Thank you, thank you, thank you! I knew there was a Coker rider out there who could provide some real perspective… in Hi-Def video nonetheless! I’ll get the popcorn ready, let me know when the movie’s starting.
Mr. Cokerrider, have you ever done a long grind seamlesly? Have you ever ridden down a 50% grade offroad? Have you ever done a 6’ drop into a sweet rollout? Have you ever felt the satisfaction of landing a trails line you never imagined possible? There’s plenty of awesome things to do on unicycles, all of which feel great. To say riding up a ramp, turning around, and riding back down is the best of them all is a nasty simplification of all other styles. If cokering were unilaterally the best, why would those of us who’ve ridden one continue to own trials uniis and munis?
If we wanted to bomb down trails at high speeds or hit gigantic jumps, we’d be on a bike. As for technical trails, I wouldn’t call any singletrack that can be “blasted” on any unicycle technical.
Everyone to their own.
I think listening to HCR’s babbling has given me a nice big dose of the vaccine. I don’t ever wanna catch this fever that turns you into a delusional and irrational bafoon.
Well apparently you had a hard time believing one could land the airs you were thinking about… until you read Brian’s response… who pretty much confirmed nearly everything I said. And I never meant to imply that you can do EVERYTHING that you can do on a smaller wheel uni on a Coker, but then again there are plenty of things you can do on a Coker that you can’t do on a smaller wheel uni.
I find the Coker to be incredibly agile and maneuverable, but of course you’re not going to be able to ride all of the terrain that you can on a smaller wheel ride… though with practice you could probably ride a good percentage of it (at the very least a decent percentage of what ever is “rollable” on a 20”/24”)
Regarding urban riding… I’m talking about riding through busy City streets – not the “street” style of riding where you do pedal grabs or grinds, though both of those tricks are very conceivable on a Coker, although they wouldn’t be nearly as “big” because of hopping height limitations.
I can’t blast up more than about 6 stairs at a time… which takes probably about 1 - 2 seconds, while it will take probably 5 to 10 times that amount of time to hop up the same set. I can also hop up about 6 stairs on my Coker (on a good day… I’m much more consistent at 3-4), but I suck at hopping. Brian or some other good hopper could probably hop up 15 stairs on a Coker.
Smaller size unis are awesome and the tricks I’ve seen done on them blow my mind… but many of these tricks do have the potential to be done on a Coker. Most of the skills I was good at on a smaller wheel uni have transferred to my Coker (except wheel walking – I still can’t wheel walk my Coker very well). Kick up mount, one-foot extended, seat in front, seat in back, and a handful of other fairly basic mounts/tricks are all things I learned as a kid on a 20”/24” and can now do pretty proficiently on a Coker. If I had learned how to do pedal grabs or grinds on a smaller wheel uni as a kid, I’d probably be doing them on my Coker by now…. though the objects on to which I’d be doing pedal grabs and railings (for grinds) would be of a very low height and thus wouldn’t be nearly as impressive as what’s currently being done on the 20”/24” uni’s.
Regarding utility…Cokers have more utility for many reasons beyond rolling over things… but in my opinion it is precisely the speed that makes them so efficient - especially for City riding where I am often passing bicyclists who are riding at an easy pace (not messengers). It would take me forever to get anywhere on a 20”/24” uni - both of which are not viable forms of efficient transportation. There’s definitely more to thrills than going fast… I prefer ramps and banking turns. Regarding unicycles, it’s like Brian so eloquently stated: “Choose the one that allows you to be best at the stuff you find the most fun, and let other’s ride the ones that allow them to do the stuff they find the most fun.”
Sorry you felt I couldn’t provide you with any “real perspective” in my last post, perhaps this one will provide you with better insight regarding what I was trying convey.
Feel free to take my words out of context and misconstrue the point I was trying to make (which was in response to: why anyone would want to ride a Coker for anything other than distance riding, or high-speed riding on relatively tame terrain)
Also feel free to put words in my mouth (I never said Cokering was unilaterally the best… or any of other numerous things you implied I said)
I guess you like to take peoples’ words 100% literally when it’s convenient for you to do so… rather than reading them in the context of the discussion and realizing I was simply expressing an opinion, with no intention of taking ANYTHING away from all the other incredible types of uni riding I read about, watch, and admire of on the forum and elsewhere.
