It seems to be the general concencus that a 3" tire is ideal. I’m wondering if it’s WAY better than a 2.4? Here’s my deal…I am upgrading to a Bedford Unicycle with a wider frame. My current wheel is only a single wide rim, which I’m quite sure won’t hold a 3 incher.
I will be running a 2.4 tioga factory DH. (I tested tire/wheel fit off of the frame) Should I get the frame big enough to fit a 3"? (or, would a 3" fit on a ‘normal’ rim?)
Or, I’m coming from a 1.8 (or so) will the 2.4 be all I need?
(epic trails, light trials, urban)
I am not sure, but I think the wide Bedford frame is the same as the Sem XLW frame available through unicycle.com. This frame is just a wide Torker frame. I bought it with the Gazzalodi 24X2.6.
My guess is that if your frame is the same, then you can put the Gazz 2.6 on it.
I have the Kenda Kolossal 2.6" tire on my Bedford and it’s on the standard single wide rim that came with the uni. I haven’t had any problems with that setup and a 2.4" tire should be just fine on it as well. A wider tire will be a lot nicer though, so you may want to put a 2.6 on there instead of the 2.4, especially since you intend to do more trials than trails.
I’ve gat a Bedford with a 2.6 Stout. Fits in and doesn’t rub the frame. The tire’s cheap ($25) and works great for me. I’m pretty sure Darren sells them.
26x2.4" vs 24x3". Apples vs Oranges. Both are fruits, but you’d never
mistake one for the other. 24x3 is what you want, but if the alternative is
not riding, certainly go with the widest you can fit - 2.4" is better than
what we started with! You should see what Bruce Bundy used to do on his
pre-3" tire, a 700x45C!
I think that the 2.6 would be better for both. A fatter tire is especially better for trials stuff since you can get more bounce out of it. A fatter tire on the trails is better because it absorbs more of the bumps.
I also have a Semcycle XLW with a 24x2.6 Gazz. I’ve been suffering from 3 incher envy, so I ordered a 3 inch Gazz from unicycle.com. My plan is to “massage” the insides of the frame to make it fit. Any ideas would be helpful. I’ll either use a hammer or I thought of using my bench vise with something to press it in. Joe
Drewnicyle is absolutely right, the bedford unicycle with 2.6 Stout is a
great combination The only real issue is that the wheel has to be fairly
true or the tire will rub on one side, but, once you get that right, it
works fine.
I “massaged” the insides of a couple of frames to make a 3" tyre fit. I used
a 10x pneumatic rivet gun, a 12" straight snap and a bit of brass machined
so it fits over the end of the snap. I sat the frame on a sandbag and hit it
HARD. Worked a treat, and was reasonably neat.