Thank You Dave Stockton! (36/54)

Today was Christmas.

I got home to a nice big box, which has my brand-new 36" wheel. Firstly,
I'd like to acknowledge David for his incredible wheel build. I can't
imagine someone putting more care and precision into a wheel. On top of
that, his professionalism was top-notch. I HIGHLY recommend doing
business with him.

....oh yeah, and this was built with my Harper hub. I rigged my hunter
frame to work with the hub, but I'll probably see about having a more
professional conversion done. I put some bike euro 170's on it.

So now, I am a card-carrying member of the geared-coker club.

Firstly, I'd like to remind everyone that I originally got this hub
packaged in the form of a 26/39er. I have to be honest. I really didn't
like it very much in that form. It was just too twitchy and not much fun
to ride. I hate to admit that, but I just never got comfortable riding
it.

....so tonight, I put about 45 minutes into riding my new steed. I had a
hard time mounting it at first. Let me tell you, the sooner you get it
up to about 7-8 mph, the better chance you have of staying on it.
However, once up to speed, this thing cruises. It's MUCH less twitchy
than its smaller incarnation. I don't have a cycle computer on it yet,
but i can see being very comfortable cruising at 15 mph on this puppy.
All without spinning like a madman. I'm not planning on testing it's
limits (well....not yet)....but if anyone in the bay area wants to :-).
I took it up a couple minor hills, and it was harder, but still
managable. Anything remotely steep is probably out of the question.I
think I'm really going to enjoy this.

Florin, if you're reading this, you might consider building a 36. If it
was on-the-fly shiftable, this would be the ideal touring uni (except
for the weight, which is substantial, but I bet a schlumpf is lighter).


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Sounds sweet, I have a couple of questions...


Did you notice a change in the amount you feel the "slop" with the
bigger wheel? I would expect it to feel amplified...

Are you using a brake?

How solid does the drivetrain feel? Solid is maybe not the best word
here, but its the one I'm gonna use. What I mean though is "Do you think
you can break it?" Often on cheaper bikes I have to hold back on climbs
because the drivetrain feels like it is going to die. I would almost
expect a similar feeling coming from the innards of the hub....


--
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criticism and post/read threads at your own risk.*
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Welcome to the club, cousin.

Knowing what I now know about geared unicycles, I'd say that a geared
Coker would be suitable mainly for people who haven't got a lot of
"street" (or sidewalk) riding to do. With my Schlumpf, there is no way
I'm going to idle at high gear (45"), so there is even less than no way
a person would idle a geared Coker! Given the type of riding I do, I'd
get a geared Coker only for exercise (as opposed to commuting).

It must feel pretty amazing once you get going. But it's hard enough
mounting a 45" wheel (and I also have a 46" uni with a hard rubber tire
-- it's hard to mount, too). I can only imagine how difficult it must be
to get that thing going. Wow.

And like you said, steep uphills would be impossible for the most part.
Downhills, OTOH, would be "too" possible, so I hope you have a brake or
a good insurance policy.

Sounds like we can expect some interesting details. Please keep us
informed with updates! And definitely get a computer on that thing!


--
David_Stone

Dictator for Life,
NYUC
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I'm glad you like it, Mike. It was a pleasure working with you.
Actually the wheels are just an excuse to play with big cardboard boxes
again.

Given David Stone's "impossibility claim", I'm sure we'll see Mr. UW
idling his by the end of the summer

I tried to idle Harper's gypsy 24" (which hub was that, now?) in 1.5
mode when it was here on the East Coast and didn't succeed, but I
thought that a couple of hours more and I would have been able.

Mike decided to wait and get his wheel (with the powdercoated rim) with
the machined braking track (first one, Mike!), so I imagine he's
brake-bound.


--
U-Turn - Cool water for the flame

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)
'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-- Dave Stockton
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mscalisi wrote:
*Florin, if you're reading this, you might consider building a 36. If
it was on-the-fly shiftable, this would be the ideal touring uni
(except for the weight, which is substantial, but I bet a schlumpf is
lighter). *


A 36" schlumpf is available, though currently you can only get the frame
and hub (you'd have to build your own wheel).


--
Gilby - Unicyclist.com Webmaster
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TheObieOne3226 wrote:
*Sounds sweet, I have a couple of questions...


Did you notice a change in the amount you feel the "slop" with the
bigger wheel? I would expect it to feel amplified...

Are you using a brake?

