Can someone please give ma a description of the unicycle that Norco sell.
I believe that it comes out of Tawain. Is it the dodgy one with the
lollipop bearing holders, the one with the end cap bearing holders and the
curved fork crown, or something different again.
Thanks in advance…
Wayne van Wijk wayne@jester.com.au
This mail contains some thoughts about the unicycles sold by Norco. If
Norco strives for high quality, they should be interested in hearing what
people think of their products. Therefore this mail is not only sent to
the newsgroup, but also to the Norco company…
Wayne wrote:
>Can someone please give ma a description of the unicycle that Norco sell.
>I believe that it comes out of Tawain. Is it the dodgy one with the
>lollipop bearing holders, the one with the end cap bearing holders and
>the curved fork crown, or something different again.
>
>Thanks in advance…
>
>Wayne van Wijk wayne@jester.com.au
Hello It’s slighly better than a standard “Crapcycle”. All these low-end
unis are basically the same.
In other words, it’s OK for learning to ride, but that’s it. One great
improvement is that the norco unis now ship with a viscount seat instead
of the ususal pain-enchancing “torture deluxe”-saddle.
However, it has several drawbacks: bearingholders that will crack the
frame after a little hopping and a weak rim, (probably with an unusual
number of spokes. The good thing is you don’t have to pay someone a lot of
money to make you a special off center wheel, just hop a little). The tire
(and now also the saddle) is usually the only reasonably good thing…
Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s good because Kris Holm rides for
the Norco team. Or because it is sold by the Norco company. In my opinion,
these unis are absolutely unworthy of bearing the otherwise promising
Norco label…
Take look at http://www.norco.com/bikes/spec_uni.htm
You probably deserve a better uni than that…
// Staffan Palm, Sweden
By the way, it’s pretty funny to read Norco’s mission statement, when you
know the quality of their unicycles… (Yes dear reader, you’re
absolutely right, off course I added the last lines just to provoke the
Norco company into coming up with a better uni…)
Hi Staffan, Wayne,
I agree with all that you’ve said regarding the current Norco Unicycle.
This is something that I’ve been pushing to have changed ever since I
started riding for Norco, but anyone that is involved with the business
side of unicycling will understand how difficult it is to convince a large
company that there is a market for good unicycles.
That said, there are some improvements for next year. Norco will be
selling a unicycle with a frame similar to the United frame (ie. U-shaped
clamps instead of lollypop bearing holders), and it will come with a 20"
Monty Mod bike rear tire (2.35") and good quality (Alex DX32) rim. The
intent is to have a decent entry level trials unicycle that is still
inexpensive. It will retail for around CAN$199.
I’ve also sent some sketches for seat improvements to both Velo and
Viscount, and have started to work with another company to hopefully make
some relatively inexpensive but strong 140mm crank arms. Hopefully
something will come out of this.
Cheers,
Kris.
— Staffan Palm <staffanpalm@hotmail.com> wrote:
> This mail contains some thoughts about the unicycles sold by Norco. If
> Norco strives for high quality, they should be interested in hearing
> what people think of their products. Therefore this mail is not only
> sent to the newsgroup, but also to the Norco company…
>
>
>
> Wayne wrote:
> >Can someone please give ma a description of the unicycle that Norco
> >sell. I believe that it comes out of Tawain. Is it the dodgy one with
> >the lollipop bearing holders, the one with the end cap bearing holders
> >and the curved fork crown, or something different again.
> >
> >Thanks in advance…
> >
> >Wayne van Wijk wayne@jester.com.au
>
>
> Hello It’s slighly better than a standard “Crapcycle”. All these low-end
> unis are basically the same.
>
> In other words, it’s OK for learning to ride, but that’s it. One great
> improvement is that the norco unis now ship with a viscount seat instead
> of the ususal pain-enchancing “torture deluxe”-saddle.
>
> However, it has several drawbacks: bearingholders that will crack the
> frame after a little hopping and a weak rim, (probably with an unusual
> number of spokes. The good thing is you don’t have to pay someone a lot
> of money to make you a special off center wheel, just hop a little). The
> tire (and now also the saddle) is usually the only reasonably good
> thing…
>
> Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s good because Kris Holm rides for
> the Norco team. Or because it is sold by the Norco company. In my
> opinion, these unis are absolutely unworthy of bearing the otherwise
> promising Norco label…
>
>
> Take look at http://www.norco.com/bikes/spec_uni.htm
>
> You probably deserve a better uni than that…
>
> // Staffan Palm, Sweden
>
> By the way, it’s pretty funny to read Norco’s mission statement, when
> you know the quality of their unicycles… (Yes dear reader, you’re
> absolutely right, off course I added the last lines just to provoke the
> Norco company into coming up with a better uni…)
>
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Hi there,
Quick question: Has Norco made any improvements on their standard 24" uni for 2002 as well?
Thanks,
andrea
— John Foss <john_foss@asinet.com> wrote: …if
> your efforts succeed, a “big” company will actually be making something
> based on rider input! How rare in unicycling!
>
Believe it or not Norco does read suggestions- I know because usually the
unicycling ones get forwarded to me. So if you have ideas, send them to
<sales@norco.com> or <marketing@norco.com> and ask them to forward the
suggestion to Jim Jameson, who is the buyer for unicycles at Norco.
Cheers,
Kris.
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http://personals.yahoo.com
any changes in '09?
I see this forums is a little old but I came across it on a google search. I was wondering what’s up with Norco’s unicycles nowadays? I can find very little information about them online and most reviews are negative, but they’re all for older unicycles in earlier 2000.
Ha, funny this post should come up today.
Today I’ll be heading over to my LBS to pickup a replacement wheel for my Norco “Twenty-Four”, the 24" model (obviously). I bought it one month ago yesterday and have learned to ride on it.
It has new pedals, new cranks and tonight it gets a new wheel.
I’m nearly 6’2" and 175lbs.
The part that gets me is that they use the same hub in their 20" “Muni” version, as they do in the 24" Street uni. Huh?
Perhaps they were hoping I wouldn’t learn how to ride it or something…
-M
I learned on a Norco 20" ‘Muni’ (it’s not a muni, it’s a trials) that I got in 2007. It’s OK, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Spend the extra money and get a Nimbus, or, if you can afford it, a Kris Holm.
I got a norco 20" ‘muni’ from my local bike store for 220 or something. I wouldn’t recommend it for trials because my hub bent easily after doing some drops and stuff.
The hub on mine is twisted too. I didn’t even jump it, I just jumped onto it… Didn’t get a call that my wheel was in, I’ll have to wait another day.
-M
Not a Norco supporter.
The Norco unis are not worth the money. I really would suggest that people stay away from them if want to do hops or drops of any kind. I agree with saving up a little more cash and getting something that will last… and something that has parts available for it. I recently had a bad experience with a Norco that belongs to a friend. I tried it for about 10 seconds, doing a few very small hops, and I bent the axle and destroyed both cranks… I’m not a light guy by any means, but I would expect even a cheap unicycle to withstand a little more punishment than I gave it. When I tried to get it fixed, spare parts for this uni are just not available so the whole wheel had to be replaced.
If they are going to sell a uni as a “muni”, then it ought to be a lot tougher.