Hi,
I was thinking about buying the 26’’ frame but installing a 26 X 2.5 tire (on a XC rim) and wanted to know what do you think about the idea …
I love the look of it and the fact that its made of 4130 (Chromoly !!!)
Be a crazy thing to do - the brakes wouldn’t work, you’d have the silly wide, probably very heavy frame for no reason, and you’d have spent twice as much as a KH for a heavier, poorly designed* unicycle.
Joe
*unless you want to use it with a big rim and a silly tyre for sand riding that is
Only problem is that KH don’t make a 26" frame. The KH 29" frame would do, but the brake mounts would be further away than the Surley. Nimbus make a 26" frame, although that doesn’t have brake mounts.
STM - not helping much really.
One is coming pretty soon.
go Endomorph
If you do get the Surly - just get the endomorph, I just switched from a downhill tire and am having a blast riding it now. I avoided a log on the trail on the way out on my last ride - on the way back I decided that I would try to clear it. I got a run at it, angled my tire forward and bounced over it. It was a great feeling, I could not have done that on any other unicycle. I run my tire at 30 psi and have gone over everything, it is a total blast.
I have found the Endomorph to be great on loose and hard packed dirt as well, it also rolls over exposed roots and rocks a lot better than skinny atb tires could.
A lot of people say that it is not practical - I have to disagree, I love this unicycle, it makes me think about riding all of the time - now if I just had someone else to ride with!
Oh yeah. Sorry. I just re-read the new KH lineup thread. Must have skimmed over that before.
STM
Guy Give me a Call
Yo Guy!
Just go for the KH with a 3 inch tire you will not regret it. By the way when are we going to meet up for a ride? IRemember we work right next to each other! You can also check out all of my Unis!
Unicorn
i think the nimbus 26 does have brake mounts or a least they use to
see here they offer an option here http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=1151
wow semach really has his facts straight! such an informative post, lol 
sorry, just couldn’d let it go
I would steer clear of the Surly frame unless you re planning on running an endomorph tire.
People have fit the LM rim with 3" tires in Nimbus and KH frames so the only thing that doesn’t fit in a regular frame that will fit in the conundrum is the endo tire.
An endo would be cool if you want the ultimate in float.
The one advantage to the surly frame that a lot of people are overlooking is the fact that it will fit a Large Marge rim without any modifications. If you want a LM rim on any other unicycle and you want brakes you will have to buy or make brake adapters.
If you want it because you think it looks cool, then get it. It will be impractical for your purpose of putting on an XC rim and tire, as the brake bosses won’t work, and it will have so much clearance around it that your wheel will probably look a little small in the frame.
The Nimbus 26 muni frame that’s on my son’s muni has brake bosses that came with it, and I think it’s also cromo (though I’m not positive about that). It’s a good frame, esp. for around $50–heavier than a KH, but it makes for a nice setup. You could customize a KH or Nimbus frame for about the same price as the Surly. I’m a fan of Surly products, but wouldn’t buy the Conundrum unless I was putting together a Large Marge wheel for it.
I’ll pay you a visit when you get back to work after the holiday (And again, happy passover !).
The KH is really impressive, but chromoly does have it benefits.
Kh is coming out with a 26in muni soon, I would suggest just getting that whole as is unless your dead set on using a rim you have. The rim on the kh is 46mm wide and would be awesome for 2.5 tires for xc. Less hassle, the kh blue, and nice and light.
Nobody really breaks kh frames doing muni, and I can’t see it happening durning xc at all, so I think you should be good.
What benefits other than pimp value and ability to rust? It’s heavier and costs more. It probably isn’t as stiff as the kh, so the brakes might not work so well. The supposed benefits of steel on bikes aren’t going to make a difference here, as you don’t put power through the frame.
The only real benefit is that it is easier to weld up if it breaks, but hardly anyone breaks frames, so it isn’t really an issue.
Joe
Offset brake mounts, some of you’ve seen it already I bet. Could help? It spaces the slave cylinders further apart. or if you rotate the mounts 180 you can have the slave cylinders further in than usual.
I think the KH will be better and much lighter. Although I totally understand, why people fall in love with the Surly. That uni is such a monster, especially with that super phat tire. It really does look amazing! But I think it would be more enjoyable as a 5th uni in your stable, that you take for a ride once in a while, when there is not much climbing involved. Climbing would probably be very hard with that much weight.
So, although I a have never ridden the Surly, I say go for the KH. The rim will be 47mm wide and drilled, so probably a lot lighter then the LM. But you could also get a TryAll one with the same width, they are drilled with larger holes, so even lighter. Another advantage of the KH is, it can be schlumpfed, when you want to go there sometime. As far as I know the frames will be custom pced by udc as well, so there’s a good chance to get another nice colour than the standard blue.
Fear of Aluminum
I spoke to Guy and he wants the Surly because of the Cromoly frame. He fears aluminum. My original MUni was an ONZA 24 with a Cromoly frame. I did not like the fork shape on it. One thing I have to say about Cromoly is that it retains its powdercoating! I learned to ride and MUni on that ONZA and it took so many more UPDs than any of my KHs (I have 3!) and it does not have a scratch on its paint! And I ride some very rocky terrain.
Does anyone else have any fears of aluminum frames? Any cons with aluminum other than powdercoating retention? What can we do to persuade Guy that aluminum for unicycle frames is not bad?
Anyway - after talking with Guy we agreed to meet up so that he can try out my KHs.
For his current goals I strongly suggest the KH29.
But then again when I first started riding my goal was to be able to ride dirt roads. Cross country riding dreams do have a way of being upgraded once becoming proficient on the wheel!
Unicon
Aluminum frames seem to be fine on unicycles. I see all kinds of crazy things people do, and the frames seem to be the last thing to break. Really there are comparitively few Al frames breaking on uni’s.
I have an Onza CrMo frame, and I am fine with it. I was very much looking for a steel frame when I got mine due to my prior experience with bike frames. I have broken a few Al bike frames, and I have seen what even moderate use does to them. That being said, there must be forces at play on bike frames that tweak them beyond what a uni frame gets. As much as I think that Al is a terrible material for bikes, I am becoming convinced that it must be a pretty good material for uni’s.
Anyway, that is why I was scared of an Al uni frame, and why I am probably going to have one at some time in the future.
Only goes 5mm out each side, or about 2mm in - it can’t bring the brakes inwards any more than 2mm because the shape of the brake cylinder means it bumps into it. It’s not obvious if you’re looking at the picture on the internet, but if you have some in front of you and stick a brake cylinder into it, it just won’t go any further.
Joe