Although I’m not experienced enough to ride a coker, I have the funds right now to buy one. So with that in mind, I am ordering my coker
I don’t know when I will be able to do so again.
The following is what I am planning on ordering from unicycle.com. I am asking to find out if this is the right way to go. I don’t want the less-expensive one.
I don’t know a thing about crank size or even knowing what size I can use. I am about 5’11" and my inseam is about 29 or 29 1/2". 30" inseam pants drag on the ground.
Also, is there something I can do about thorns (innertube wise). I get flats on both unis and on my b*ke because of them. Is there such a thing as thorn-proof innertubes for the coker wheel?
What I have in mind to order:
Coker The Big One 36-inch Deluxe
Now with substantial wheel upgrades; now available optional air saddle! Sold with Wheel TA tire only!
Base price $489.00
Features/Options:
Saddle Preference Kris Holm Air Saddle
Saddle Color Blue (KH Saddle only)
Crank Arm Length (mm) 150
Brake Preference V-Brake
Spoke Preference 14-gauge spokes
I understand some things are personal preferences for different people.
Am I over my head, or is there something better for this 53 yr old, outofshape, oldfatboy?
Thanks.
Mike
ps- yes, I have done a search on cokers. Just wanting to make sure this is a good decision.
pps- the area around here is pretty flat, but speed isn’t at the top of my list…comfort is.
“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” If you can ride a 24", you can ride a Coker. Your 150mm (6 inch) cranks will give you plenty of torque and the airseat will give you plenty of comfort. The Coker inner tube is so thick it’s practically puncture-proof. I’ve ridden all my Coker tires down to the ply without a puncture and, after three tires, I’m still using the same tube. They hardly leak, either. You made all the right choices (if that’s what you want.)
The 150mm cranks are a great size to learn on, once you get used to that length, you will be pleasantly suprised at how much more enjoyable the ride is on a coker, it’s the differnce in the Coker being ‘a bigger than i’m used to’ unicycle, and something that is completely unique, and deliciously so.
You can buy a product called a tire liner that protects against thorns, I had them in my old mountain bike, but i never really rode an any thorny areas, so i don’t have actual experience on thorn protection…http://www.warwickmills.com/Stop-Flats-Bike-Tube-Protection.html
are the 14 guage spokes the stainless steel ones? the non stainless steel ones are probably something you don’t want to bother with, for wheel durability, mine are all corroded, although still functional
Let us know when you ride down your first set of stairs!
I wouldn’t spend the money on an air saddle. I personally have found that they cause numbness after a while. The best seat I’ve found is a http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4645497 on top of a mostly cut down KH Foam with a Fusion Cover. $15 upgrade and very comfortable. It fits under the cover nicely without cutting, even though it looks too wide initially.
Acutally, this is a good point. You will get FAR more comfort out of the ability to adjust the tilt of your seat (with the front of your seat pointed up much more than you would expect)
this can be achieved for a few bucks more than your selections. skip the air seat, but go with the fusion upgrade and save $40.
I kind of bought mine on impulse and was so focused on needing a short person’s frame and what tyre to get that I didn’t think about the airfoil thingy. But that’s OK, i’m quiet happy to upgrade in a few months. It’ll give me something to think about then.
My philosophy regarding buying things that I’ve never bought before is that other people’s specification for things may not be mine and I don’t know what I want out of a coker/digital cameral/pda/laptop/etc until I have one. It’s only after a fair amount of using something that I know what I want and don’t want. So I usually buy the basics and then upgrade as necessary.
By the way, I like the UDC gel seat that my coker came with but I haven’t tried the airseat.
As one 53-year-old to another, please allow me to be the stick-in-the-mud here. Have you tried riding a Coker yet? How about a 29er? I tried both and decided on the 29. I find it to be much lighter, easier to control and easier to mount. The 29er is also closer to the ground for when you fall/upd/dismount. Even a normal/safe dismount from a Coker is a long way down and sort of rough on the knees when you (I) land.
If you can ride a Coker, my hat is off to you. I wish I could but they are bigger and heavier than I can ride comfortably.
The Coker/29er debate has been played out in many guises and the arguments are little more than expressions of preference.
If you want a Coker, nothing else will do. Cokers are the Harley Davidsons of the unicycle world - if you want one you want one; if you don’t, then you don’t quite understand why anyone would. Cokers looks good, they have acres of shiny chrome, you can make an arrival on a Coker.
As for crank size, seat type and so on - these are variables and don’t affect the initial purchasing decision. 150s are versatile and reasonably fast. I peaked at 16.6mph (26,7 kph) on mine today with a stock steel rim, basic Viscount saddle and 150mm cranks.
The only caveat with a Coker is that you have to ride it a lot to get the best out of it. You and the Coker must become a team. Otherwise, it becomes an expensive novelty.
Thanks everybody
unipsychler, well it was is my dream to own one, and now is the only time in the foreseeable future that I can get a coker, so…
Cathwood, I may have to blame you for this…he-he Your progress is amazing compared to what I have read on your blog. J/K about blaming you, but it might help with my wife.
Guess what everybody???
It is ordered!
boy am I in trouble now.
Changed the seat and got the other options plus a “handbar” I hope that’s what it is called.
No, I haven’t ridden one yet. I read the 29/coker debates, saw that smaller people than I were riding them, and since my desire is for distance, I chose the coker. Also, since I could afford it right now then get it, and if it doesn’t work, sell it and get the 29. I don’t know that I could do the opposite
I have all my safety gear and I can start on my sidewalk as I did with the 20 and 24.
Maybe I’m right or maybe I’m wrong. Guess I will find out and hopefully not ‘the hard way’.
You gave me much encouragement when first learning, so I value your input in this, but guess it’s late. I don’t know the weight difference and that is one factor I didn’t really think about. I thought if Gracie can ride across America, then I ‘should’ be able to ride one around here. Famous last words?
It wont be like learning to ride all over again. The most difficult thing is freemounting. And I think that the trick of riding the big wheels is 90% confidence. (But what do I know, I am neither an expert or a mechanic - and I don’t have an airofoil thingy).
Dang, OldFatBoy, That was amazing, I don’t really know why but when I was reading it it seemed to me like you know what you are doing, I support you very much.
I also thank you, I had not been checking into the cokers on UDC, and if I had not followed your link, I would have never found out they updated them. Now I don’t know what to do, I was going to get a KH Freeride, But now I am looking at the coker. Does anybody have any advice?
