Unicycle.com New Product Launch

Hmm, as mentioned, Ti is expensive, but the cost of the built model is about the same as buying the wheel (pre-made) and all the other bits separately…

Was that intentional Roger or a coincidental typo? :slight_smile:

Yeah, and by “machined” i mean “dremmeled out”. Now that I have proper machining tools I can actually do it right.

Florian has worked out the bearing issues in the latest hub batches – I highly recommend the KH/Schlumpf hub. Some people (like Chuck and me old hub) still have the (mostly) original ones that are still going.

corbin

Nimbus Venture ISIS v.s KH ISIS Double Hole 125/150

A quick shout out to the UDC team at Unicycle.com U.S.A. I would highly recommend anyone interested in purchasing a new unicycle to buy from them. How many GM’s would call you personally to tell you that you might hold off a couple weeks purchasing that new Nightrider you just tried to order because he had been riding a prototype that you really need to see. Granted, that was the day after the Australian site leaked the Impulse, but I would have been none the wiser and he would have been perfectly justified saying nothing. Do you think Steve Jobs would have done that? Hell no, he wants to sell as many iPhone 3’s as he can the very day before he announces the 4 is coming out. Deception and greed have infected corporate America but not at Unicycle.com. They really are stand up people. Now I feel like I have made a well informed purchasing decision.

Of course, putting my Marketing degree to work, there is always opportunity for improvement (hence the title of my reply) so I offer this humble suggestion. List the weight and Q factor of all your crank arms. I had to go to the UK sight to get this info but not before I made the mistake of upgrading to the KH ISIS Double Hole 125/150 (586 grams, 10mm Q factor) from the standard Nimbus Venture ISIS 125’s (330 grams, zero Q factor). Clearly, the latter is the better choice for a weight weenie. My thought process was “I have never ridden a 36er so I am going to learn on the 150’s (stability) before I try 125’s (speed) down the road”. Not to mention, adding 10mm Q factor to an already wide hub might make me wobble a bit at higher speeds. What looks good to a total amateur might seem silly to a pro. Who knows, maybe the trade off in versatility will be worth the weight.

If you really want to weight weenify, you could go for the Qu-Ax 125mm cranks, which list at 270 grams, and are only $24.

They will not take abuse but they are freaky light.

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Questions about the handle.

[LIST=1]

  • Roger - you mentioned that the seatpost which comes with the Shadow handle would need a shim to fit the KH frame. Does UDC carry that shim, or is it easy to find at my LBS? Is there a replacement seatpost for the KH's frame diameter?
  • The total weight for the handle is listed at 1.291kg. Is that actually the weight of both "T"s, both clamps, etc? If I just use one of the "T"s and no "T" in the back portion, I'm looking at a lighter weight, right? (One less "T" and one less clamp?)
  • Can I still use my KH Freeride seat with the Shadow handle? [/LIST]
  • weight weenie

    UDC stock the shim… at least we do in the UK. I am certain they do in the US, but confess being unable to find it at the moment. The alternative is to get a 27.2 seatpost from a BMX shop, it is a standard size. This being said, I am sure it will not be long before we have them in stock… it is a new products and we just forgot about this option - too much to think about. :-S

    Weight of the shadow handle quoted is for the whole lot. Both handles at full length. I know Dave Panther has posted a long review and you can see from his comments it goes a lot lighter when trimmed for riding.

    Yes the seat fits with both new and old bases. (2 lots of holes on the rear support).

    Roger

    Thanks, Roger. It looks quite nice. Now to figure how to convince my very understanding wife of my need for more uni gear!

    Oh, and Dave’s review is also a big help, thanks!

    I just got notice that apparently the Eclipse frame is NOT compatible with 2.1" freestyle tires.

    That is very disappointing. :frowning:

    @Roger: Can you comment on that? Is this a manufacturing error or an oversight in the frame specifications? Or do you not care? That would surprise me, because many freestyle riders like the larger tires.

    It blows my mind that someone would put so much effort into creating such a great freestyle unicycle, and then fail at such a basic detail. For me this renders the frame almost useless. The difference to a 1.95" tire isn’t that dramatic but certainly noticeable, and I simply hate the idea of spending money on a “downgrade”.

