Rim Versatility?

Unicycles and Equipment
1

All,

In the back of my head, I am wanting to get a new unicycle, either a 26" or a 24", I’m not certain yet. I want to get it for road riding, but not really for cruising, and not really for freestyling. I just want an all-around unicycle for street.

However, the tire situation frustrates me, because I want a fat street tire, and there aren’t any (yet). I don’t count the Dyno Fireball, because that is E-bay fodder. I want a source that is in stock, and on the market, in case I ever have to buy a replacement, etc.

So, I am wondering, is there a rim that will accomodate both a 2.0" street tire and a 3.0" street tire? It is really weird how a tire dominates the whole build of your unicycle. I want a rim that will let me put a 2.0" Irc Duro Metro on it, or a 2.1 Kenda Street Tire, or a Dyno Fireball, or any other likely fat tire (I’m not sure about tires and rim types etc).

So is there any one rim that will accomodate all these tire choices, so that I can buy now but have the option to get a better tire later, if anybody ever comes out with one?

Lewis

2

well

look, this all depends on the tyre you want to ride with!

A three inch tyre must have a wide rim, at least 27mm wide to make it work without the tyre rolling off.

Even though i havent had much expirence with uni’s ive had a lot with bikes, i used to run an sun mammoth rim, 28mm with a 2.7 inch tyre, i run a rhinolite on my uni with a 3 incher. so 27mm can definatly take a 3 inch, although wider would be more comfortable. Also, i used to run slicks, that were 27mm wide when i put them on the mammoth’s. but they wouldnt fit on a bigger rim.

So thats it, either a bit of tyre roll and the option for a smaller tyre, or no tyre roll and keep the 3 inch on!

James

3

Jimmy,

So, you are saying that a 27mm rim will work on a 3.0" tire. Will it also work on a 2.0" tire?

Also, which rims are 27mm?

I don’t really know the first thing about the various rims, so more help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Lewis

4

As long as there are no 2.5+ slicks on the market, the question is hypothetical. There are a wide veriety of mud/off road tyres- maybe you could shave off the knobies… or perhaps you might procure someone’s old Gazz that has worn the knobs off?

I looked agian today- as I have many times in the past- and have yet to find such a tyre (with the exception of the Fireball).

Christopher

5

Chris, etc.,

I view it a different way.

I probably won’t buy another ‘good’ 24" or 26" unicycle unless a) there is a fat slick tire on the market or b) I can find a rim that I can use with both a 2.0 slick and a 3.0 slick.

If it turns out that there is no such rim, then I will probably buy a 20" or a 28" next. I have seen there are 2.5" slick/trials tires for 20" cycles, which is cool. I also will not be doing the kinds of things on a 28" that I would do on a 24" or a 26", so a smaller cruising tire would be fine.

As far as buying a gazz and shaving the knobbies off of it, I wouldnt personally be willing to do that, for basically the same reason I wouldn’t want to buy a Dyno Fireball second hand.

So, for me the question itself is not hypothetical, even if the existence of a 3.0" slick is hypothetical. Is there a rim that can handle a 2.0" duro, 2.1" kenda, and a 2.6" or 3.0" slick (pref 3.0")?

It is OK if the answer is “no” … that just means I will look at 20" and 28" cycles next.

I went over to the unicycle.com catalog, and I went direct to a few rim makers, but I couldn’t find or figure out the answer for my question, so I am asking here. I know that somebody can give me the answer.

Lewis

6

The sun BFR 26ing rim is fully capable of taking a 1.25 slick through to a 3inch knobby - i’ve been fiddling with a few different tire combinations [all on a Suzue/BFR26inch wheel i’ve just had built]:

1.25in “GEARAX” Slick [which is just small enough to fit under the crown of my 24ing taiwanese uni] - this was fantasic on smooth ground, felt great [smooth] and fast [for me anyway]

3.00 inch “DURO - Wildlife: Leopard” Knobby [which is huge but fits very well on my new secret project [yep another home-made frame]

Given my choice of suburban uni’s I’d take a 26inch BFR with an IRC Metro 2.0inch tire [unless you can find a 2.1 26inch Conti Town and Country]

I’ll be trying to modify my old Taiwanese frame to accept a 2.0inch tire [width is not a problem just crown clearance]

Short version of the story is:
IMHO get a BFR

richard.

7

I have the Sun Mammoth rim and swapping back and forth the Kenda Kolossal 26x2.6" lugged tire and the Conti Town and Country 2.1" inverted tread with no probs. The Conti is very nice for street riding and skills practice on pavement, such as idling, spins, one-footed, while maintaining the same wheel and crank setup as off-road. The Conti is about $30 but I had to drive about 25 miles to the bike shop that had it in stock.

My frame won’t do 3.0" so I have no experience with that size.

