Wilder Cycles annoucement

General
1

Greetings! We’re introducing two new off-road unicycles today. This
announcement is part of a press release. To view the new Wilder
Cycles, visit:

http://www.unicyclesource.com/Wilder_Cycles_(2_models)109335.html

Please email us if you have any quesitons.

Best regards, John Drummond www.Unicycle.com 1-800-Unicycle

The Unicycle.com team is delighted to announce the all-new MUni 6160
from Wilder Cycles. It features the first commercially-produced,
all-aluminum frame designed specifically for mountain unicycling.
Finding the cycling pinnacle of low weight and high tensile strength has
been foremost in our minds beginning in Winter of 1999. Most of you are
familiar with 4130 chromium-molybdenum steel alloy, widely available and
low in price. It’s been a favorite for frame builders. But at 495 pounds
per cubic foot, it’s heavy. Titanium is a popular choice because of its
superior strength and lightweight (218 pounds per cubic foot), but the
cost is approximately five times that of 4130 chromoly steel.

6061 heat-treated aluminum, the lightest of these metals at 166 pounds
per cubic foot, offers strength and economy. Embraced by bicyclists
because of its lightweight properties, aluminum has become a standard in
high-end frames. For extra strength, frame manufacturers typically use a
larger diameter tubing with thicker metal, nearly equaling the strength
of 4130 chromoly steel. This serves bicyclists well, but the extra width
would only hinder the mountain unicyclist. Maintaining the strength with
a more narrow profile was the challenge. This called for a bold, new
approach to frame building. A revolutionary frame was needed that was
functional as well as striking to the eye.

This was a major topic of discussion during our many talks with fellow
MUni rider Scott Bridgman. A professional fabricator with an expansive
machine shop, Scott began experimenting with aluminum alloys. Using
cantilever principles, he cut components to form a hollow, radial crown
with tapered, hollow forks. Aluminum solder with identical properties
was used to ensure the metals were compatible. The main-cap style
bearing holders were machined from solid aluminum blocks. The result is
the 6160 Lightrider series, a super-lightweight, highly durable,
state-of-the-art frame. Scott also produced a heat-treated hub assembly
that has exceeded our expectations.

Tested on rocky mountain ranges from coast to coast, the 6160 has set a
new standard for unicycle frames. The complete cycle, with a 24 x 3.0
knobby tire, weighs just 13 pounds. Uphill rides are not so intimidating
anymore!

Frame specifications:

Material: 6061 heat-treated all aluminum

Construction: Heliarc-welded hollow tube

Weight: 1.44 pounds

Finish: UV-stabilized mylar powder coating

Seat tube: 127-mm (5.0-inches), 25.4-mm (1-inch) nominal ID, 29.7-mm
(1.17-inches)

nominal OD

Bearing holders: Machined main-cap style, for 6003 (17- x 35-mm)
bearings

Bearing caps: Machined, attached with SS socket screws

Radial clearance: 13.5-inch usable from axle center

Max Tire Width: 3.0-inch

2

RE: Wilder Cycles annoucement

So who’s had a go of one so far and what do they reckon? Sounds like a
dream machine :slight_smile:

Neil

3

RE: Wilder Cycles annoucement

Wow!

Drool…

The bar has just been raised again. A $1299.00 unicycle! Thanks to
Unicycle.com, unicyclists now have a wider selection of unicycles
available than even I would have imagined a year ago. Way to go Drummonds!

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com

“I’m gonna wash that man right out of my sheets…” – sung by a female
friend, doing laundry after breaking up with a short-term boyfriend

4

> So who’s had a go of one so far and what do they reckon? Sounds like a
> dream machine

I should have mentioned this in my previous post. Though I have not seen
the new Wilders in person, they are based on the frames developed by
Muniac Scott Bridgeman (www.muniac.com/emuni.htm). He brought his
aluminum-framed cycle to MUni Weekend last fall, and I was very impressed.
In the photos I’d seen it looked heavy and clunky. But to hold it in my
hands two things were immediately obvious. The frame was both very light,
and very stiff!

Thus, you get the light weight and responsiveness of a Miyata frame, but
with a strength to hold up to the rigors of the trails (and Trials), and a
width to fit the big 3" Gazz.

I can’t wait till one of my friends gets one so I can try it out… :slight_smile:

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com www.unicycling.com

“I’m gonna wash that man right out of my sheets…” – sung by a female
friend, doing laundry after breaking up with a short-term boyfriend

5

Very impressive design indeed. This just might fit all my needs, I love
to jump and jump high so this might just be the one. Its listed as 13
pounds but can someone tell me what a DM Vortex weighs (and a Hunter
model) for comparison with mostly the same components (3" gaz, sun DW,
Splined hub, etc).

