do I really need brakes?

[ifelloff]

hey I'm new here and I've got a question

I've been riding a 24" torker DX for a while and one of my friends
noticed the mount for a brake and asked if I was going to get brakes
for it (hes the kind of guy who would buy them even if he didn't need
them just so he had them) I really have no idea why I would need
brakes, im kind of new to the uni world so ya if any one could tell me
what brakes would be usefull for and why I would need them please let
me know.

thx

sammy


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[ifelloff]

ya thats what I thought
thanks


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[onelesscar]

torkerdx wrote:
> breaks have very little practical purpose except for long mellow
> decents.


Well, that having been said...it's really cool to have brakes on a
unicycle. They look really cool and surprise people.

But I agree they're mostly pointless.


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[john_childs]

onelesscar wrote:
> But I agree they're mostly pointless.


And one extra part to break or need maintenance. It is not uncommon
for a brake lever handle to break off when the unicycle takes a fall.
So you have to be prepared to pay for replacement brake lever handles.
You also have to be prepared for the maintenance requirements (bleeding
the brake for a hydraulic style brake and the necessary equipment to do
so).


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[hobo_chuck]

i dunno, they can really save your knees on long decents....


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[onelesscar]

Agreed, that on a coker, they can have a point. However, on a 24" DX, I
think they're mostly pointless. Very rarely will you be doing smooth
enough (as opposed to rocky, as this isn't very "brake"-able terrain)
and steep enough descents for brakes to be helpful.


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[tholub]

A lot of the top MUni riders, including KH, use brakes for MUni; it
reduces the amount of energy required quite a bit. I've ridden with
one briefly, and I could see the benefit even in just a few minutes of
use, but personally I prefer the simplicity of the brakeless uni, so
I'm not going out and buying one.


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[johnfoss]

Short answer:
If you're not sure, you probably don't need them (yet).

If you already know what they're good for, you probably know if you'll
need them yourself. For example, if you live in Florida you don't need
brakes. If you live in Santa Cruz and like to ride in De Laveaga every
day, you can ride *more* with brakes. They're great for really steep
stuff, allowing you to ride some places you couldn't ride without them.
Basically they're good for long hills or steep hills.

And you can always get by without them, though there may be a few spots
you can't ride. That's where I am now. Nothing in my local area is
impossible for me if I work at it, but I've been to De Laveaga and seen
where a brake can make a huge difference.

Also I consider having one essential on my Coker. Again, if you live in
Florida you don't need one on the Coker either! :)


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[madc-ccc]

Hi guys!

I would confirm that brakes are almost necessary in certain cases -
typically when riding down very steep tracks.

Personally I have mounted a Magura brake on my KH24, my KH29 and my
Nimbus 36.

Having it on my 24" Muni is useful because of the steepness of downhill
tracks => brakes will help me keeping control on the speed / in those
cases, without brake, I feel like there is nothing much to do to
prevent the Muni from going crazy. To give you an idea of the kind of
braking I am talking about: once the Magura brake pads have been
pre-pressed using the little red wheel on the lever, the wheel will be
very difficult to roll by hands, almost impossible to move, actually.
Only the steepness of the track plus the weight of the unicyclist will
make the wheel rolling.

As a comparison, on my Nimbus 36, the brake will primarily be used to
help my legs in long down roads. In this case, the brake is "just" a
comfort, while on my Muni I do not see it so much as a comfort but
rather as an "enabler".

Pretty obviously, the brake on my KH29 (XC Muni) will equally serve
both purposes.

Note that I live in Grenoble, in the French Alps - i.e. there are very
steep tracks around there.

To make a long story short :) I pretty like John Foss' statement: "if
you're not sure, you probably don't need them".

Cheers, MadC.


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[SARIN]

I agree with that...

If you're a flatlander, then I couldn't even imagine trying to imagine
them.:) I live in the glacial region, and we have steep hills
everywhere. To me, there's nuthin' cooler than hauliin' a$$ down a
super steep incline with a hand on the brakes. Average people on bikes
wouldn't do it, and any spectators can't believe what they're seeing.
Plus they look REALLY impressive and intimidating on a MUni. :D


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