8

All,

OK, hmm. U-Turn, you recommend the Sun Mammoth 26" rim. It fits the 2.1 Town and Country (a tire I have considered) and it fits the Kenda Kolossal 2.6" tire. You don’t know it a 3.0 tire will fit it.

Bonehead, you recommend the Sun BFR 26" rim. I can’t seem to find it. At unicycle.com, they seem to have no 26" BFR, and at http://www.sun-ringle.com I can’t seem to find it either … although I admit I can’t figure out how their sizes correspond to inches.

(Best I can figure is that the 2 sizes they give for a particular rim are estimated rim diameters on the inner and outer edge; however converting to inches gives me a smaller number than I expect in all cases, so maybe the verbal convention of a an XY" rim really refers to the wheel diameter with a typical tire on it, and the E.R.D. is the pure rim measurement? Just wild guessing here).

So, I am getting closer to being able to make some kind of decision about whether I will pursue a 26" cycle next. I have 4 questions:

  1. Is there a 26" BFR rim on the market, or was that a typo on Bonehead’s part?

  2. Does anybody with the Mammoth know if it is suitable for any 3.0" tires (even if they are off-road or knobby tires)?

  3. What is the smallest tire anybody has successfully put on a 26" mammoth?

  4. Is the mammoth plenty sturdy? I intend to use it to do some hopping and dropping in the course of normal travel and movement from point A to B on street.

Thanks everybody for all the advice so far!

Lewis

9

to your questions

  1. yes there is a 26 bfr, just hard to get

2)yes a mammoth will suit a 3 inch tyre, its width is 28 mills, which is resonable for 3 inch!

3)26*1.25 specialized fatboy slick, fit fine, with a bit of help from some strong tyre levers and high pressure.

4)is the mammoth sturdy??

This is a 8 foot drop i did at the beginning of last year. The rear wheel is a mammoth rim, with an elgato 26*2.25 tyre. The rim is still going and still true!

I think time’s the test, and that baby’s still ticking!

James

10

Re: Rim Versatility?

>3) What is the smallest tire anybody has successfully put on a 26"
>mammoth?

I have mammoths on my urban commuter bike–where I run Continental Top Touring
26x1.75 tires.

David Maxfield
Bainbridge Island, WA

11

All,

Thanks to everybody for the additional comments, and everybody who had any comment at all, in fact. I think it is looking like the Sun Mammoth 26" is the rim I want to go for.

I now need to decide on a frame. Should I start a new thread, or would it be less confusing to just add on here?

Animation

12

Check out this thread on 3" tyres on a BFR:

Uni-Dak-was-here

Problems with a large tyre in a relatively narrow rim is that the 1) the tyre will be more inclind to fold over in side hops or tight turns and 2) the tyre is forced into a rounder profile, doing away with some stability. The degrea of these effects depend on the reletive disperity of the parts, and how flat a profile the tyre had to start with.

Sun-Ringle lists 2 sizes for the BFR (which is realy a trimmed down, version of the Mammoth with open I-beams) 20 and 24" (I think they are 2.0 and 1.75", respectively) and the Mammoth 2" x 24 or 26.

On the other end- putting a small tyre on a wide rim- ask Tommy! Remember back when he emasculated his Wilder by replacing the Gazz with some wimpy tyre?

Christopher

13

FYI… the 26inch BFR rim is also called the Mammoth [BFR stands for Big Fat Rim [or something a little ruder]]… on the rim itself it says “Sun Big Fat Mammoth” but the issue is that it has the same build as the 24inch BFR [apart from diameter] - triple box construction with an ABS [plastic] strip around the middle.

As far as the smallest tire i’ve run on it: 1.25inch GEAX slick with no problems [looked and ran very nicely] - at the moment I have a 3.0 inch Duro on it [looks and runs very nicely also].

The Sun Rynolyte would also meet you needs if you stay at or above 2inch wide tires. My understanding is that the BFR[mammoth] is stronger however [triple box instead of double].

I suspect that the “featherweight” riders amongst us prefer the Doublewide or Alex rims on their 3inch tires because the like to run with less than 30psi for “bounce”. As I’m a good 220lbs [at least] I prefer to have MUCH more air in my tires [at least 50psi] - so pinch flats & “roll-offs” are not a problem for me.

It’s all relative - whatever suits your style… I would reallly love a 26X3.0inch Fireball[with about 60psi].

BTW: anyone else running the “monster truck” 26X3.0 Duro tire? With my weight and that tire I pretty much crush anything in my path… maybe we should have a comp for the most combined weight on a single uni :wink:

richard.

