Does anyone know the bearing size or spacing on this frame/wheel?
I’m seriously considering getting one of these (the new ones with the shorter cranks and the isis hubs), but I’m wondering if it is upgradeable at all.
My LBS has looked into it for me, but they are not seeing any specs on the uni outside of what is posted to the commercial site
So, I’m able to start here and upgrade as needed?!
Let me know of any problems that develop. I’ve a bit more cash to save up but it is looking like this is the way that I will get to go.
If anyone else has this and could do a mini review here that would be stellar, I’m still having trouble finding any full reviews (I’m especially concerned with seat quality and overall long term durability).
I’ll give a little more info about the uni. I got it from niagara cycle works, shipping was as expected and free. I also ordered a cyclops tire (the hookworm copy) for about 10 dollars. When I got the unicycle I noticed my saddle was not in the box, probably left out at the factory. After I called niagara cycle about it they said they can ship another but I’m still waiting on that. Luckily the seatpost is the same size as my nimbus trials so I used the saddle from it. After I started riding I noticed something that sounded loose and found it to be the spacers between the bearings and the hub flanges, they were not pressed against the side tightly and could still spin. There were also no spacers between the bearing and the cranks. This was a little disappointing for me but I figured I’d just deal with it for now. All assembled with the cyclops tire the weight was about 12 lbs 13 oz. It rides great, thanks cranks (152 mm btw) were straight and strong, and I was surprised at how grippy the stock pedals were. They are all metal and definitely could take a nice bite out of your leg in a fall but still good pedals. I’ll make another post when I get the saddle and maybe throw some pictures up if people want to see them. But right now my only gripe is with the hub which I expect to swap for a nimbus 36 hole when I’m able.
Pictures would be awesome.
ex: Tire Clearance, Decals, Hub Shots, Crank Closeups, and Seat (when you get it. That is kind of lame that they forgot it from the factory.)
Is there anything you can do to make the stock hub better? Is it missing a spacer or are the bearings just not pressed on tight enough? It might be worth taking it to the LBS and seeing if they can help you out. Messed up spacers on a b%ke hub screws stuff up fast and I would hate for that to happen to your new whip.
Still no seat, it will be here tomorrow, and I’m getting spacers to fix the hub. I’ve ridden it a few times without the spacers, and it does fine, I don’t think they ever designed it to have spacers either. I pushed the bearings against the inside spacers and that fixed that problem, still fits in the frame fine too. All in all I still would say this is the best value 24" out there.
Well I finally got the saddle in and they shipped me the wrong one… I got a flat top ex saddle with the steel seat post rather than the OR saddle with aluminum seat post and a brake lever mount. Truthfully though I had to go through a lot of trouble just to get this so I may just cut my losses. I imagine the saddle itself is the same though. It is on a velo base with very thick foam (VERY THICK). Probably half or 3/4 of an inch thicker than a nimbus gel. I’ll post pics when I get the chance.
The Sun Flat Top OR Uni that I purchased this year uses bmx Mid bottom bracket bearings.
Dimensions:
41.2mm OD x 11.1mm thick x 22 mm ID (or axle)
These are not the standard 42mm bearings used by Nimbus and the bearing caps on the sun wont fit 42mm unicycle bearings. If you are going to build a 2nd wheel with a Nimbus hub you’ll need to swap bearings. Mid BB bearings are available online though.
Just thought I’d add that I think this is a great little Muni: light, strong, and well priced.
My only issues have been:
factory wheel had spokes loosen initially (typical and easy to fix)
ISIS axle seems a bit longer the Nimbus hubs - bigger Q-Factor but possibly more stable offroad. Also the fit and finish of the hub is not quite that of the Nimbus, although I haven’t had any issues with it and it rides fine.
Also thought I’d mention that you can buy an extra wheel from Niagara Cycles for around $75 if you don’t want to buy a Nimbus hub and swap the bearings (see prev post).
Well, I actually decided to drop the hammer on this uni. See, I’m looking for a beater 24" and UDC put these on sale for the 12 days of Christmas. Looking down the spec list, I see no reason why these shouldn’t be solid uni’s other than perhaps the hub (alloy). My last few uni’s have all been pretty high budget custom jobs, and it’s refreshing to get a unicycle that I don’t have to build or worry too much over.
I did have to get a longer Nimbus seatpost, since 300 mm will only leave me about 2" in the frame if my measurements were correct, and I also got a KH free ride cover in hopes that I can flatten this saddle. Stock pedals actually looked pretty good, and I have some Odyssey’s kicking around that I may use too.
I also bought a CST cyclops tire to go with it, seeing as how I’m toying with the idea of urban riding. If the frame will fit a Duro, it will eventually get one.
All in all, I’m actually pretty excited.
Never, ever would I have thought I’d buy a Sun unicycle.
I think you’ll enjoy the uni, bear in mind that mine did not come with spacers, and it needed some pretty long ones. Also I didn’t think the hub was alloy, maybe it has a steel spindle and alloy flange and hub body. I’ll check when I get off work. Right now mine has a hookworm on it and it is the uni I use for street stuff.
I should have some spacers laying around, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’m not quite sure on the hub. Sun’s specs are a bit vague IMO. I just see that as the only possible weak link (hopefully).
I hope I can fit a Freeride cover over the seat since I want to flatten it, but we’ll see.
I’m not sure what the width of a duro is, but the inside of this frame is just over 3 inches, about 3 and 1/8". I do remember I had to widen the inside of the bearing holders to fit the spacers on though. I used a dremel tool to do this. I checked my hub, it definitely is a steel spindle. As for the saddle, It has a velo base just like naomi saddles. If you’re going to fit a KH cover on there I would definitely say you’ll have to cut down the foam.
I added spacers just because I wanted something to tighten the cranks against. I guess they would wear out quicker if there are no spacers (or so I’ve heard)
