airfoil/AT or steel/Coker?

I plan on getting a nimbus 36” this spring and was wondering whether I
should get it with the airfoil and wheel TA tire or the steel rim with
coker tire. I like the idea of the airfoil for the strength and weight
but I think that the coker tire will be a better choice for the kind of
riding I am planning to do.

My biggest concern with the TA tire is riding in snow, snow is not
uncommon in late September all the way to mid May. The majority of my
riding in the summer would be on sandy, dirt and gravel roads.

Am I going to bend the steel rim doing light off-road? Has anyone done
much off-road type riding with the TA tire? Anybody ride the TA in
snow?

I really like the idea of a stronger lighter wheel but it looks to me
like I would be better off with the cheaper setup. Any advice would be
appreciated!

ERIC


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If you're not a big guy, then the cheaper, steel rim should work fine.


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steveyo

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You could groove the TA tyre with a tyre cutter (there's a thread
somewhere about somebody who used a motorcycle tyre groover - he built
a 36" wheeled mountain bike: that might help the search). I was
thinking about doing something similar but haven't got round to it
yet.

I'm hardly an experienced coker rider yet, but I'm surprised what you
can get away with on an unmodified TA tyre. Don't think I'd fancy snow
though - although even the Coker tyre isn't really that spiky.

Regarding the rim, obviously the airfoil rim is stronger and lighter,
but I know lots of people using steel-rimmed cokers for xc racing, so
they're not that weak.

Rob


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Don't buy the standard steel coker rim, unless you only ride on the
street, and never want a brake. It isn't worth it.

The standard coker rim:
* Doesn't have a wide hub (this is too weak for a brake, and the
overall tension of the wheel.
* Won't work well with a brake (it'll rub when you are going uphill due
to the torque on the wheel)

I recently faced the same dilemma when buying my girlfriend a new
coker; we went with the airfoil and the slick tire, which will be fine
for almost all riding. The only time the extra traction of the standard
coker tire would be better would be for really muddy terrain or really
heavy snow; other than that, your speed should carry you over most
everything without much trouble.

Having said that, i've had a standard coker rim/tire and road it
offroad quite a bit, but it felt like it was going to buckle at any
time. My airfoil is solid -- i've bent steel cranks with it without
damaging the rim/wheel at all.

--corbin


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corbin

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corbin wrote:
Don't buy the standard steel coker rim, unless you only ride on the
street, and never want a brake. It isn't worth it.

The standard coker rim:
* Doesn't have a wide hub (this is too weak for a brake, and the
overall tension of the wheel.
* Won't work well with a brake (it'll rub when you are going uphill due
to the torque on the wheel)

Is the Coker cycle the one you saw with narrow hub?

The standard 'Nimbus'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=961) comes with the
steel rim and does have the UDC wide hub. It's currently on sale for
$449 at UDC. The 'Radial 360'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=822) also has the
steel rim and the UDC wide hub. Of course, these have the Radial TA
tire and the rim too small for the knobby Coker tire.

So if the OP wants to stay on the cheaper steel rim, he can still get
the wide hub, if he'll accept the slighlty reduced traction. It's only
$339 at UDC.

That said, I have the Radial with steel rim/wide hub/TA tire setup and
I noticed no loss of traction issue on XC trails. Like Corbin said,
you roll over most stuff before you even worry about traction.

I believe what Corbin said about the brake not working on the steel rim
due to flex, but I don't have a brake.


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steveyo

steveyo
...like having your own personal rollercoaster...

- a few 'uni race write-ups'
(http://home.nycap.rr.com/rduhan/uni_race_writeups/)
- muni and kokopelli uni 't-shirts, mugs and stickers'
(http://www.cafepress.com/steveyo)
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This is true of the stock coker, but the description of the Nimbus says
that it only works with wide hubs, so it's laced with a uni.com wide
hub.

My experience with the stock rim is that it will hold up OK when used
with a wide hub. ....but it is much heavier and weaker and harder to
true.

I'd definitely recommend the airfoil (and stainless steel spokes),
although its kind of annoying that it doesn't work with the coker tire
anymore.

My understanding of the current situation is that the rims were made
slightly small and the tire slightly large. Its possible that when a
new batch of coker tires is made that they'll fit, but don't hold me to
it.

For snow, I can't really tell you how much better the coker tire will
be. My experience is that the Wheel TA is adequate off road, but I've
never tried snow. You could always try to put studs in (as well as
grooves).

corbin wrote:

The standard coker rim:
* Doesn't have a wide hub



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mscalisi

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I rode the TA on a steel rim, and recently swapped to an airofil. I have
ridden the TA offroad and on snow and ice.

You're not going to bend the steel rim unless you start doing drops,
but it will flex like hell making it difficult to run a brake (and the
braking surface is rubbish aswell). The main differences i noticed with
the airfoil is the incresed ease in hillclimbing, and the truer running
which works better with brakes. I swapped down form 150mm to 125 mm
cranks at the same time but going up hills is still much easier with
this new setup.

The TA held up well on snowy roads, you have to treat it a little
gently but it runs just fine. Offroad snow I'm not so sure about, the
TA doesn't handle loose mud very well. Also you really need to burn the
mold release compound off the tyre tread before you, a hundred miles of
road riding will do it.


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kington99

Dave

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Thanks guys, i think i am going to go with the Airfoil/TA setup. I sent
an e-mail to UDC and here is their response:



We don't have a new date for rims as of yet. But in regards to the
tire,
the Coker tire is the lesser tire as it is rated for less mileage than
the
WheelTA. You'll get a whole lot more life out of the TA than you will
the
Coker. My suggestion is to go for the TA tire on the airfoil
rim...that's
the best combination you can get, really. A lot of people like the
Coker
tire because they think it's better for offroad, but if you've looked
at the
tread, it's not that fantastic comparatively.

Best Regards,

Andrew Danner,

www.Unicycle.com
1-800-Unicycle



-----Original Message-----
From: eric pulvermacher ]
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 6:59 PM
To:
Subject: airfoil rim

How long is it going to be before a new batch of 36" airfoil rims come
out
and when they do please tell me that they will be larger and accept the

Coker tire. I really want to get a nimbus 36" with an airfoil but most
of my

riding will most likely be in winter or on sandy, dirt or gravel roads
so
the Coker tire seems like the obvious choice for these riding
surfaces.

Thanks in advance

Eric Pulvermacher



I will ride it for a summer then decide whether I should grove the tire
or not.

Thanks again for the advice.


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corbin wrote:
Don't buy the standard steel coker rim, unless you only ride on the
street, and never want a brake. It isn't worth it.



It seems few people are bothing with the steel rim, but I still feel
like defending it. I had a steel rim and narrow hub for a year of road
use before I got an airfoil and wide hub, and I used a brake on it
fine. There was little improvement in the quality of braking with the
new airfoil - it still has a welded join, and has imperfections in the
tension of the brake pads around the circumference (shown up by
non-uniform wear on the black painted surface). Maguras may have less
tolerence, but even with my BMX style caliper set to only a mm or two
of clearance I didn't have rubbing problems due to wheel flex.

Basically, in my experience, you *can* still ride a steel rim hard and
with a brake (on road at least). Plenty of people out there do.

That's not to deny: the Airfoil is stronger, prettier, black, lighter
and won't rust.

Sam


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redwelly

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sometimes you feel like throwing up, so it's really nice to be able to
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I have Airfoil rims but better riders can do just the same as me on
steel. I love the good gear, but unless you are jumping it can be pose
value only (which is what I like) for most or average riding dirt on
or sealed.


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onebyone

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