Also, does this Wilder Cycle have bolt slots for mounting a brake, I
think that would make this the ultimate uni and if I buy one, that is the
first thing I would like to add. An option for the wilder cycle seat
post attachment on a suspension seat would be wicked complete with a brake
on this muni.

And John your right, the new unicycles out are most impressive and thats
the reason I’ve never bought a great one, they have only been available in
the last year or so and I think we can all see it improving drastically!
Awesome to see… And it is finally time to go all out…

Mike

----- Original Message ----- From: “John Foss” <john_foss@asinet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.sport.unicycling Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2001 1:23 PM
Subject: RE: Wilder Cycles annoucement

> > So who’s had a go of one so far and what do they reckon? Sounds like a
> > dream machine
>
> I should have mentioned this in my previous post. Though I have not =
seen the
> new Wilders in person, they are based on the frames developed by =
Muniac
> Scott Bridgeman (www.muniac.com/emuni.htm). He brought his =
aluminum-framed
> cycle to MUni Weekend last fall, and I was very impressed. In the =
photos I’d
> seen it looked heavy and clunky. But to hold it in my hands two things
were
> immediately obvious. The frame was both very light, and very stiff!
>
> Thus, you get the light weight and responsiveness of a Miyata frame, =
but
> with a strength to hold up to the rigors of the trails (and Trials), =
and a
> width to fit the big 3" Gazz.
>
> I can’t wait till one of my friends gets one so I can try it out… =
:slight_smile:
>
> John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com www.unicycling.com
>
> “I’m gonna wash that man right out of my sheets…” – sung by a =
female
> friend, doing laundry after breaking up with a short-term boyfriend

6

will the wilder cycle be availale as a frame only?

Peter

7

Yeah… my Schwinn has been good to me… I basically learned to ride on
it, and now only use it for things I’d be afraid of breaking my good uni
on. I was just thinking about going for a whole new uni… but if I could
get some more life out of the Schwinn frame, I’d consider replacing the
wheel. Does anyone know what the largest (and fattest) tire a 24" schwinn
frame can fit?

jl

— John Hooten <jhooten@rcsis.com>
> wrote: It’s too bad about the S-7 rim. Your tire options are definetly
> limited. Replacements for cottered cranks are pretty limited as well. I
> replaced my old Schwinn S-7 rim and cottered crank hub with a Montey
> wheel setup.
>
>A 24 X 3 tire won’t fit in a Pashley frame. For that matter a 26 X 2.65
>Gazzolodi just barely fits. The wider tires definitely lets you ride
>through more difficult terrain, but they had not yet been used when the
>Pashley Muni came out. That’s one of the Pashley’s biggest drawbacks. If
>you want to keep open the option of a really wide tire you will need a
>different frame. Doing it for under $500 could be a challenge. I think a
>24 X 3 tire would fit in a 26" Semcycle Deluxe frame. It may even fit in
>a 26" United frame. At Muni weekend Chris Reeder was riding a machine
>with a Profile hub on what looked like a United frame with upgraded
>bearing mounts welded on. You could investigate this or builing (or
>having built) your own frame.
>
>Good Luck,
>
>John Hooten
>
>Jeff Lutkus wrote:
>
>> I tend to think upgrading my Schwinn would not necessarily be worth
>> it… I’ve got a 20+ year old 24" I found on e-bay… The S-7 rim will
>> not let me simply replace the tire… realistically, I’d end up getting
>> a whole new wheel.
>>
>> So, if I’m going for a totally new uni, I’d probably want to go for one
>> that I can easily upgrade the tire, or even wheel.
>>
>> Can I realistically compare a 24x3 tire to a 26x2.6, or does the change
>> in diameter make this totally different? If I were to go with the
>> pashley, would I be disappointed later on if I wanted to upgrade to a
>> wider tire?
>>
>> Too bad I can’t just go to my local cycle shop and try a few out.
>>
>> good day,
>>
>> jeff lutkus
>>
>> — John Hooten <jhooten@rcsis.com>
>>
>> > wrote:
>>
>> >Jeff,
>>
>> >
>>
>> >The least expensive starting point would be to get a Kenda 24 X 2.6
>> >tire for your Schwinn. It is fairly fat and inexpensive. You can get
>> >one from Unicyclesource. This option has a quite a few disadvantages,
>> >but it will get you started while you decide where you would like to
>> >go with this.
>>
>> >
>>
>> >I would like to remind you that the most important thing is the rider.
>> >The best unicycle in the world won’t make me Kris Holm; and Kris could
>> >ride circles around most riders on a 24" Schwinn with a Kenda tire
>> >(not that he would ride one). In UNiVERsE it sure looks like Dan
>> >Heaton is riding a plain, old, heavy Pashley Muni on the North Shore,
>> >and riding it quite well. That
>>
>> >said, a good machine will help you to become a better rider. And, I
>> >agree with Chris Reeder that the important thing is the wheel. The
>> >Power Pashley from Unicyclesource
>>
>> >http://www.unicyclesource.com/Pashley_Cycles_of_England_(4_models)213-
>> >23.html
>>
>> >comes with a Kovachi wheel with a Suzue Hub and a Sun Mammoth 26 x 2.0
>> >double-walled alloy rim. At $390 it isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s a
>> >pretty good machine.
>>
>> >
>>
>> >John Hooten
>>
>> >
>>
>> >P.S. I don’t work for Unicycle source, or profit in any way from any
>> > sales made by the Unicyclesource.
>>
>> >JH
>>
>> >
>>
>> >Jeff Lutkus wrote:
>>
>> >
>>
>> >> All right, spring is approaching, I know it. (It barely even snowed
>> >> yesterday here in Rochester.)
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >> I know I’m going to be wanting to find some trails to ride on again
>> >> soon. Last year, I played in the woods on my 24" schwinn. That was
>> >> fun, but I think I could go for something a little better now… so,
>> >> what have people to say about the choices?
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >> Based on my experience, I definintely need a 24" or larger wheel to
>> >> be happy. Everyone talks about the fat tires these days. How fat
>> >> should I go?
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >> Being that I have little experience in muni riding now, would it be
>> >> reasonable for me to get something with a decent frame, but less
>> >> expensive wheel, then later upgrading the wheel once I realize what
>> >> I’ve been missing? (I might be able to justify spending something in
>> >> the $500 range, but it’ll be a while before I can rationalize
>> >> spending over a grand on a single unicycle)
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >> Oh yes, looking at Wilder, can people tell me, are there advantages
>> >> to Aluminum besides weight?
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >> thanks,
>>
>> >> jeff lutkus
>>
>> >>
>>
>> >> _____________________________________________________________
>>
>> >> Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________
>> Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com

