What 36er to get ?

hi, After riding my 26 inch nimbus muni on the cycle paths a lot, im thinking about a 36!. What is my best option ? Living in Canada, i can get the Oracle 36 or KH 36 from municycle.ca
or i can get a 36 Qu-ax in montreal not too far. I would like to do some unpaved paths with it also.

Quax is 860, oracle is 950, and KH is 1060.

Im unsure about the king george tire and q-axle hub on the qu-ax. Seems to have a double hole crank so thats good also

how is the Nimbus gel saddle compare to a kh fusion one ? Do i really need a T-bar with the fusion or is the saddle handle good enough to start with ? Im riding on a nimbus stadium right now, its good but on long ride the sides are rubbing, the profile is verry square

right now im thinking the Oracle looks better than the KH, but part wise the KH might be a lot better for 110$ more. Im waiting for the exact part list of the qu-ax, theres not much info from the shop website

what are your though ?

Traditionally, everyone will recommend what they decided to buy or what they’re dreaming of buying.

You can’t go wrong with any of them. Focus on the frame and wheel. Everything else can be swapped easily.

I have owned a Coker Big 1, a Nimbus, and now a KH36.

I have had roughly the same amount of fun on each of them, but in different ways. I have found the KH frame to be the stiffest of the three. I found the TA tyre too heavy for my taste.

My current set up is a KH36 with a Foss tube and a KH T handle. It has twin-hole cranks but to be honest, I keep them on the same setting (150) almost all the time. This set up is good for a wide range of riding on and off road.

Whatever you buy, you will (a) enjoy it and (b) modify it. :smiley:

Thx Mikefule

I’m waiting for Municycle.ca to get their 2018 stock in so I can buy my new KH36 with my roof snow shovelling money.

I’m a fan of the Fusion Freeride.
I tried the Zero when it came with my KH29 but that didn’t last.
Now I’ll try the One on the new KH36 to give it a shot.

Of course you can do anything without the bars but I think they’re warranted for complete control.

I have both the 29" Oracle and a KH29. The Oracle is nice but the KH is nicer.
It’s why I’m buying KH.

So now to to tease you… I’ll be selling my 29" Oracle with disc and muni bar for $500 once my 36er arrives.

I’d get the KH

…but I agree with Mikefule. They are all good.

Also, good plan going straight for the 36! You won’t regret it. I went from a 24 to a 36 with no issues. Sometimes people talk about it being intimidating to jump straight to a 36er from a smaller wheel. Incrementally going up in wheel size is totally not necessary. If you want to comfortably do some distance, you’ll end up on a 36 eventually.

Here’s a game for you :
If they were all the same price, which one would you choose?

In a few years, it won’t matter what you paid for it; the variation in price is pretty small anyway. You’ll look back and (without having had the experience of setting up either of the other ones), you’ll have developed a strong attachment to the one you chose after dialling it in with seat type/crank length/bars etc, most of which are personal preference.

Plan to get a bar eventually though. I’d frankly rather have bars than a brake on a 36 unless crazy hills are involved (but obviously the Third Way* is better still :D).

*both

First, let me echo the others who said you can’t go wrong with any of them.

But for what it’s worth, here’s my experience:

My first 36er was a Coker I purchased in 2012, which I put 3,288 miles on. By 2015, spokes snapping became a regular occurrence and I was disgusted with Coker’s lack of replacement parts and hit-or-miss customer service, so in June 2015 I purchased a KH 36er, which I have since put 4,190 miles on. I kept the Coker to use as a second unicycle in bad weather in the winter, so I wouldn’t have to worry about road salt damage to my KH. But the spoke snapping continued (despite several trips to the bike shop), and eventually I gave up trying to keep in in the fleet.

This winter I bought a Nimbus Stealth at unicycle.com for $600 (using a gift certificate dropped the price for me even more). Sure, it’s not the top-of-the-line model, and I was planning on using it solely for bad winter weather, but damn it’s fun to ride. And I was pleasantly surprised at how great the Nimbus Stadium saddle feels.

As far as the T-bar goes, I’d recommend waiting a few months until you’re used to the 36er. For me, there were a lot more UPDs when first getting used to the big wheel so you’ll probably avoid a few unnecessary scratches on the T-bar during your learning curve if you wait.

Finally, don’t underestimate aesthetic appeal. If price is no object, just go with the one that you think looks the best.

The nimbus stealth would be my choice! But it’s not on municycle Canada sadly.
Lots of good information on this forum :slight_smile:

I recently got a new 36er and went with the Nimbus over the KH mainly because the brake disk is on the inside of the frame and less prone to damage or interference. In the US now the Oracle does not have a welded on brake bracket (yet) so went with the Stealth because it did. They did say at the time that they had 8 of the old style bearing cap brake bracket style frames to sell before they could sell the newer style welded on brake bracket frames. Another reason I went with the Nimbus is because it has a 25.4 mm seat posted and my on hand seat posts would fit it.

In Canada now it looks like the available Nimbus has a bearing cap brake bracket. I believe that is a poor design and that may be a reason to go with the KH.

The Stealth was on sale but has an aluminum axle and hub. I wanted the steel axle and hub so I did change it to steel when I got it.

