i am getting a 24 inch muni soon, and want opinions on best crank lengths. i heard that 170 are good for technical trails etc, and 150mm are better for any distance riding. I will be using it for everything really, trials, muni, and riding fair distances. what do you think would be best?
spec: Nimbus 2 frame
bicycle euro cranks
suze hub
24 inch sun ryhno lite (roger, i will be mailing u soon about this)
Kris hilm velo seat (roger, what seatpost will i need to buy with this, as i notice on ur site (uk) that it doesnt come with one)
24x3 nokian gaxxalodi
nokian inner tube
cheap pedals i already have (to be upgraded)
Nimbus II’s a nice frame. The Velo seat fits the ordinary Viscount seatpost. The seat is deeper, so you may need to trim the post a lttle at the bottom.
As for crank size… (here I go again!:o ) you’ll find loads of discussion on this if you look back even over the last few days on the forum.
A 24 will go up most things and down most things with 150s. With 125s, it will be a bit faster, but still very capable. With 110s, it will be even faster, but its hill climbing ability will start to suffer. With 102s, it will go like poo off a spade (I get 14mph top speed, and can average on the flat 9mph +) and will present interesting challenges on hills.
Of course, if you have a fat tyre, the effective diameter of the wheel will be a bit more than 24 inches. Should make only minimal difference to the ‘gearing’.
I say go for 150s (then save for a pair of 110s ;0) ). If your Muni riding is going to involve broken ground rather than long trips up and down big hills, 125s might be a sensible all round option.
I would strongly advise against buying 170s for general use. The extra control on descents will be at an enormous cost in comfort and speed on the flat.
I’m running almost the same thing as you except I have an Intense 24by3 DH. Your crank length really depends on your fitness level, your height, terrain, and tire width (A fatter tire such as your gazz will take more power to push). For example, a five foot-2 rider with bad knees would want some 150s. This would be fine as long as all they do is trials and light MUni. I myself went with a compromise and got some 160mm cranks because being short, the swing on the 170s would be too much and the torque from the 150s would be inadaquate for the steep hills I ride. But of course if you intend to toodle around town with a hundred dollar wheel built to land drops taller than you go with some 127mm cranks. I must give my opinion on this though: To buy two different sets of high quality cranks to experiment with for all purpose use is kind of a waste. You could just buy a cheap torker 24inch for the price of the second pair of cranks (if their kookas). So, From expeirence with only having one unicycle for a very long time, I say that if you satisfy the requirements for MUni you’ll fail the street standards you set.
Everyone has their preferences though, so just try things out and see what works best.
I’ll hopefully have my custom unicycle all done in a few weeks so I’ll tell you about my 150mm cranks then unless it’s too late by then. I’ll tell you anyway.
It’s great for off road because of the thick side walls. I do run a Rhyno Lite rim though, so the tire’s a bit thin. Still much better than my old 2.1. I ride terrain I’d never even been able to touch earlier. It is a bit heavy for trials though. I still only try to hop logs so for me it doesn’t matter. Also very bouncy (coming from someone who used to use a 20 by 2.1). It’s not an all around tire but it’ll ride anything I try (save for the many trys on the 65 degree loose rock uphill attempts). I have to say that it was the only 3.0 tire that I could find in the city too. I didn’t want to mail order the gazz because I wouldn’t know what it was exactly.
Overall: Not a trials tire but can’t be beat for pure MUni.
One final thing: the azonic fusion magnesium pedals are extreemly light from what I’ve heard and pretty cheap ($35) for sealed bearings with tall, removeable pins too. I’m upgrading my alloy trash to those soon.
A 24x3 tire is not great for distance riding, especially on pavement. It’s kind of a waste of the tire, as the knobbies will wear fast if you’re on pavement.
My recommendation is to have a separate cycle for the distance rides, unless they are to get you to where the fun is. If this is the case, use long cranks to enhance the “fun.” That’s what a cycle with 24x3 tire is for.
My new Wilder is supposed to come with 160s. This is based on my long experience with 150s and desire for more leverage. I have also ridden with 170s but am looking for somewhat of a compromise.
I would not put anything shorter than 150s on that unicycle, as it will render it semi-useless on steep stuff. Sure you can reach higher speeds with real short cranks, and you can also put a Ferrari engine into a Jeep. It’s just a question of what you want your Jeep to do.
Aargh! What with all your short-cranks talk I keep having this un-nerving urge to try my 125s on the 24" to see what it’s like. Stop it, man!
How expensive are “high quality cranks” for a non-splined hub? Mine are Bicycle Euros at a tenner a pair; I bought some 170mms just to see what they were like, and as backups in case I somehow break the current ones…
With the exception of the Coker, each of my unicycles cost only slightly more than some people spend on the wheel alone, or even the pedals alone. I recommend to anyone to get a cheapish but reasonable 24 (e.g. the Nimbus) and wallop a pair of super short cranks and a cheapish knobbly tyre on it. OK, so it won’t bounce and gap and drop or do ‘serious Muni’, but it’s fast and fun in an absurd sort of way.
It’ll surprise slow bicyclists, it’ll zoom over short patches of rough ground; it’ll spin your legs off on short steep drops; it’s not far to fall; and it can take you by surprise if you take it for granted when stopping or idling. All round good fun.
>I will be using it for everything
>really, trials, muni, and riding fair distances. what do you think would
>be best?
I think you’re asking too much, one crank size for that range of use.
170 would be best for MUni, or 150 depending on terrain (or who you
talk to). Distance: 125 max, 110 or smaller is better but requires
getting used to. Trials optimum crank length I cannot advise but I
think is in between. However, cranks are not that expensive, why not
buy several sets (unless you end up swapping every day). If you still
insist on having just one size, 140 mm might be your best compromise.
Nice specs BTW, particularly for MUni. With the 24 x 3 Gazz not very
suited for distance whatever the crank size, and I guess not optimal
for trials either (heavy).
Klaas Bil
All my posts are made with 100% recycled electrons.
