For my birthday, I’m going to be asking for a 29er of some kind so I can go to my friends’ houses and on light trail rides without wasting time on my 20incher and not taking advantage of an unneeded extra wheel. I know there was a thread about a tire for it, so now I know that I want the Big Apple, but I still need to know if my cycle choice is the right one for what I want. I am seriously considering the Yuni 29" Touring Cycle (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=601) and I just wanted to confirm that this is da best for under $300? Will it last a long time? Will it fit my needs well? Thanks for the info!
According to the Yuni 29er page on UDC, you have the choice of either a 700c (WTB NanoRaptor 29 x 2.1) or the Schwalbe Big Apple (29 x 2.35). I’m assuming, by the looks of it, that the tire pictured is the NanoRaptor.
I just got the 29" Yuni that is painted glossy black a few weeks ago. I asked for a Nanoraptor, which is what you see in the picture, but they sent it with a Michelin city tire that are pretty nice for roads. (I have the same tires in the 26" version on my commuter bike.) I ordered it with the 125s and can pretty easily do 10-12 mph–reasonably fast, yet slow enough that I can bail and not feel like I need a brake to stop.
The only bad thing was the pedals that came with it. They were the worst plastic pedals I’ve ever seen. The platform was small and the bearings made grinding noises after maybe 10 miles of riding. But now that I replaced them with a pair of pinned BMX pedals, the uni is great. I just got a Nanoraptor in the mail too, so I’ll be taking it offroad soon.
Alternatively, you could get a 36" for a similar price, but I’m not here to open the 29 vs. 36 can of worms.
I know you don’t like rounded frames, but I seriously think you check this out. It comes with the coolest pedals ever, and I like the way the crank look to. My sister and two of her friends it, and it’s a sweet ride.
I bought a 29" Yuni with 125 cranks and Big Apple tire several months ago. I have been very pleased with it. It has become my wheel of choice for riding around the neighborhood.
When I was looking into getting my 29er Roger from UDC UK suggested that anyone of avarage hight (or below) would knock their knees on that type of frame. I took his advice and got the Nimbus (rounder frame) with Big Apple tyre. I love it.
Unless you’re going to run a very fat tyre or do one-footed stuff, the rounded frame is just as good.
I have the rounded frame Nimbus 1 28. It’s a good basic unicycle, and wills tand up to on road and off road riding. You can always change the tyre, cranks and pedals to something that suits your preferred style.
Here’s mine in current trim. Most people would prefer a fatter tyre, but I’m obtuse.
True Halfbike, for some reason I just cannot stand round frames. I think it’s because I always associate rounded frames with bad quality unicycles because I’m a freestyler and you just can’t do freestyle well on a round frame. Oh well, I think I will still go for the Yuni frame just because I will always be like “it’s great…if it didn’t have that frame…” So, because from my stupid round frame phobia, I think (from what you have told me so far) that I will go for the Silver Yuni. BTW, what is the dif between the silver and the black Yuni? Finally, do you still think the Big Apple is the best choice for mainly street and some light trail riding?
Go Yuni !!
I got the black frame. Partly to be different from my chrome frames and partly because I like the look of the black frame with the black rim and black spokes. I think the cranks were supposed to be black too (125’s) but UDC sent silver aluminum (127’s).
I’ve got two 29ers – one for home and one for work. One is the Yuni with the Big Apple tire. The other has a narrow frame (probably a Sem). It has a Nimbus EX 700x38c tire, purchased from the LBS.
There’s quite a difference in the ride but I enjoy them both and it’s nice to switch off between the two. I’ve been riding the Yuni a lot more lately, mainly because that’s the one that happens to be at work.
I DO knock my knees on the top of the Yuni frame but only when idling. (I’m 5 ft 9 in tall). I think the way the top of the Yuni frame sticks up is a nuisance and has no real purpose other than to look cool. Really the only reason to have a Yuni frame is so you can run a Big Apple tire in it. A narrow tire would look pretty silly in that frame.
The Big Apple tire has a massive feel and a lot of inertia. There are plusses and minuses to that. The minuses are that it’s not real maneuverable (e.g. idling is more difficult, sudden turns aren’t as easy, pedaling out of a potential UPD is less likely to be successful). The plusses are that it’s less sensitive to irregularities in the road and it kind of floats along.
I usually go with the max allowable pressure in my tire, but I learned not to do that with the Big Apple. Mine is rated at 60 psi but it rides much better at 40 psi. At 60 psi it tends to slip off of things. At 40 psi you get a nice bouncy ride. When you go over small obstacles at speed you actually bounce up into the air a little bit. The tire has a significant amount of rolling friction at 40 psi. I’d say it’s not a real grippy tire and you’d better watch out for sandy or wet places.
The Sem 29er is lighter and more maneuverable, easier to idle. The Sem has a flat crown, but I see no objection to a rounded crown on a 29er.
I really like the Nimbus tire I have on the Sem. It’s quite grippy so you can lean the uni way over on a turn and not worry about sliding out. It takes 80 psi and that’s what I put in it. Very low rolling friction. Pretty good on wet pavement.
The Sem 29er is also my winter uni – when snow and ice comes I put a Nolian studded tire on it.
I guess if I could only keep one of the 29ers, I’d keep the Sem and regretfully say byebye to the Yuni.
I have the same ‘basic’ uni as Mikefule, except mine is blue and I have the Big Apple tyre on it. Yes the Big Apple tyre is great for road & light trail riding.
I bought the Nimbus at about the same time the Wheel Rider bought his Yuni. When we compared them at Louisville a few months ago, my Schwalbe Big Apple looks a lot bigger (wider) than his Schwalbe Big Apple. Don’t know if it matters to your decision, but I think the Nimbus rim is wider.
Also, I like the Big Apple tire, but as was previously posted on another thread, you really have to run it at maximum psi.
I know there was a thread about a tire for it, so now I know that I want the Big Apple, but I still need to know if my cycle choice is the right one for what I want. I am seriously considering the Yuni 29" Touring Cycle (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=601) and I just wanted to confirm that this is da best for under $300? Will it last a long time? Will it fit my needs well? Thanks for the info!