How solid does the drivetrain feel? Solid is maybe not the best word
here, but its the one I'm gonna use. What I mean though is "Do you
think you can break it?" Often on cheaper bikes I have to hold back on
climbs because the drivetrain feels like it is going to die. I would
almost expect a similar feeling coming from the innards of the hub....
*


The slop feels exactly the same as it did on a smaller wheel. The slop
doesn't really affect the way the wheel reacts, it just feels like your
crankarms are just barely starting to get loose. (which is why you
should check them regularly since it's hard to tell when they actually
ARE getting loose)

...not using a brake yet, although that's part of the plan (once I fix
that leak in my wallet).

The drivetrain feels very solid, which I know doesn't really answer your
question. It doesn't "feel" like I can break it, although I'm a little
concerned since it's sibling suffered a failure a few months back. I do
know that internally geared hubs have been around for at least five
decades (for bikes), and I think those hold up just fine.

David_Stone wrote:
* Welcome to the club, cousin.

Knowing what I now know about geared unicycles, I'd say that a geared
Coker would be suitable mainly for people who haven't got a lot of
"street" (or sidewalk) riding to do. With my Schlumpf, there is no way
I'm going to idle at high gear (45"), so there is even less than no
way a person would idle a geared Coker! Given the type of riding I do,
I'd get a geared Coker only for exercise (as opposed to commuting).

It must feel pretty amazing once you get going. But it's hard enough
mounting a 45" wheel (and I also have a 46" uni with a hard rubber
tire -- it's hard to mount, too). I can only imagine how difficult it
must be to get that thing going. Wow.

And like you said, steep uphills would be impossible for the most
part. Downhills, OTOH, would be "too" possible, so I hope you have a
brake or a good insurance policy.

Sounds like we can expect some interesting details. Please keep us
informed with updates! And definitely get a computer on that thing!
*


Thanks David! I think this would be a fine commuter. ....you just have
to be a tad bit more careful. I think sidewalk riding probably isn't the
best idea. Idling is pretty much out of the question, although the
technique I use at stop lights most of the time is the "stand-still with
corrective hops" method. I haven't tested this yet on a GUNI. It DOES
feel amazing. I expected it to be harder and scarier.

I don't think mounting is going to be that bad. I was having a hard time
at first, but at the end of my 45 minute test last night, I was having
pretty good luck. It's probably easier than you're 46" because of the
height.


--
mscalisi - Not such a newbie anymore
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TheObieOne3226 wrote:
*Sounds sweet, I have a couple of questions...


Did you notice a change in the amount you feel the "slop" with the
bigger wheel? I would expect it to feel amplified...

Are you using a brake?

How solid does the drivetrain feel? Solid is maybe not the best word
here, but its the one I'm gonna use. What I mean though is "Do you
think you can break it?" Often on cheaper bikes I have to hold back on
climbs because the drivetrain feels like it is going to die. I would
almost expect a similar feeling coming from the innards of the hub....
*


The slop feels exactly the same as it did on a smaller wheel. The slop
doesn't really affect the way the wheel reacts, it just feels like your
crankarms are just barely starting to get loose. (which is why you
should check them regularly since it's hard to tell when they actually
ARE getting loose)

...not using a brake yet, although that's part of the plan (once I fix
that leak in my wallet).

The drivetrain feels very solid, which I know doesn't really answer your
question. It doesn't "feel" like I can break it, although I'm a little
concerned since it's sibling suffered a failure a few months back. I do
know that internally geared hubs have been around for at least five
decades (for bikes), and I think those hold up just fine.

David_Stone wrote:
* Welcome to the club, cousin.

Knowing what I now know about geared unicycles, I'd say that a geared
Coker would be suitable mainly for people who haven't got a lot of
"street" (or sidewalk) riding to do. With my Schlumpf, there is no way
I'm going to idle at high gear (45"), so there is even less than no
way a person would idle a geared Coker! Given the type of riding I do,
I'd get a geared Coker only for exercise (as opposed to commuting).

It must feel pretty amazing once you get going. But it's hard enough
mounting a 45" wheel (and I also have a 46" uni with a hard rubber
tire -- it's hard to mount, too). I can only imagine how difficult it
must be to get that thing going. Wow.

And like you said, steep uphills would be impossible for the most
part. Downhills, OTOH, would be "too" possible, so I hope you have a
brake or a good insurance policy.

