Rough terrain Coker-ing

This is for the regular stock Coker

I got it for christmas, and have only road-ridden it as of yet.

I know you can’t really do drops with it, but can you do things like plow through roots, and rock gardens and stuff?

What’s the most technical you want to take it?

Re: Rough terrain Coker-ing

sofa, get your head read.
or make a video.

i’ve seen a coker being ridden off road by a skilled rider, and when you upd you have to runn afer the thing to quite humorous effect.

the tyre looks like it could be o.k. for offroad too.

p.s. i’m sorry, its just that i think coker riders are a bit mad.

I’d be careful going over larger roots and through rock gardens. David Maxfield tacoed his Coker trying to ride up a 6" curb. I think John Drummond has also tacoed his Coker while hopping during a parade. I think trying to roll over larger roots would be risky on the Coker. If you didn’t hit the root or curb straight on the Coker wheel may twist turn to the side and invite a taco.

When you first get a standard Coker the spokes will be loose. You will want to get the spokes all tensioned before going off-road with it.

roots are okay, it rolls right over them easily.

I’ve done the sort of drops you get on easy trails, sort of up to 1/2 foot on the coker, always just rolling off the edge.

Basically keep it rolling, don’t use big hops to get you anywhere, don’t ride big drops and it’ll probably survive.

I weigh about 140 lbs though so can’t guarantee what’d happen to a heavier person.

Joe

I tacoed a standard Coker wheel just by sitting on it. Of course there are some extraneous circumstances in the situation; we feel that the spokes were way overtightened and I’m not the lightest of persons.

From what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t dare take a standard Coker off-road, they just seem too sensitive. The Aero rim is a much more sufficient rim and can withstand more abuse…such as me sitting on the uni. If you’re going to attempt off-road Coker riding, at least do it with the Coker Deluxe.

Bruce

I’ve taken my standard Coker on easy trails a few times. I was just careful on roots and bigger rocks. I was mostly concerned about getting a flat though.

I tightened up my Coker wheel a month after getting it. I got it very true, but I thing I overtensioned the spokes. I taco’d it on a road ride. I was pedalling up a hill, 20 miles into my ride, when I leaned too far forward and UPD’d. It was a slow UPD and I didn’t drop the Coker. I had a hold of the back of the seat and the wheel flopped onto its side. It must have flopped too hard because it taco’d on me. I leaned it against a stop sign and pushed it back into shape. When I continued on my ride it was creaking and was very wobbly, so I called home for a ride.

Mojoe

I have a standard Coker, although at present it’s on slightly shorter cranks (125 as opposed to 150).

In standard form, the Coker is good for what I might call cross country, rather than MUni. I ride it on unmade ground, single track footpaths and bridle paths, river banks, unmown grass fields, canal towpaths and so on.

The Coker has four weaknesses, compared to a MUni:

  1. The wheel is not as strong. This is a combination of the shape (very narrow for its diameter) and the poor quality of the rim. I would be reluctant to ride roughshod over roots or kerbs, although it will take some mild abuse.

  2. It is hard work on hills because of the wheel diameter. Compared to a 26 or 24, you will never get the same uphill or downhill ability, as you would need massive cranks to get the same leverage. That said, with care and skill, it will cope with reasonable slopes.

  3. It’s unresponsive. The massive flywheel effect of a heavy large diameter wheel makes it difficult to accelerate or decelerate. That means that picking your way carefully through a difficult patch is seldom an option. You can blast through, or plod through at a steady pace, but any stop start stuff in mud or rough ground is difficult.

  4. Mounting is much harder than on a smaller uni if you are fatigued or lacking in confidence.

It’s not all pessimism, though, because a Coker will often roll over rough ground which would present a series of small obstacles to a smaller wheel. For distance on rough but fairly level ground (forest trails, river banks) the Coker is a real blast. For distance on the road, I’d say a 28 or similar (for safety reasons), and for serious off road, I’d say a 24 or 26.

If a 26 is a Land Rover Defender, then a Coker is a Vauxhall Frontera.

Last year Nathan Hoover, Kris Holm, Scot Cooper, Carl Hoyer, and several other big names in MUni used Cokers in the 24 Hours of Adrenaline race at the Laguna Seca Raceway. This was before the Deluxe rims were available so I’m pretty sure these were standard Coker wheels. Not everyone used the Cokers, especially in the dark, but they definitely gave the cycles a pounding.

