"X" airfoil quandry

I just talked with Amy at UDC, and told her about the recent threads
concerning the "x" airfoils, and that several people were complaining
about the tire "blowing off" at psi's as low as 35! Well I told Amy
that I would want to run 50 psi in mine for use primarily on smooth
roads.

She immediately told me that these new (smaller) airfoil rims are fine,
and that she hasn't heard of any tires coming off at even 50psi, which
she also said *every* airfoil rim is tested at 50 psi *before* it's
shipped, and that they [UDC] haven't had any problems running that psi.
So now I'm confused and not sure what to do.

I really would much rather have the airfoil vs. the steel rim, but now
I'm finding it very difficult to make an informed decision, as their
seems to be so many conflicting reports on this issue.


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MuniAddict wrote:
I just talked with Amy at UDC, and told her about the recent threads
concerning the "x" airfoils, and that several people were complaining
about the tire "blowing off" at psi's as low as 35! Well I told Amy
that I would want to run 50 psi in mine for use primarily on smooth
roads.

She immediately told me that these new (smaller) airfoil rims are fine,
and that she hasn't heard of any tires coming off at even 50psi, which
she also said *every* airfoil rim is tested at 50 psi *before* it's
shipped, and that they [UDC] haven't had any problems running that psi.
So now I'm confused and not sure what to do.

I really would much rather have the airfoil vs. the steel rim, but now
I'm finding it very difficult to make an informed decision, as their
seems to be so many conflicting reports on this issue.



Mine blew off at 32, I wasn't even ridng it at the time.

A very quick search turned up 'this' (http://tinyurl.com/yrh9yb)
thread.

Spending time setting the tyre on the rim properly does seem to help.


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kington99 wrote:
Mine blew off at 32, I wasn't even ridng it at the time.

A very quick search turned up 'this' (http://tinyurl.com/yrh9yb)
thread.

Spending time setting the tyre on the rim properly does seem to help.

Isn't the tire already "set" at UDC, or whoever installs it? Again, Amy
tells me that they pre-inspect ALL x airfoils and test them at 50psi
before it ships out.


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MuniAddict wrote:
Isn't the tire already "set" at UDC, or whoever installs it? Again, Amy
tells me that they pre-inspect ALL x airfoils and test them at 50psi
before it ships out.



I don't know, and ofc I'm dealing with UDC UK, but I've had to remove
my tyre many times since then, so each time afterwards I have to wokr
for 30 misn or so wokring the tyre in to place as best i can.


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My airfoil rim came with the tire attached and inflated to 30PSI. It
blew off after 5 miles of riding at 35PSI. I know for a fact that my X
airfoil could never hold a tire at 50PSI for an extended period of time
(nonetheless be able to ride on it at that pressure). I've glued it on
with the solution I use to glue tubular tires to road bikes even for
inflating it to 32PSI now because right after it blew off at 35PSI I
reinstalled everything at 32PSI and only got another 6 miles before
disaster AGAIN. Needless to say, I don't trust my airfoil any further
than I could throw it (bad example considering they probably fly better
than they hold my tire). Anyway, it seems to hold my tire at 32PSI
with the tubular tire glue holding the tire on with the help of the
bead itself, but I'll just stay at 32 until I get a better rim if one
is ever made .


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mouse wrote:
My airfoil rim came with the tire attached and inflated to 30PSI. It
blew off after 5 miles of riding at 35PSI. I know for a fact that my X
airfoil could never hold a tire at 50PSI for an extended period of time
(nonetheless be able to ride on it at that pressure). I've glued it on
with the solution I use to glue tubular tires to road bikes even for
inflating it to 32PSI now because right after it blew off at 35PSI I
reinstalled everything at 32PSI and only got another 6 miles before
disaster AGAIN. Needless to say, I don't trust my airfoil any further
than I could throw it (bad example considering they probably fly better
than they hold my tire).



Call me dumb, but if it won't hold the tyre on at all without glue, why
aren't you warrantying it? I know unicycle.com are lovely and all that,
but surely if anything is not what it's sold as, a rim that doesn't
hold a tyre on is that for sure. Some of these wrong sized rims will at
least hold a tyre.

Terry, the steel rim is fine for 50psi, I run it all the time, I'd
stick with that until a right sized rim comes out. If Amy hasn't heard
about the tyres blowing off that's a bit weird, do they not use the
internet at all? On that linked thread it says they also said the tyres
will usally blow off the rim over 45psi, but who knows.

Joe


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to answer that question, I called them about it after the second time it
came apart at the proper pressure. Tim mentioned that the warranty
period is 30 days on unicycles and parts (I'd owned the cycle for about
3 months by that point). I'm sure I could have pushed for it if I
really tried. When I continued asking why it happened I was told that
the tire bead was damaged on the first blow out and that was why it
continued to blow out (my LBS inspected the tire for me and the bead
was fine). The overall shadyness of the X airfoil issue just made me
want to go make it work by myself. It's been fine ever since I glued
it.

I think that the issue isn't unicycle.com not knowing about the
blowouts. They have to. They simply are trying to keep issues
isolated and not blame the only people they have to make the rims. If
they get on the bad side of that manufacturer they have no one else to
make rims for our 36ers.


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mouse wrote:
to answer that question, I called them about it after the second time it
came apart at the proper pressure. Tim mentioned that the warranty
period is 30 days on unicycles and parts (I'd owned the cycle for about
3 months by that point). I'm sure I could have pushed for it if I
really tried. When I continued asking why it happened I was told that
the tire bead was damaged on the first blow out and that was why it
continued to blow out (my LBS inspected the tire for me and the bead
was fine). The overall shadyness of the X airfoil issue just made me
want to go make it work by myself. It's been fine ever since I glued
it.

I think that the issue isn't unicycle.com not knowing about the
blowouts. They have to. They simply are trying to keep issues
isolated and not blame the only people they have to make the rims. If
they get on the bad side of that manufacturer they have no one else to
make rims for our 36ers.

To me that seems like pure BULLS##T! It's like they're being held
"hostage" by the rim maker and if they complain about it NOT FITTING
properly, that they might stop supplying them? GOOD! What is it, a
monoploy? If a product is defective, FIX THE PROBLEM! Also, if *anyone*
gets hurt because of the tire blowing off, you should be able to
SUE!!!!! What, you've never heard of a recall? Why shluld I spend $700
on my "dream" coker, if I have to worry (contantly) about my tire
blowing off while I'm doing 12 mph? Geezzeus!


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I've had my Nimbus 36 since just before christmas w/o any problems. The
tire is still "as set" by UDC and I've run it at a variety of
pressures. That being said, I'm a very sedate rider. No drops, no
curbs, no gaps, just road riding.

I like the feel of the uni with the light wheel but I'd sure like to
have more flexibility in tire choices. If I had it to do over again
I'd probably go with the steel rim, standard spokes and save a few
bucks until the people that make the airfoil rim get their $#!t
together and figure out how to make it the right size (I mean c'mon.
How hard can it be?). Then I'd spring for a really great wheel.


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DOES ANYBODY HAVE AN OLD *GOOD) AIRFOIL that they would be willing to
sell me? I know some of you have more than one, so name your price
man!


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