Sounds like we can expect some interesting details. Please keep us
informed with updates! And definitely get a computer on that thing!
*


Thanks David! I think this would be a fine commuter. ....you just have
to be a tad bit more careful. I think sidewalk riding probably isn't the
best idea. Idling is pretty much out of the question, although the
technique I use at stop lights most of the time is the "stand-still with
corrective hops" method. I haven't tested this yet on a GUNI. It DOES
feel amazing. I expected it to be harder and scarier.

I don't think mounting is going to be that bad. I was having a hard time
at first, but at the end of my 45 minute test last night, I was having
pretty good luck. It's probably easier than you're 46" because of the
height.


--
mscalisi - Not such a newbie anymore
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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TheObieOne3226 wrote:
*Sounds sweet, I have a couple of questions...


Did you notice a change in the amount you feel the "slop" with the
bigger wheel? I would expect it to feel amplified...

Are you using a brake?

How solid does the drivetrain feel? Solid is maybe not the best word
here, but its the one I'm gonna use. What I mean though is "Do you
think you can break it?" Often on cheaper bikes I have to hold back on
climbs because the drivetrain feels like it is going to die. I would
almost expect a similar feeling coming from the innards of the hub....
*


The slop feels exactly the same as it did on a smaller wheel. The slop
doesn't really affect the way the wheel reacts, it just feels like your
crankarms are just barely starting to get loose. (which is why you
should check them regularly since it's hard to tell when they actually
ARE getting loose)

...not using a brake yet, although that's part of the plan (once I fix
that leak in my wallet).

The drivetrain feels very solid, which I know doesn't really answer your
question. It doesn't "feel" like I can break it, although I'm a little
concerned since it's sibling suffered a failure a few months back. I do
know that internally geared hubs have been around for at least five
decades (for bikes), and I think those hold up just fine.

David_Stone wrote:
* Welcome to the club, cousin.

Knowing what I now know about geared unicycles, I'd say that a geared
Coker would be suitable mainly for people who haven't got a lot of
"street" (or sidewalk) riding to do. With my Schlumpf, there is no way
I'm going to idle at high gear (45"), so there is even less than no
way a person would idle a geared Coker! Given the type of riding I do,
I'd get a geared Coker only for exercise (as opposed to commuting).

It must feel pretty amazing once you get going. But it's hard enough
mounting a 45" wheel (and I also have a 46" uni with a hard rubber
tire -- it's hard to mount, too). I can only imagine how difficult it
must be to get that thing going. Wow.

And like you said, steep uphills would be impossible for the most
part. Downhills, OTOH, would be "too" possible, so I hope you have a
brake or a good insurance policy.

Sounds like we can expect some interesting details. Please keep us
informed with updates! And definitely get a computer on that thing!
*


Thanks David! I think this would be a fine commuter. ....you just have
to be a tad bit more careful. I think sidewalk riding probably isn't the
best idea. Idling is pretty much out of the question, although the
technique I use at stop lights most of the time is the "stand-still with
corrective hops" method. I haven't tested this yet on a GUNI. It DOES
feel amazing. I expected it to be harder and scarier.

I don't think mounting is going to be that bad. I was having a hard time
at first, but at the end of my 45 minute test last night, I was having
pretty good luck. It's probably easier than you're 46" because of the
height.


--
mscalisi - Not such a newbie anymore
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U-Turn wrote:
*I'm glad you like it, Mike. It was a pleasure working with you.
Actually the wheels are just an excuse to play with big cardboard
boxes again.

Given David Stone's "impossibility claim", I'm sure we'll see Mr. UW
idling his by the end of the summer

I tried to idle Harper's gypsy 24" (which hub was that, now?) in 1.5
mode when it was here on the East Coast and didn't succeed, but I
thought that a couple of hours more and I would have been able.

Mike decided to wait and get his wheel (with the powdercoated rim)
with the machined braking track (first one, Mike!), so I imagine he's
brake-bound. *


Thanks Dave! ....and that IS a big box.

I'd be interested in seeing if anyone can idle a GUni. I used to think
idling a coker would be impossible, but now I'm fairly profecient at it.


I'd glad you got the rim machined. It's really beautiful! I'm very
impressed with the quality. I'm sure I'll like it even more when I
actually put a brake on it.


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Gilby wrote:
*A 36" schlumpf is available, though currently you can only get the
frame and hub (you'd have to build your own wheel). *


Nah! I'd just send it to David.


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