Jim

Is that nimbus impulse wide hub aluminium ? There is not much info about it. I will contact them about the real parts on the Oracle. When I got my nimbus 26 muni the parts were not exactly as described. Different saddle and a disc hub. Good things actually. I have a D.brake on mine right now but just installed the brake. Seems to be fine I don’t know about the long run. Any benifits to those D. Brake ?

A custom build is out of the question there is no stock anywhere

I don’t know about the nimbus impulse wide hub. The Canada UDC site does not do a very good job of describing there parts and USA UDC does not carry one like that. A guess would be steel axle and aluminum brake and spoke flanges.
I don’t believe there are any advantages to the D.Brake bracket other then it allows disk brakes to be installed on frames without a welded on caliper mount. The whole thing is kind of an after thought and the bolts holding D.Brake bracket to the frame can not be tightened too tight because the bearing will defect and start to drag. Some folks do add a separate support brace to help hold the caliper steady.

Before Nimbus introduced the dBrake they used to sell Nightrider (aka Impulse) and Oregon frames with welded caliper mounts. Then when they introduced the Oracle line they switched from welded mounts to dBrakes. I’m not sure of the reason; it may have been production tolerances available to them at the time.

The skinny tubing on those older frames can cause enough flex for the brake to rub occasionally (can confirm, I have a Nightrider with a welded mount) but it’s still a better solution than the dBrake IMO. Once they moved to the Oracle frame the flex should have been much less of an issue anyway, so who knows.

One advantage of the dBrake becomes apparent if you’re packing your uni in a bag for travel. It makes it easy to remove the whole brake system (caliper, line and lever) and pack it securely, rather than leaving the caliper exposed to damage once the wheel is removed.

On balance I agree that a welded mount is superior.

When the Impulse (Nightrider 36er with a disc brake) was introduced it had an aluminium hub. Many people who bought one switched it to an oregon hub (identical sizing but made from steel) for extra durability.

The qu/ax frame will flex under max torque and touch the caliper mount bolt on the rotor there is only about 1 mm clearance but only happens occasionally, if you can wait for a udc sale you will save $ on a nimbus.

KH best quality

I just got a 36 a month ago and I have to tell you that the thing is a hoot, much more fun than I thought it would be. Against my better judgement I bought the nimbus stealth. I just didn’t want another blue uni. I’m fine w the decision but I realize the KH is superior: better frame (stronger, lighter), better brake system (the outboard disk makes a better stronger wheel), better seat (fusion one, not the zero), and better cranks (lighter, stronger, and I like the +q factor).

I got the stealth because my stable is already full of KH unis. Not a great reason but there you go–I don’t like sameness. It’s still a good uni, tho. But I think the KH stuff is superior, esp the brake setup. I can get the disk to rub on the stealth when reefing on the cranks, too; not sure if the KH disk can be made to drag w torque but it hasn’t happened with my KH24 w outboard disk.

Definitely in my case.

I was hoping to avoid another blue uni when I was looking for my 36 but I was getting close to giving in and buying new KH after two years checking pretty much every day on eBay and Gumtree.

Then one day, there it is, a Triton 36 in all its Titanium glory, with a carbon fibre saddle base, two sets of Spirit dual hole cranks (125/150 & 137/165), two disks, two pairs of Shimano Saint pedals, a T bar plus an extra KH 29 inch wheel.

I had to replace the seat post which was too short for me. I have just built a Stealth2/Nimbus hub wheel after the new Nightrider Lite blew off the old Stealth rim. (The Stealth2 has a far superior retaining lip.)

The Triton frame is as rigid as it gets. They do have a big crown which I got used to touching with my knees occasionally. There is no finish like Titanium. It looks like a precious metal.

Carbon fibre bases are great. No need for the stiffening plate with the Tbar.

All up it weighs 7.4 kg.

The top speed of a 36 is awesome but after several months on my 36 I realised I was slogging it. Lower cadence on longer cranks. Where I ride mostly on footpaths it wasn’t that much faster than my 29 because I couldn’t get up some of the hills. Bending flat to get under overhanging trees also slowed me down.

I started hankering for a small light wheel for a change and to get back into high cadence. So my favourite ride at the moment is my 26 with a Maxxis DTH foldable bead tyre and 114 Venture cranks. It only weighs 5 kg and feels like the uni equivalent of a sports car.

Variety is good.

Approaching your spin limit on the 36er courts heavy consequences for sure. Knock on wood!

You can probably exceed run-out speed on your uni-ferrari too but the consequences won’t be so extreme so there’s wisdom in that. Maybe I’ll put a slick and shorties on the 29r…

Is a king George a good tire ? Considering how often I will ride the tire might last a lifetime. I can get a great price on the qu-ax and that’s the tire on it. :wink:

I’ve never ridden a King George, only an original Nightrider. Having read all the comments recently about the new lighter Nightrider, I wouldn’t consider buying a new 36er with anything else. Have a look at this thread.

UDC UK lists the Nightrider Lite as being cheaper than the King George too?!? Shame it isn’t in stock, and shame it might not be the best fit for my older Stealth rim.

That said; there are relatively few options and they are all pretty good. The King George isn’t the newest, lightest or most popular despite apparently being the most expensive.

The King George runs quite and smooth and will last a long time would I pay more than a night rider no , I am unsure of the new light version as I love the big heavy wheel feel on the flat sections but understand the benefits.