Questions about large-wheel unicycles

[Mike McDermott]

This is a great newsgroup!

I've been contemplating buying a Coker. It bothers me that they cost so much
($330 USD), and they seem to have a monopoly. I read somewhere about poor
quality. Anyway, I've seen 28" Sun Uni's on ebay for under $100 USD. I'm
thinking that size would be easier to store and haul around. I've also seen
posts here that say a 28" uni with short cranks is almost as fast as a
Coker. Also talk about 3" wide tires, which may not fit all uni frames. I'm
thinking it would be a big advantage to have a uni that uses bicycle tires.
Can you buy 28" bicycle tires? Unicycle.com doesn't seem to have any 28"
tires. I've seen 700mm tires somewhere. Are they the same thing? Any
opinions about the Sun unicyle?

Thanks a lot!

[GizmoDuck]

Mike McDermott wrote:
> *This is a great newsgroup!
>
> I read somewhere about poor
> quality.
>
> *


I think with the original Coker rim that might be the case, but the
Airfoil Coker rim is pretty strong and robust. And if you get Dave
Stockton (U-turn) to build you a super coker wheel it will be almost
bombproof.

The Coker is disadvantaged in having only one tyre choice, but because
it is such a big tyre that it works well on and off-road. It doesn't
handle slippery mud very well, but rolls over a lot of things a smaller
wheel would not. Steep hillclimbs are more difficult, but if you are
riding on road you are seldom overgeared.

If you are intending on travelling then a 29er is a much more versatile
unicycle. Throw it in the boot of your car, pack it into a wheelbag for
the plane, carry it up a mountain etc etc. It is so easy you could take
it with you everywhere you go. The extra tyre choices are a bonus. For
trips less than 8-10km you probably won't notice too much time
difference between a Coker and a 29er, but I estimate that a Coker is
about 10-15min faster for every hour of pedalling on-road.

The 29'er is my MUni of choice. It's is one of the most fun machines to
ride singletrack with. And it is so light it will climb up almost
anything.

The Coker is my road machine- I use it for most of my road rides and
some of the faster/less technical MTB races.


--
GizmoDuck - Cokernut

The NZ Unicycle Weekend Gallery
http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albut20
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[Mikefule]

A big wheel will always cruise faster than a smaller wheel. You can
compensate for the difference by fitting shorter cranks, which allows
you to pedal at a higher cadence (more rpm), but that can make the ride
feel frantic.

On a Coker with standard 150 mm cranks, you can easily ride at 10 mph,
and speeds of over 15mph can be achieved. I once rode 12.95 miles in an
hour, and once rode 20.05 miles in just under 2 hours on a standard
Coker with 150mm cranks.

By comparison, a 28 with 110 mm cranks will be approximately as fast
(top speed) but will average something nearer to 8 - 10 mph over a
distance (with me riding).

On the other hand, idling a 28 on 110s is easy; idling a Coker on 150s
is a challenge. The 28 is more portable, more manoeuvreable, safer in
traffic, less intimidating for pedestrians on narrow tracks, and easier
to mount when you're tired.

The standard road bicycle wheel over here is 700c, which is, as near as
makes no odds, 28 inches. A fatter tyre gives an effective rolling
diameter of 29 inches. You have a massive choice of 700c tyres,
optimised for road use, speed, off road use, or whatever floats your
boat. On a Coker, you have only one tyre option - and it is a heavy
tyre with a primitive tread pattern.

A well ridden Coker is versatile, fast, and barnstorming fun.

If I had only one unicycle, it MIGHT be a 28, but it wouldn't be a
Coker.

If I had only 2 unicycles, one of them would definitely be a Coker.

Does that help?


--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

A young girl was blown out to sea on a set of inflatable teeth then
rescued by a man on an inflatable lobster. A coastguard spokesman
commented, "This sort of thing is all too common". (The Times)
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[johnfoss]

At $330, the Coker is cheap. The next cheapest big wheels cost at least
$500 or more. The Coker's quality is commensurate with price. Though
made of (relatively) inexpensive parts, Cokers seem to hold up very well
as long as they're not abused.

But as the others have replied, there are many advantages to having a
more standard wheel size. You can get tires at the local bike shop, fit
it in the car more easily, carry it around, etc. But for road riding,
the Coker will be faster. I ride one to work (not much this time of
year). Now I have to get me a 700c unicycle, because we're going to race
them at UNICON next year...


--
johnfoss - IUF Director

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

"I ain't goin' to no mall." — my nephew Austin Miller, on being invited
to join his sister and mom at the mall on Saturday Dec. 13

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[harper]

Stock Cokers are a hit and miss sort of thing. I have heard of wheels
tacoing very easily. I have a stock Coker with an air-seat conversion. I
put pinned platform pedals on it for $20. All in all then I've got about
$360 into it. Cokers are cheap. I hop on mine and ride off curbs, not
excessive abuse but my wheel hasn't done anything fishy in 2000 miles.

A 28 or 29 is not comparable to a Coker. Nothing is quite like riding
one of the big boys. Find out if someone near you has one and try it out
for a few miles. Don't fret about the fact that they are initially
difficult to freemount. If you like Cokering you will learn to freemount
it with a near 100% success rate.

There is a guy who frequents this forum who actually learned to ride on
a Coker. Weird, huh? As Mike says, a Coker is not the ideal single
unicycle to own but as the SECOND purchase it is the FIRST choice.


--
harper - Old dog, no tricks

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

"... is it better to have the seat too high, or too low?" -supertones

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[unibabyguy]

Here's a review of the Sun unicycle:
http://tinyurl.com/2kv83

Unicycle.com sells the Nanoraptor tire, which I use on my 29" Pashley
unicycle:
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=305

I like my Pashley, but it costs four times the price of the Sun. I
think you would probably pay at least $250 for a quality-built 28/29"
unicycle.


--
unibabyguy - Hunter-riding Municyclist
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[carjug]

Get a Coker if you have a good place to ride the fastest unicycle on the
planet. You will love it. You will fix it. You will cuss it. You will
loan it out. You will get a very sore keister from it. You will get
bicycle shorts and Udder Butter. You will get on this forum and jabber
about it. You will get better pedals. You will get in shape.
carjug


--
carjug
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