I have the nimbus trials uni and i was wondering what its limits are drop wise. I want to start doing bigger and bigger drops (the biggest ive done was off a picnic table). I know the shock absorbing technique but i want to know what the uni can take before i break a crank or whatever (gd that would suck)
thanx
anyone?
Ask again, maybe that will help
hey commando, this is a little off subject. I just wanted to ask you how the nimbus is, im thinking of getting one:)
It is hard to give an exact drop height a unicycle will stand up to as it depends on so many variables
For example what your uni can handle will depend on
All these things have an effect on one of two factors
A light rider who can roll out of drops and distributes their body weight well applies much less stress than a heavy rider with no technique. Technique plays a surprisingly large roll. You can apply significantly less force to your cranks if you land correctly.
A nimbus trials is intended to be a fairly low end trials model. That said with some decent cranks fitted to it I know riders who would happily drop off five feet with no problems. I on the other hand am likely to bust a nimbus doing 2 foot drops (I weigh over 85kg and ride hard). With the standard cranks I wouldn’t dare attempt picnic tables as I’d just bend the cranks.
Unfortunately the best way to find the limits your uni will take is to ride it until it breaks. If you post some more details of your weight and exact setupt (off the shelf nimbus? what kind of hub? what crank length? what crank brand?) then others will be able to give you an idea of what they think it might handle with you riding.
Please note that all anyone can do is guess what it might handle based on their experience or the experience of friends riding similar set ups. This may be wildly different from what you will get from your nimbus so don’t take anything people say as a hard and fast rule.
peter:
awsome info, thanks. my weight is about 135 pounds, totally stock nimbus uni.
)----(x):
the nimbus my first trials uni. I love it so far and it has been very reliable. I just learned crank grabbing/going to rubber and its awsome.
the nimbus has 127mm alloy cranks. if i wanted to go for something stronger, what would the best thing to get?
re: Nimbus cranks
I have a nimbus 20" and think it a good deal for the money. If you’re shopping on unicycle.com it looks like the Dotek machined aluminum alloy cranks are it in that (125mm) length. They have a good review. Monty’s come in a 140mm length and sound strong but some people seem to have trouble keeping them on the axle shaft. Odyssey black widow’s come in a 150mm length and sound great, but that’s a liittle long for some people, plus they’re the most expensive. 
As a side note, you can really lighten up that unicycle with the aluminum alloy cranks and pedals. And although the KH seat is good for most folks it isn’t so good for me really, and is also heavy. If you invest in a carbon fiber Miyata style seat-base you can lose a pound or so of dead weight and convert it to a more comfortable air seat. Between these mods your uni will feel completely different and a lot more responsive. Of course, I usually live by the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” and you can accomplish these things slowly as conditions and money require or allow. Happy dropping!
commandoH, I weight pretty much the same as you and I ride a 24" Nimbus II with a 3" Gazza and Wellgo-pedals. I’ve made drops a little more than 3 feet on it and haven’t seen any signs of breaking or bending (Sometime ago I thought I had bent the right crank, but I was wrong). The cranks are 150mm Lascos and the hub is an original Nimbus hub.
i can’t get a picture of the nimbus 20" frame on unicycle.com do any of you guys have a pic of your uni?
nimbus frame pics
You can get a pictiure of the Nimbus II frame by just looking at the Nimbus unicyle pics under the section for rough terrain unicycles in the novice section:)
…too bad they are out of stock on the 20" frame.
Re: re: Nimbus cranks
If all you wanna do is drop, most definitely don’t get aluminum alloy cranks. Bicycle euro or splined, that’s about it. I’ve bent steel cranks on 32" drops, where alloy ones would’ve just snapped, but now I run a splined Onza, which has taken some drops over 4’ on it without complaint. Don’t try and lighten your uni, the thing alreaby weighs less than 13lbs, which is fine. For contrast, the KH weighs 14lbs, the summit 15, and my Onza weighs 12-13. Also, a KH seat is fine, don’t waste money on extras and weight savers like carbon fiber saddles until you know you need them, and even then, it’d be better to spend that money on a splined hub/crankset. To paraphrase Kris Holm, weight shouldn’t matter to you until you hit the point where you are actually lifting the uni when you hop.