So heavy that every pixel was toasted and destroyed.
4umfreak,
The handlebars are very solid, no flex at all, plus theyāve got good extension. I havenāt ridden on any uni with seat post-mounted handlebars for more than a hundred yards so I really canāt compare the two.
Tearing apart a Nimbus frame and reconfiguring it is both a big risk (financially at least) and a big investment in time and energy. So there is a considerable barrier to entry into the V Frame world. Itās much lower risk and easier to weld some handlebars or just use an off-the-shelf set.
Another benefit of seat post-mounted handlebars is that you donāt have to start with a torn apart Nimbus frame. You can use a Nimbus, Coker, KH etc. and then you can transfer it from one to another.
Apart from getting solid handlebars with a lot of extension another benefit of the V Frame over a KH or Coker frame is that itās lockable.
Geoff
Iām not sure about that - Iām thinking more along the lines of cardboard, tinfoil and sellotape.
Rob
(Thinking about it, I bet two of those words make no sense outside the UKā¦ just in case, tinfoil = baking foil = alumin(i)um foil, sellotape = sticky tape)
wel at least the photo shows that his 36 inch was not stolen on 1 april:p
when looking at it for the second time i also think its not a photoshop, but the lighting is rubbish
Itās not the lighting, it is photoshop, and itās posterized out the wazoo.
I didnāt misunderstand the amount of risk and work involved with rearranging a Nimbus frame but I am surprised someone like Nimbus hasnāt taken note and redesigned their nightrider!
Is there a reason beyond market-share why thereās never been a production v-frame 36er?
I think market-share is it. The big advantage from V-frames is (from what I understand, I donāt do crazy muni or anything) exclusive to road riders. There just arenāt enough of us.
For example: There are a number of relatively simple ways to put together a high-ratio single-speed geared unicycle (Iām working on one). But there are none in production. If there was a market to support them, theyād exist, or at least thatās the only explanation I can think of. I know there was an attempt to get something based off the āpurple phaseā from way back into production, but that never happened, and Iām guessing at the reasonā¦
Yes, I agree, market share is a very potent force limiting production model V frames. Risk and hassle are the forces limiting home made V frames.
Here are some pictures Iāve got of Pete Perronās two other V frames.
Purple Phase and the Red Menace. Both of these are gunis that were made before Schlumpfs were available. Both have Peteās jack shaft gearing mechanism that allowed him to change chain rings in order to change gears. If I remember correctly, it would take him about 5 to 10 minutes to change gears but he could gear up to almost 2:1. Unlike a Schlumpf he could also gear down. There are some close up pictures of the Red Menaceās gears and disc brake in some other thread. Iām not sure which.
Geoff
So vintage and so cool! Only thing I would add would be elbow rests for the aerobars. These should be donated to the Smithsonian someday! 
Haha, Terry how is it that you could make me feel old? Itās not that vintageā¦ Hey, the menace even had a disc brake!
Close-up shots of the menace can be found in this great thread:
not finding the ones with photos of the purple phase at this moment, but they exist!
Haha, I know itās not that old, but uni-technology is improving so fast. I think your unis are timeless though, and beautifully designed! Wish I had one like it. 
yeah. just to clarify: I didnāt build them (wish I had!), I just felt old because I remember when the forums were buzzing about them.
Really wish theyād gone into production. Iād be riding so fast right nowā¦
Hey, just realized Iāve never posted my 36er here. So to get back on topic a little bit:
My current ride will be off the test-bench and gathering loads of data as soon as my new hub comes in and after I figure out how to build it into my wheel!
Personally I really like the black-tape optical encoder pattern for looks.
Here it is:
V-Frame: more than a year ago i posted this: (v-frame, aerobars, bike (roadrace) saddle, schlumpf hubā¦):
Hereās the Purple Phaze thread.
I remember seeing this one last year. It too looks really nice.
Are you still riding it? Howās it holding up? What changes would you consider if you had to do it again?
Maybe you know if Pete still on here or has he moved onto other types of projects? I always liked his jackshaft designs and was bummed when U-turn in Texas I think dropped the idea of producing them.
Bryce
Bryce,
I havenāt seen Pete Perron (aka unisk8r) him on the forums since about the summer of 2008. I think he cleaned out his shop (I was the lucky recipient of this purge) and moved on to other endeavors.
Geoff
someone should totally do a trials high jump on a 36er
The guy in the Coker promo video comes close. The video is on their website @: http://www.cokercycles.com/
Thatās Brian Oleyā¦ heās pretty quick with that coker!