Nathan’s pictures:

I too would recommend a Coker for cross-country type riding but not for anything with really irregular ground. You don’t want to hop much, or put any kind of side force on the wheel. But other than that they’ve been used off-road in the UK since they were first available there.

I’ve ridden a standard coker down a 4 foot high set of steps and on the red bull they coped fine with the technical bits and the small drops.
The key is to roll round the corners, ie use the wheel’s radius to turn. So long as you are carefull to not stress the wheel sideways too much it SHOULD be ok. I have heard of wheels pringleing and popping back on the move.

You should be fine on the easier trails. I would probably want the biggest cranks available on it. I think rough downhills would probably just make work for your mechanic or your doctor.
carjug, who wants a muni to keep the Coker company.

Re: Rough terrain Coker-ing

Worse than that, I did the Howell Mountain Challenge on Coker in August,
also pre-Deluxe rim. Both of these races had wild bumpy “hang on for your
life” descents - mind-blowing at night! 152mm cranks are too short for these
courses! The standard wheel I was riding on was over 3 years old at the time
and had about 2500 miles on it (including some staircases). I weigh 170lbs
but keep the spokes tensioned properly.

The last ride I did on my Standard rim was the descent from below White
Mountain Peak to Bishop in Sept with Kris (Coker section was 10,000’ drop in
25 miles on 4wd road). At one point I had to hop sideways in a rocky river
(about 1’ deep) and I succeeded in hopping close enough to the side to bail
off without getting soaked. But Kris and Bronson who were watching said my
wheel tacoed hugely, but sprung back as I dismounted. That wouldn’t happen
with a Deluxe. It felt pretty weird but no harm done.

Don’t discount what that old standard Coker wheel can do, although the
Deluxe has a much more solid feeling and I definitely prefer it.

—Nathan

“johnfoss” <johnfoss.gy97z@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:johnfoss.gy97z@timelimit.unicyclist.com
>
> Last year Nathan Hoover, Kris Holm, Scot Cooper, Carl Hoyer, and several
> other big names in MUni used Cokers in the 24 Hours of Adrenaline race
> at the Laguna Seca Raceway. This was before the Deluxe rims were
> available so I’m pretty sure these were standard Coker wheels. Not
> everyone used the Cokers, especially in the dark, but they definitely
> gave the cycles a pounding.
>
> Nathan’s pictures:
> http://community.webshots.com/album/38547327LTlhoO
>
> I too would recommend a Coker for cross-country type riding but not for
> anything with really irregular ground. You don’t want to hop much, or
> put any kind of side force on the wheel. But other than that they’ve
> been used off-road in the UK since they were first available there.

Re: Rough terrain Coker-ing

I exclusively ride my coker offroad!

Recently Ive done some ~2.5 - 3 foot drops on it (the stairs at huntington
beach). Bunny hop up or ride straight up regular size stairs, or ride down
stairs… Never have I had a problem with bent rim (just loose spokes).
Currently Im riding the deluxe but the old wheel did pretty good also

My weight is 155.

I wish I had some newer photos, these are really old!!

http://sublimespot.com/chris/unicycle/

-Chris Carey

“yoopers” <yoopers.gxysz@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:yoopers.gxysz@timelimit.unicyclist.com
>
> john_childs wrote:
> > David Maxfield tacoed his Coker trying to ride up a 6" curb. I think
> > John Drummond has also tacoed his Coker while hopping during a
> > parade.

>
>
> joemarshall wrote:
> > I weigh about 140 lbs though so can’t guarantee what’d happen to a
> > heavier person.

>
>
> I tacoed a standard Coker wheel just by sitting on it. Of course there
> are some extraneous circumstances in the situation; we feel that the
> spokes were way overtightened and I’m not the lightest of persons.
>
> From what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t dare take a standard Coker off-road,
> they just seem too sensitive. The Aero rim is a much more sufficient
> rim and can withstand more abuse…such as me sitting on the uni. If
> you’re going to attempt off-road Coker riding, at least do it with the
> Coker Deluxe.
>
> Bruce
>
>
> –
> yoopers - Bruce & Mary Edwards
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> yoopers’s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/31
> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/22664
>

You might as well try riding offroad with the standard coker, then buy a deluxe wheel if you break it, rather than wait until you get a deluxe.

Joe