    The frame is designed to fitting the 1.95 tyre with a 10mm clearance, this should gives 4mm clearance with the 2.1 tyres on the same rim.

    The problem is that both the rim and the tyre batch changes the tyre width and height. The frame was tested with the Nimbus rim and Primo Wall 2.1 and it fits. What combination of tyre and rim are you having problems with?

    Roger

    Thanks for the quick reply, your answer gives me hope. :slight_smile:

    I didn’t test it personally, but Roland tried it today. I’ll ask him about the combination.

    Personally I now prefer the Gusset Pimp over the Primo. When I switched from the Primo to the Gusset I didn’t notice any change in frame clearance, so I hope the Gusset would work with the Nimbus rim as well. In my current wheelset, I have the Sun BFG rim.

    I guess measuring the size of my wheelset with enough precision to verify if it fits would be tough.

    Dished wheel strength?

    First thing to note: I’m pretty excited about the 36 Impulse!
    But I have one lingering concern, which I’ve been mulling over, and over, and over. . . and although Roger addressed my concern in the prior post, I’ve got to ask it again: Is the wheel really strong enough after you’ve dished it to make room for the disk? I know bikes do fine with rear dished wheels, but on a uni I would think there is a lot more stress on the single wheel, so my instincts are giving me some concern here. Anybody else have thoughts? Roger, perhaps more details on the extent and type of testing? :thinking:

    To follow up on my earlier post: Roland tried it with the new Nimbus wheelset and the Gusset tire (at 5.5 bar, which is a pretty reasonable value for freestyle, I usually ride at 5.0 bar).

    So it could be the difference between the Primo and Gusset tires or some variations in the frames. Maybe Roger can sheed some more light on this?

    I’ve put my purchase on hold :frowning:

    @Roger: Any updates on the tire issue? It would be really nice to know which tires the frame is compatible with.

    what are you going to be doing to this poor wheel? it’s not the dishing that will make it easier to fail as much as how big it is, lateral forces like coming down on it sideways will be problematic on the 36er, so if you do it, come down wrong on the right side! I’ve ridden tons of dished 26, 29, and 700cc wheels off road with no issues, you’ll be fine. it’s not like UDC didn’t put the thing through the wringer across three years of development. I’ve had lots of luck with Nimbus and UDC… they have my trust! if you’re worried about dish, there’s always the competing disk, but if you can get the whole package and you’re going to throw down on a new rig, it’s a no brainer.

    Let’s be realistic here; unicycle.com doesn’t exactly put things through the wringer before they release them. Ask anyone who had a T7 handle. They develop a handful of prototypes and have a handful of good riders riding them for a few months. That doesn’t tell you much about what will happen when you have 1000 production units out there being abused by the general public.

    In general, the wheel builds coming from unicycle.com are factory-quality (that is, not great), so I think there’s a legitimate concern as to the robustness of a dished 36" wheel. Dished bike rear wheels are not a good analog for dished unicycle wheels; unicycle wheels carry 100% of the rider+cycle weight, don’t have shocks to absorb impact, and are more likely to be exposed to side forces than a rear bike wheel. In addition, they’re not 36" in diameter.

    There will be more wheel tacos with this design; the only question is whether it’s 5% more or 25% more. I don’t think we’ll know that until we have a lot of experience in the field.

    Haha, well, legitimate concern or not, my paranoia is leading me to think those wacky Mountainuni guys may have the better design. :wink:

    I finally got the Eclipse.
    The frame is really nice. It’s comforatable to stand on, and the reinforced construction of the crown seems very trustworthy. It also looks great.

    Due to the clearance issue I went with the 1.95" Kenda Karumba tire. It’s to early for a verdict, but the reduction in size compared to a 2.1" tire is noticeable. I’ll probably get used to it, but I’d still prefer the bigger one. Clearance with this tire is excellent (see picture). My older frame has about the same clearance with the 2.1" Gusset Pimp, and that frame is about 5mm higher.

    The cranks look nice and beefy (my previous Japanese Al cranks were thinner and got slightly bent). They are also great to stand on. Now I’m curious how robust the wheelset will turn out.

    If no robustness issues show up over time then this is in my opinion the best freestyle unicycle on the market. The reduced weight makes it wonderful to ride. Excellent work :slight_smile:

    Btw, service from municycle.com was great as always :slight_smile:

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