Unicycle.com now has Coker cycles!!

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Dear fellow unicyclists:

This is an exciting announcement for us. We are adding two new Coker unicycles to our product line: the redesigned The Big One® unicycle, and the all-new V2® model, both featuring a 36-inch wheel and incorporating much of the latest technology available.
We became a dealer for Coker Classic Cycles back in 1999, when we first launched Unicycle.com. Their flagship unicycle, The Big One 36-inch model, was an instant hit. It became a commuter vehicle for workers, a fitness vehicle for the health-conscious, and a distance vehicle for those who literally wanted to see the world. Riders formed groups to go on “Coker rides” on this and many other continents.
The original Coker cycles were completely manufactured in Taiwan. Coker has moved much of the manufacturing and assembly in-house, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They even have a new custom packing system that ensures a smooth and safe delivery process.
Coker Tire Company has become the world’s largest supplier of classic and collector car tires. We’re honored to represent Coker Cycle Company. Corky Coker, president, took a personal interest in this unicycle project and brought a team to our facilities, to ask for input. What they’ve developed has far exceeded our expectations. For more information, read Corky Coker’s blog on the Coker Cycles division:
http://blog.coker.com/index.php/2008/01/11/to-coker-is-a-verb-with-one-wheel-and-tire-on-it/#more-151
For more information, visit the links below or call us.
Happy trails,

John & Amy Drummond


1-800-Unicycle
2

ok… ya… this is good news…
but why…WHY AFTER I bought the big one from Coker direct is this happening? I much prefer to have ordered it through my bike shop from UDC. ah, the agony. I’m so &$%*%$ I can’t even see.

Well, alright… I can see but it’s blurry. :stuck_out_tongue:

3

I know if I ever end up buying a Coker, it’s going to be through a Unicycle.com dealer in my area.

4

Will YOU sell parts? I just want the aluminum frame, but Coker wont sell parts separately.

6

Okay, stupid question here. It looks like unicycles.com sells direct and sell sthrough dealers. Is there an advantage one way or the other? Is there no shipping when sold through a dealer (would be $35 tax or so, tho!). Do dealers stock ALL this stuff? Just wondering.

7

There is no shipping when going through a dealer but tax of course. The plus for me is the service I can get through the dealer that I can’t get when I order direct. During the warranty period especially this is so helpful.

As far as stocking up, it depends on what it is and who the dealer is, I’m sure.

8

Hey you!

Start selling Koxx-One and Monty Eagle Claws.

Also, if you had a section for the new things you put up you’d sell more.
I didn’t even know you guys had the hoppley until a few days before it sold out.

9

K1 only sells through specific distributors, and as far as I know only has one per country. I remember there being mention of someone trying to get K1 parts and they couldn’t because there was already a distributor.

My guess is Monty does the same because their stuff is equaly as rare.

They do have a place for new stuff, its right on the front page, its just not that visible.

10

This is good and bad

I’m not trying to bash coker.

Thus far coker has wained in and out of unicycles as a business focus.
This has lead to other competition filling the void.

From a customer perspective there has been a long period between the anouncement of a new coker and the actual delivery.

Since UDC is actually reselling them, then UDC will be subjected to the same problems that we customers are faced with, that is the waining of coker business focus. They tend to focus on Tires not unicycles.

It is my hope things work out between UDC and Coker, but to be honest I’d expect that the coker unicycle product is just a part time hobby to them and not a business focus. Also the coker product lacking in the dealer support arena and customer support arena.

Good luck with this Amy, this is good news for the unicycle community. I hope Coker is willing to provide the long term commitment to UDC!

11

Which Coker wasn’t crazy about, of course, but was a good thing for riders as it left us with more choices.

Not much different than announcement-to-delivery times for other unicycles using specialized parts made in Asia, as there are long lag times between working prototype and final production version, and shipping of actual product. Also it was a pretty long wait for the KH/Schlumpf hub. Product development takes a while. The danger is being too optimistic when estimating ship dates, because many things can happen to cause delays. If there’s a problem in production, new parts might have to be ordered and the process may have to repeat (order, manufacture, ship across the Pacific, package, ship to customers).

I expect that to be about the same as before, where batches of product would be produced, then run out, with gaps of unavailability while waiting for the next batch. This seems to happen with most of the higher-end/higher-priced unicycles. As for waning of focus, this is no different than for any other company. How many of us wish we could still buy stuff from George Barnes, Paul Wyganowski, Chris Reeder, Telford or Scott Bridgeman? How many of us have great unicycles from David Mariner or others who don’t do it anymore? The choice of the maker whether or not to keep making is up to the maker.

Back in the “bad old days” (the 80s and 90s) there was usually a 6-month gap between wanting a new Miyata seat, or whole unicycle, and being able to have one. Usually they only shipped one container of unicycle stuff a year to the US, regardless of demand. Sometimes the years’ supply of seats, which were the best available before KH, would sell out almost immediately. You kids today don’t know how easy you’ve got it! :slight_smile:

Coker had a “gap” in the life of their unicycles while they decided whether to keep producing them or design something new, and later working on the design and going through changes at the company during this process.

As for stocking parts like frames, I imagine UDC will eventually get them though for a while there may not be any in existence; they may all be earmarked as part of whole unicycles. So it may take a while before frames can be ordered, but of course check with UDC on that.

I’m sure the UDC will make a great distributor for the Cokers, just as they did before, bringing their unicycling expertise, knowledge of the market and their ability to combine parts to give customers even more choices of what to ride.

12

HUGE +1!