For a particular skill I wanted better cranks.
I succeeded partly, enough to be happy with the first result.
So -in case people are interested- I am able to supply custom made unicycle cranks now.
The part I’m dissatisfied with is the shape. Future models will be flatland friendly and have a flat top (unless requested otherwise, maybe for trial, long distance and racing).
tubular, grade 9 titanium: 3Al-2.5V
handmade to measure - any desired length
latest ISIS rev D
125mm weights 296 gram per pair (versus 388 gr for Mad4one ERGAL ISIS, or 368 gr for a Venture2, or 388 gr for 127mm KH Spirit)
Very very nice work!
Just curious but how does Ti mate with a typical 4130 CrMo ISIS shaft? I presume there are no issues installing/removing the cranks?
i guess i missed the point here… is this just a big tease? or are you offering us some weird kind of first dibs deal? or do we just have to wait till you bring them out on sale?
[QUOTE=Phil_on_uni;1664880]
my suggestion… Q factor[/Q
What does this even mean? Q-Factor was just a name that Grant Peterson gave to what had been known for years as “Tread.” That is the separation between the feet. Since all cranks are separated by at least the spindle distance they all have q-factor. A q of zero would mean that the pedals were mounted directly next to each other so that the feet were touching, or at least the pedal plane of each foot would be with no separation.
Do you want a specific amount of q? Are you really talking about offset (more likely since the crank manufacturer can’t know what spindle length you will be using)?
In unicycling at least. q-factor is the angle from the crank bolt mount to the pedal insert. A pedal with 0 q factor would be a dead straight crank. Many of the cranks out there have some angle of Q factor. If you are doing muni street or trials it is extremely helpful in avoiding smashing your ankles on the crankbolt (or crank mount). Some folks still prefer 0 q factor for some types of riding.
So you are referring to offset, but still what do you mean in your original statement; q factor? Is it a question: What is the q factor? Is it a suggestion, that you would like to see it with significant offset?
Ha, 1st thing I wondered to!
I have 3 exceed Ti hubs and always believed same metals make best combinations, but I’m now using these on a Nimbus CrMo hub (for it’s much larger flanges).
In non-scientific words/numbers: Alloy seems more adaptive than Ti and CrMo, so mounting them (dry) made loud squeeky noises; Ti wants to go back to it’s own original shape and wins in flexibility from the CrMo spindle.
Also the splines are not super smooth, and have a bit of texture (the picture shows). So I think it could use some anti seizure grease. Which I’m so far never used anywhere. I expect that would solve the “problem”.
I’m just back from practicing in Cuba. With the weather on certain days I noticed tiny squeeky noises from my (now 2nd favorite) Venture2’s that were well-mounted on a Exceed Ti hub while riding under absurd conditions, but much less than Mad4one’s soft alu pins would, or their older model would (still admire the product, but not intended for my user-case - but for it’s cosmetics I still use them when doing my coffee act).
KH doesn’t offer 125. QX’s seem to have the strongest shape… but eat my pants. I maybe should have tried their tubular CrMo crank. (anyway; I never broke any of above mentioned cranks - and am not aware if anyone ever did).
I expect this combination is a better for my case.
So I went from a Ti hub / alloy cranks combination to CrMo hub / Ti cranks.
CrMo is always a bit stubborn kind metal. In the next 5 weeks I can’t do real testing. After that we will learn.
The amount of an entire unicycle that the average-good and better riders use in flat or street.
Being tubular that’s hard. It would require different molding to have everything exactly straight, and the heating/cooling of the welding still could make it go bad. It’s not impossible. But a solid CNC’ed crank would for that reason win on precision.
Don’t know how to respond on that. It was just as I described; I could supply if people are interested.
I always had a very good income from unicycling. And unplanned became core DNS operator/architect at the 2nd largest registry after .com (the largest ccTLD, bigger than .cn, .de and .uk combined). Think about my hourly wage there. Then estimate the time it takes to make 36 spokes to a custom length. Any of my time I spend on someone else unicycle is stealing from my own pocket.
Certain riders I would gladly support. But it will be impossible to please everyone.
Since it’s price; don’t expect me to stock numerous in each possible length. And (despite being educated for retail) sit and wait in a virtual store on sales.
It wont be mass production. At least not in Ti.
Correct. I was just curious about thoughts, opinions and if people would be interested.
I think Phil is right. I also always understood it the way the Venture2’s are described: “Q-Factor: Almost Zero Q-factor - This is the amount a crank bends outwards. Zero means it doesn’t lean outwards at all. The straighter the crank the better for speed, the wider the better for ankle clearance and greater maneuverability.”
The Q factor of my displayed cranks is 0, and the molding for welding allows it to be customized.
Guys I understand that the bike world has been around a long time. And I know that most of these term already have very specific meaning. But if you ask just about ANY unicyclist that has been riding the last 10 years about there preference in Q… they are probably gonna think you are talking about the the angle of the crank. I didn’t intend to start a discussion. I think we all get what I am referencing…
Only if you are referring to us, this tiny percentage of unicyclists who pay attention to such things. The other 98% or so of unicyclists will ask you to explain the Q. If flare, a word that automatically has some meaning (in English) is the correct term for what we usually call Q-factor, we should switch now. Then you can just say a crank has, for example, 3mm of flare and it should make sense to anybody, even if they don’t know what UDC and UPD stand for.
digits?
