My new favorite (again) uni accessory

The '130/150/170 Kooka' (http://tinyurl.com/2we3z6) cranks I got from
pdc have been an amazing addition to my 36-er setup. Kind of a lazy
man's guni, I can swap the pedals and adjust the seat in under 2
minutes, making the setup extremely adaptable on long rides.

I logged a lot of miles last summer and fall, and noticed I was
spending the significant majority of my time at the 130 setting, using
the 150s only for extended climbs, and the 170s only for long steep
(brakeless) descents. Meanwhile, I was hearing more and more about the
speed and distance advantages of even shorter lengths.

So I decided to get another set of holes drilled, to make the cranks
110/130/150/170. I finally got them set up on my Hunter 36 today, and
boy are they fun. They're 15cm shorter than the shortest I've ever
ridden on a 36, and they were definitely a little squirrely at first. I
need to log some miles, some climbing, and some free-mounting practice,
but hopefully by spring I'll feel as comfortable at the 110 length as I
do today at the 130.

Hooray for short (with the ability to become long) cranks! Thanks
again to pdc for having and executing on this idea in the first place.
Glad I got 'em while the getting was good.


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: IMG_6120.JPG |
|Download: http://www.unicyclist.com/attachment/24933 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

--
tomblackwood

Tailgate at your own risk...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tomblackwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3762
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

Hey Tom,

Great to see your having so much fun with those cranks.

Sorry, I missed the initial thread about these(if there was one), but
can you tell me if PDC did the drilling, or did you go to a shop up in
your neck of the woods for the drilling of the additional hole?

Are Kookas, the only cranks you can do this with? I know there hard to
find.

I ask only for my own curiosity. I still don't have a Coker, but the
concept intrigues me.

Keep rollin!!

Cheers.


--
teachndad

Rod Wylie 'MountainUnicyclingLA.com'
(http://www.mountainunicyclingla.com)
'UnicycleTips.com' (http://UnicycleTips.com)
'UnicycleRoundupLA.com/' (http://unicycleroundupla.com/)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
teachndad's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/56
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

Nice. The Espresso Mojo is feeling a little long in the cranks now.

How well did the extra hole fit on the Kooka cranks? Picture of the
new hole?


--
john_childs

john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
Team Never Wash Your Muni
'My Gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/3d57bn) :: 'Unicycling Bookmark List'
(http://backcountry.unicyclist.com/) :: 'World Clock'
(http://tinyurl.com/2blym3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

teachndad wrote:
Sorry, I missed the initial thread about these(if there was one), but
can you tell me if PDC did the drilling, or did you go to a shop up in
your neck of the woods for the drilling of the additional hole? Are
Kookas, the only cranks you can do this with? I know there hard to
find.



There were actually a couple different threads started by pdc on this
topic, but the original one 'is here'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=48361). Do the
"find all threads started by..." thing and you can see some of the
other discussion. In all cases, pdc helped arrange for the drilling
via a very skilled machinist. I thought about having the fourth set
done locally, but decided it was not worth the risk, so sent them back
to the original machinist and have no regrets with that decision. I
think there are other cranks that would be okay for multiple drillings,
but it's not something I've ever researched. I hadn't thought of the
concept at all until pdc's thread came along, after which I could think
of little else. You can still find Kookas on ebay and other online
sources, but they're getting rarer. PDC just ran into a nest of them
somehow, and was nice enough to secure the lot of them for the
unicyclist community.


john_childs wrote:
How well did the extra hole fit on the Kooka cranks? Picture of the new
hole?


It fit perfectly...the outside of the hole closest to the hub exactly
touches the "bend line" where the plane of the crank's surface shifts
slightly. I was too hopped up on pho when I did the job today, so
forgot to take pictures of the cranks before they were mounted. We can
pull the pedal for an official JC inspection as soon as we get together
for that saddle-building session. This weekend perhaps?


--
tomblackwood

Tailgate at your own risk...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tomblackwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3762
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

tomblackwood wrote:
We can pull the pedal for an official JC inspection as soon as we get
together for that saddle-building session. This weekend perhaps?


This weekend will be good.

I got some new toys too. A CygoLite LED light and a Foghat album.
Coker night rides again.


--
john_childs

john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
Team Never Wash Your Muni
'My Gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/3d57bn) :: 'Unicycling Bookmark List'
(http://backcountry.unicyclist.com/) :: 'World Clock'
(http://tinyurl.com/2blym3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

As far as I'm concerned, 110s are THE length Glad to see you've
joined the party!


--
flyer
------------------------------------------------------------------------
flyer's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9894
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

john_childs wrote:
This weekend will be good.

I got some new toys too. A CygoLite LED light and a Foghat album.
Coker night rides again.



Oooh what CygoLite did you get? I have the Cygolite dualcross 300, it
has been nice for night rides on the coker.


--
siafirede

James = my name
'This' (http://www.myspace.com/clawsout) = my myspace

Pump Air Not Gas
------------------------------------------------------------------------
siafirede's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6057
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

I'm trying to contact pdc to see if he has any left...


--
johnfoss

John Foss
Email: "jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
-----------------------------------------------

Man with broken collar bone say: "Have you checked your shoelaces
lately?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

siafirede wrote:
Oooh what CygoLite did you get? I have the Cygolite dualcross 300, it
has been nice for night rides on the coker.


The new '2008 DualCross Pro' (http://tinyurl.com/2kkfb7) with the NiMH
battery. They also have a diffuser option for the DualCross Pro now.
The diffusers are lenses that stick (adhesive) to the stock lens and
give a more wide angle light spread. Wider angle spread with an LED is
nice. Very few LED lights have a wide angle option. I just got the
light. I'm waiting on the helmet mount to get here (had to order it
separately).


--
john_childs

john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
Team Never Wash Your Muni
'My Gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/3d57bn) :: 'Unicycling Bookmark List'
(http://backcountry.unicyclist.com/) :: 'World Clock'
(http://tinyurl.com/2blym3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
john_childs's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/449
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

Tom,
They look great. Keep your shoe laces tucked in. I haven't actively
looked for old Kookas in a while. Were I to find some sets, I might do
another round of them. If the Isis hubs become a 36er standard or
option (is the Quax 36er Isis?), then the 2 hole KH cranks (125mm
150mm) would be very nice. If someone else comes up with some they need
drilled I or Tom could put them in touch with a machinist. He has a jig
made specifically for drilling that make of Kooka cranks. I have the
tooling (drill and taps) and could make them avalable.


johnfoss wrote:
I'm trying to contact pdc to see if he has any left...


Sorry John, all out. I sent you an email.

-Phil


--
pdc

"What doesn't kill you strengthens you, what kills you strengthens your
mother"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
pdc's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/8160
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/67415


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com