14

Rhysling & Bonehead,

Thanks for the additional comments. The standard BFR seems to do fine, according to the thread provided (although I’m leaning toward the Mammoth). It was mentioned that a higher pressure alleviates the slight problems with the tire rounding sometimes in drops and sharp turns (when using a big tire), and I tend to run a higher air pressure. Supposedly that counteracts a lot of that. Anyway, I’m going for the Mammoth rim, and I think it should work on the 2.0 and 2.1 style tires, as well as the 2.5+ type.

I think going with the Mammoth will be a good thing, for my preferences.

Now I just need to figure out what I am going to do for a frame.

Lewis

15

RE: Rim Versatility?

Hi Lewis.

The Sun BFR 20- and 24-inch rims are identical to the Sun Mammoth
26-inch rim. Sun Ringle has recently relabled the 26-inch rim “Big Fat
Mammoth”.

We routinely install 1.5, 1.75, 2.0, 2.35 and 2.6 inch-wide tires on the
Mammoth. It handles a 2.6 well, but it’s too narrow for a 3.0. With
the super-thick DH tube, the 3.0 would be a very difficult mount and
you’d risk rollover flats. For a 3.0 tire, we recommend a Sun
Doublewide or Alex DX32.

Best regards,

John Drummond


1-800-Unicycle

-----Original Message-----
From: rsu-admin@unicycling.org [mailto:rsu-admin@unicycling.org] On
Behalf Of Animation
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2002 10:06 AM
To: rsu@unicycling.org
Subject: Re: Rim Versatility?

All,

OK, hmm. U-Turn, you recommend the Sun Mammoth 26" rim. It fits the 2.1
Town and Country (a tire I have considered) and it fits the Kenda
Kolossal 2.6" tire. You don’t know it a 3.0 tire will fit it.

Bonehead, you recommend the Sun BFR 26" rim. I can’t seem to find it. At
unicycle.com, they seem to have no 26" BFR, and at
http://www.sun-ringle.com I can’t seem to find it either … although I
admit I can’t figure out how their sizes correspond to inches.

(Best I can figure is that the 2 sizes they give for a particular rim
are estimated rim diameters on the inner and outer edge; however
converting to inches gives me a smaller number than I expect in all
cases, so maybe the verbal convention of a an XY" rim really refers to
the wheel diameter with a typical tire on it, and the E.R.D. is the pure
rim measurement? Just wild guessing here).

So, I am getting closer to being able to make some kind of decision
about whether I will pursue a 26" cycle next. I have 4 questions:

  1. Is there a 26" BFR rim on the market, or was that a typo on
    Bonehead’s part?

  2. Does anybody with the Mammoth know if it is suitable for any 3.0"
    tires (even if they are off-road or knobby tires)?

  3. What is the smallest tire anybody has successfully put on a 26"
    mammoth?

  4. Is the mammoth plenty sturdy? I intend to use it to do some hopping
    and dropping in the course of normal travel and movement from point A to
    B on street.

Thanks everybody for all the advice so far!

Lewis

–
Animation - I unicycle in Mississippi too.

Lewis W Beard
lewis@lwb.org

Animation’s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/615
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/18067

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www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu

16

Re: RE: Rim Versatility?

John,

Your site list differnt widths for these rims- 20x2.0, 24x1.75, and 26x2.0 -and the cross section of the Mammoth (or whatever they are calling it now) looks different. Is the width listed for the 24" BFR incorrect? How bout the pic of the Mammoth? The Sun-Ringle site shows the same picture…

Christopher

17

John,

What is the smallest tire that a doublewide can support? My goal is to buy a rim that can handle the 2.0 and 2.1 tires for road that are available today, but that might theoretically handle the 3.0 style slicks, IF anybody ever makes any ever again.

If there is no rim that can handle a 2.0 IRC Duro Metro up through a 3.0 Fireball all in one rim, then I will either go with the mammoth and give up on the idea of a 3.0 street tire (and just hope a 2.6 comes out one day), OR I will just avoid making a tough street cycle now, and instead shift my focus to a 20" or 28".

Lewis

18

All,

Can people give me some data on which tires work well with a doublewide and/or alex (havent looked at the alex much yet) rim? I’m trying to decide between:

a) getting a Mammoth so that I can accomodate 2.0 - 2.6 size STREET tires (some of which don’t currently occur in regular production)

b) getting a Doublewide (or alex?) rim so that I can accomodate a 3.0 street tire (if they ever exist in production again) ALONG WITH the lesser street tires currently available (IRC Duro Metro; Kenda 2.125; Town & Country)

c) moving on to a unicycle of a different size (20" and 28" have tires more suited to what I want)

So, I am focusing on (b) and I want to know people’s experiences in using the doublewide on 2.0" tires. How small can one go and expect to do tough street riding (I am 240 lbs and I want to be able to do decent drops, regular hopping, and stairs, but not anything beyond basic point A to B mobility)

Anyway, more data points are appreciated.

Lewis