting against a pair of very sharp limestone rocks! Damn! Oh well. Anyhow I’m really liking my Nimbus Oregon 26 thus far. At least for me, the terrain I ride and my riding style it’s a great fit! Plus it’s good to know that this frameset is so versatile with respect to different tire sizes and wheel sizes. Good to know for the future.
Great review.
I am thinking of getting one at some point to replace my only one year old Oracle24.
Do you think this could be your one muni?
How narrow a tire can you safely put on the Oregon?
I’m not sure how narrow a tire you put on the Marge Lite rim? I’m sure others with far more experience with the Oregon and the Marge Lite rim could answer that. Purely speculation but I personally probably wouldn’t go narrower than a 2.5" tire.
I really think the Nimbus Oregon 26 could very well be my ONE do-everything unicycle. May not be the best in specific circumstances but that’s okay by me. The frame alone is worth the investment. I now have a ton of clearance and can run a larger range of wheel and tire sizes. From high volume 29" and even larger volume 26" to my good old Nokian 26x3 Gazz (if I can find a decent one). If I get a hankering for road riding I can probably safely put on a Hookworm or one of the high volume Surly road tires (Black Floyd?).
I still have my good old dependable 2007 KH24 that’s still great for more nimble and precise MUni and lite 24" trials type stuff.
I know people’s experiences with such a large volume tire are mixed. I think I understood more about what I was getting into after riding a fat-bike with the same volume tire (heck, same tire) over the last year. I learned how awesome those high volume tires were riding the tough terrain around where I live. This after much skepticism from others that a fat-bike would be horrible in this very terrain! Ha! Too each their own I guess. For me? So far so good. But totally agree it’s not a good first MUni for a newish rider; it’s a lot o’ beast to handle!
I’ve ridden mine with an Ardent 2.5 width and it was fine, but the Oregon really likes a fatter tire. I would say that a good compromise would be a 3.0 if you want to have a bit more control and stay on your line better with less “self-steering”.
Tubes and Tubeless
Couple of questions since I just pinch flatted on my first proper MUni ride on Nimbus Oregon 26.
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Has anybody experimented with going tubeless on this beast? Pros? Cons? I’ve gone tubeless on my fat-bike that’s running the exact same tire and it’s been very good; not sure if it would be similar experience on unicycle though I’m willing to try.
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Smaller tube size. While I have a replacement Surly fat-tire tube I also still have a 26x3 Duro tube. I was wondering if anybody’s tried using smaller tube like the Duro in with a 4"+ tire? Pros? Cons?
Thanks in advance!
I have no experience with tubeless, but from all the accounts it seems to require some experience to get it right and it is messy for the rim & tire. I went the lazy route with my muni by picking up a light tube and some Slime (tube sealant). Slightly heavier but way simpler and cleaner.
I never had a Surly tube in hands so I cannot provide a comparison. However, the few fat tires I tried were with a Duro tube. I think the Duro tube is thick enough to not care about the extra stretch to 4". And on top of that, fat tires are run low pressure, so the tube isn’t over suffering.
This was my 2 cents 
I bought an Oregon from hayneedle for $596 delivered. It gets here Friday.
I have 2 questions:
- It was mentioned in another post that it was last years model. The changes I could find were seat and crank options but the unit itself is the same. Does this sound right or are there more changes?
- I was looking at the Surly Clown Shoe rim and it says its double drilled for offset or even build. I figured an offset would use the same holes just shorter spokes on the one side. Is there an easy explanation of what the double drilling is for?
No I’m not going to, but just had to look at the price for a Clown shoe - Big fat Larry combo. They are an impressive looking set indeed.
thanks for any info.
Hey, I bought one of those too, I’ve been on the fence about an Oregon for so long then saw the price… Couldn’t resist.
I got mine a month or so ago. I’m not so sure it’s last years uni. Mine matches all the specs on UDC’s website for the one they were currently selling.
Large Marge lite rim
Surly Nate tire
I haven’t had much time to get on it yet, but it looks Awesome! It’s been a lot of fun riding so far. But I have yet to get it out for a real Muni ride.
I think the main difference is the rim and tire changed from Large Marge with Larry to Marge Lite (drilled 32 hole) with Nate. Once it arrives, please let us know which combo it has. I may just pick one up if it’s the Marge Lite.
The double drilling is really for the bikes with the offset rear wheels. The Surly Moonlander for example has the hub offset 27.5mm to the right to keep the chain from rubbing on the tire with a standard hub. For all intents and purposes our unicycles hubs would be considered centred, even with the slightly offset disk side flange.
Thank you, that’s much better. I was trying to see the disc being a big offset and wasn’t getting it. I forgot the obvious…they weren’t made for uni’s.
I am debating getting a normal 26" muni or the oregon. I have a fat bike with a few tire choices and love how that handles, so a fat uni has me very interested. But, I would like to have a decent muni for downhill stuff. Nothing super crazy, but I like finding tough downhill sections to try so I want it to be strong. I would also like decent speed for some xc trails. But I have a 36 for mellow fast trails. Just need the 26 for the more technical trails. How different is the oregon with a 3" tire then say the nimbus 26 with a 3" tire? If I can buy the oregon to have the fatness and get a duro 3" tire to throw on when I dont want the fatness, would that be a good enough setup? Any input is appreciated. I am selling my 24 for the bigger wheel, just not sure which to go with. Would love to have a 2 in 1.
I have 4 munis; an oracle 24, oracle 26, KH29, and an oregon 29+.
This year, I have used the oregon the most so far. I almost considered selling it, because I was having a bit of a hard time taming it last year in the trails. I found myself spending a lot of energy getting it to go where I wanted. I think I just needed some time to both get used to it and also get the tire pressure right. I have had nothing but fun with it this year and I am glad I didn’t let it go.
The oracle 26 is a recent acquisition and it is getting more and more of my time as of late. The first thing I did was to put 137mm cranks in lieu of the 150s that came with it (a new thing for me) and I am having a whole lot of fun with it - in technical areas I have more control with it than the oregon, but it is also pretty zippy in flatter terrain. I wonder if I might like getting the cranks down to 125s…or would that be too short? Yesterday I received a surly dirt wizard, which I am excited to try out soonest. I wonder if I will feel the significant weight reduction that this tire has over the duro.
Hayneedle Nimbus oregon arrives
The Oregon arrived just fine. Outfitted with Marge Lite, Nate, 165 Ventures, Nimbus Gel on a 250 post. Nimbus pinned pedals. $596 including shipping to the door. I had no choice of seat, cranks, anything. With my skill level, I won’t be changing anything for a while anyway 
That looks mighty fine, lotta unicycle for the money there. Enjoy!
Wow, what a bad ass muni! Not so crazy about the tire, but that can be changed. Love the green, the double hoop and disc brake. If I hadnt a home improvement project coming, tying up my budget I would’ve picked it up in an instant. Such a good deal.
(Yeah, terribly bad timing..wifie would yap)
Darn, I have a feeling itll be sold out soon! Wait for me Oregon, wait for me!!
Looks like their gone!! If you add up each part its much more than what they were selling for. Don’t know if they made any $ at the price but I bet UDC would sell a lot more of them at that price.
In life if there is a problem then has to be an existent loophole. 
Wheeeew!!! Caught a hold of my loophole just in the nick of time!!!:D:D 