Free e-Mail and Webspace - http://Unicyclist.com

8

My DM Vortex with a 26x3 wheel weighs in a couple ounces shy of 17.5
pounds. This is without the brake mounted. I also have a Wilder seat rail
mount on the uni which adds some additional weight compared to a plain
Miyata seat. I’m also using a rather heavy Intense tube.

These weights are in roundish numbers. I’m not a gram counter so I
haven’t weighed it exactly or taken the thing apart to weight each
individual piece.

A DM Vortex with a 24x3 wheel would probably weigh about 0.75 pounds
less (again round numbers) due to the smaller rim, smaller tire, smaller
tube. If the 24x3 Vortex uses a shorter frame that would save some
additional weight.

The heavy part of the Vortex is the hub and cranks. Both the DM hub and
the Profile hub are around 3 pounds (hub and cranks). I haven’t weighed
either the DM hub or the Profile hub, but I’m guessing that they are about
equal in weight.

The high end Lightrider has a heat treated hub with the Black Widow Euro
cranks. That makes for a significant weight savings over the DM hub or
Profile hub. A heat treated hub is very cool and much lighter but not
indestructible. A heat treated hub will eventually fail if you jump big
and do big drops. A DM hub or Profile hub is as close to indestructible as
you can get but you pay for that indestructibility with the extra weight.

Anyone have any ideas how strong that heat treated hub is and how much
abuse you can expect to get out of it before it fails?

I’m hoping that the heat treated hub will be sold by itself so it could be
put in a Monty wheel. That would make for a killer Monty uni.

john_childs

>From: “Mike” <king@enel.ucalgary.ca> Very impressive design indeed. This
>just might fit all my needs, I love to jump and jump high so this might
>just be the one. Its listed as 13 pounds but can someone tell me what a
>DM Vortex weighs (and a Hunter model) for comparison with mostly the same
>components (3" gaz, sun DW, Splined hub, etc).
>
>Also, does this Wilder Cycle have bolt slots for mounting a brake, I
>think that would make this the ultimate uni and if I buy one, that is the
>first thing I would like to add. An option for the wilder cycle seat post
>attachment on a suspension seat would be wicked complete with a brake on
>this muni.
>
>And John your right, the new unicycles out are most impressive and thats
>the reason I’ve never bought a great one, they have only been available
>in the last year or so and I think we can all see it improving
>drastically!
>
>Awesome to see… And it is finally time to go all out…
>
>
>Mike

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

9

My DM Vortex with a 26x3 wheel weighs in a couple ounces shy of 17.5
pounds. This is without the brake mounted. I also have a Wilder seat rail
mount on the uni which adds some additional weight compared to a plain
Miyata seat. I’m also using a rather heavy Intense tube.