So my question to you is:
Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?
Now now, everyone play nice 
While a coker obviously can’t do lots of the street moves and double diamond MUni, it just might surprise you. It would have been worthless at CMW, but for the right singletrack (or fireroad), it’s a blast.
The thing that coker has that you just don’t get on a smaller wheel is SPEED (and I completely disagree that you get the same thing from a bike). I once rode my coker at a BMX park which had mounds that required speed and momentum that you just can’t get from a 24".
Yesterday, a group of us had an awesome 38 mile ride from Aptos to Moss Landing (south of Santa Cruz, CA). I’m still high from some of the speeds I was getting spinning my coker with new 125s. 20mph on a coker feels like 40mph on a bike. It requires so much focus that it becomes a zen experience.
…and remember, the unicycle god loves ALL her children, regardless of their age, creed, or wheel size.
I know I certainly won’t be riding my Trials uni or even my MUni to work this winter through the slush and deep snow
(or at the Velodrome tomorrow…if they even let me ride my uni)
I think that’s the biggest issue for me…the price.
At $290 US, Im gonna have to put off buying one at the moment.
Also being that 36" is such a unique size, they can get away with charging $60 for a replacement tire, so what Im trying to say is the upkeep is also pretty high for them.
The second issue for me is that Im still trying to nail down the basics, and on a Coker, I think this would be alot harder. Cokers I believe are for the more experienced riders.
As for the debate that you guys are currently having, I feel that HardcoreCokerRider is being completely honest. Ive seen him on his Coker and that thing looks like an extension of him. He looks completely at “home” on his Coker. If you didnt know any better you would think that he’s riding a 20" or 24", that’s how natural it is to him.
To HCR, the Coker is not a gimmick, but rather a way of life!
i personallywould LOVE a coker, but i just can’t afford it right now either.
I just bought a new trials, and am saving what i have left for a possible plane ticket to sydney, australia. thems likkle pieces of papper is expensives!
Oops, wrong account 
I think this is a very standard discussion. My brother bought a coker yesterday, and he finds it absolutly amazing. I rode it too, but after about 2km, the novelty wore off. Ok, I can get speeds of up to 30 km/h, but is that really why I unicycle? For me, the answer is no. But mind you, ‘for me’. I just prefer my light, nimble 20" trials unicycle over a big ol’ 36" coker. But that’s just personal preference. I’ve got some trials lines here I don’t think a coker could even start on, but I don’t fancy my chances going 25km/h on my 20" trials uni. I think you’re comparing BMX bikes to racing bikes here…
(Ignore the above post, my brother was logged in…)
I would like to comment on babyivan about the upkeep being expensive. I believe the upkeep cost is what you make of your Coker. I for example bought a stock Coker without the expensive Airfoil rims or brakes(but now looking for brakes now due to MUni I do). The stock Coker itself is bomb proof, I took it everywhere and UPD constantly at the beginning. Later I experimented w/ changing tubes and going tubeless which resulted in blowing out my 36 tire. This forced me to buy another tire. Now I have the 36 tube and there’s been no problem whatsoever. I have been doing some SERIOUS MUni down some crazy thorn, rock, and shrub infested trails. Once, I had UPD and my Coker went flying down a 20feet cliff! No problem, readjusted the seat and off I go.
The only part of a stock Coker that is prone to damage is the cheap plastic pedals it comes with. I replaced it at the beginning after a UPD made the plastic pedal unusable.
Finally, I can relate to HardcoreCokerRider’s fanaticism on Cokering. I luv my Coker like a mistress(don’t tell my wife). I am constantly thinking about what other tricks and places I can go do things with. Heck, I even thought of entering a parade in a goofy custume. So please forgive us Coker nuts and our obession.
It’s all right. I haven’t caught it. I love my 29er.
But you have to have some kind of big wheel.
Having said that, I haven’t ever tried a coker. I nearly tried Roger’s once. Perhaps next time.
Cathy