These weights are in roundish numbers. I’m not a gram counter so I
haven’t weighed it exactly or taken the thing apart to weight each
individual piece.

A DM Vortex with a 24x3 wheel would probably weigh about 0.75 pounds
less (again round numbers) due to the smaller rim, smaller tire, smaller
tube. If the 24x3 Vortex uses a shorter frame that would save some
additional weight.

The heavy part of the Vortex is the hub and cranks. Both the DM hub and
the Profile hub are around 3 pounds (hub and cranks). I haven’t weighed
either the DM hub or the Profile hub, but I’m guessing that they are about
equal in weight.

The high end Lightrider has a heat treated hub with the Black Widow Euro
cranks. That makes for a significant weight savings over the DM hub or
Profile hub. A heat treated hub is very cool and much lighter but not
indestructible. A heat treated hub will eventually fail if you jump big
and do big drops. A DM hub or Profile hub is as close to indestructible as
you can get but you pay for that indestructibility with the extra weight.

Anyone have any ideas how strong that heat treated hub is and how much
abuse you can expect to get out of it before it fails?

I’m hoping that the heat treated hub will be sold by itself so it could be
put in a Monty wheel. That would make for a killer Monty uni.

john_childs

>From: “Mike” <king@enel.ucalgary.ca> Very impressive design indeed. This
>just might fit all my needs, I love to jump and jump high so this might
>just be the one. Its listed as 13 pounds but can someone tell me what a
>DM Vortex weighs (and a Hunter model) for comparison with mostly the same
>components (3" gaz, sun DW, Splined hub, etc).
>
>Also, does this Wilder Cycle have bolt slots for mounting a brake, I
>think that would make this the ultimate uni and if I buy one, that is the
>first thing I would like to add. An option for the wilder cycle seat post
>attachment on a suspension seat would be wicked complete with a brake on
>this muni.
>
>And John your right, the new unicycles out are most impressive and thats
>the reason I’ve never bought a great one, they have only been available
>in the last year or so and I think we can all see it improving
>drastically!
>
>Awesome to see… And it is finally time to go all out…
>
>
>Mike

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

10

Thanks for the info on the weights. I guess now its a choice of
lightweight so that one can jump up higher or indestructability so one can
drop down farther. Most trials stuff I do, I already often have to drop
around 3 feet when I can’t stay on whatever I’m riding successfully. My
problem is that I never quit and I still always ride these drops out, but
it doesn’t do my current weak cranks any good (I’m surprised my miyata
deluxe hub is actually still holding out).

I really want to do some more EXTREME videos and then maybe the
indestructability of the DM vortex will let me go just that little bit
farther… After all, a buddy of mine who is an incredible trials mountain
biker, he swears that the profile hub and cranks are the only option to
have, with the weight to strength issues being no concern, the stronger
the better. I guess I tend to agree, maybe even moreso for muni trials…

Thanks for the comments on this and the other wheels everyone has
had… Mike

“John Childs” <john_childs@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:F53Hg4UeaCYPct1PumS00008c17@hotmail.com…
> My DM Vortex with a 26x3 wheel weighs in a couple ounces shy of 17.5
pounds.
> This is without the brake mounted. I also have a Wilder seat rail
> mount on the uni which adds some additional weight compared to a plain
> Miyata seat. I’m also using a rather heavy Intense tube.
>
> A DM Vortex with a 24x3 wheel would probably weigh about 0.75 pounds
> less (again round numbers) due to the smaller rim, smaller tire, smaller
> tube. If the 24x3 Vortex uses a shorter frame that would save some
> additional weight.
>
> The high end Lightrider has a heat treated hub with the Black Widow Euro
> cranks. That makes for a significant weight savings over the DM hub or
> Profile hub. A heat treated hub is very cool and much lighter but not
> indestructible. A heat treated hub will eventually fail if you jump big
and
> do big drops. A DM hub or Profile hub is as close to indestructible as
you
> can get but you pay for that indestructibility with the extra weight.
>
> Anyone have any ideas how strong that heat treated hub is and how much
abuse
> you can expect to get out of it before it fails?