36er Muni: Yes Virginia, a 36er can be ridden off road

[skilewis74]

Originally Posted by MuniSano

A big downside of riding such a large wheel offroad (at least around here) is tree limb clearance! One sits so high off the ground that often times I'm battling tree limbs more than I'm battling the trail features! Has lead to many a UPD!

Even on a 24. I got some hand clippers and a small folding saw to trim branches I sometimes didn't even notice when on my mtb.

[Nurse Ben]

At the beginning of the Summer I had commiteed to a weekly trail ride on the 36er. The first few rides were sketchy, I didn’t feel like the 165’s nor the 170’s were long enough for ups and downs, so I splurged for some 175’s trials cranks. At first I was concerned about the stance being so much wider than my KH 36er; an additional 2” inches wider! But so far I find this stance comfortable and quite possibly better for offroad use.

I had plans to ride at one of the regional XC areas (Enterprise and Bent Creek) which have smooth single track that would allow more cruising, but for family reasons I have stayed closer to home and so I have been riding the more technical single track I typically ride on a 29er; rooty, rocky, extremes in gradient. At first this was really tough on a 36er, I was getting kicked off by obstacles, losing my side to balance as the tire leaned/steered hard into off camber situations, and I felt so tall. But I persevered and yesterday was the reward

I went riding at Haw Ridge, a local mtb hot spot; this is where I first tried to ride muni, it’s only five minutes from my house, so I ride there a lot. I didn’t start off with the intent of riding far, but it was going so well that I did ~4 mile single track loop. What got me so wound up was that I felt more “normal” than on previous rides, I was getting better at staying centered, so I had fewer side balancing issues, also I was learning to use speed control to manage obstacles; slow and fast are important for muni.

So some of the things I’m working on:

Riding free hand and letting the wheel run.
Using a more aggressive side lean to carve through tight turns
Using my knee/thigh to bump the tire into turns
Using more pedal control and less brake, esp on downhills

I am currently riding a new KH Freeride with an older KH vinyl cover. The vinyl cover keeps the sweat from soaking into the seat and keeps the foam from squishing out, but it is also slippery. I am going to try using a double cover, putting a new KH seat cover with the stretchy Kevlar over the vinyl cover to see if it gives me more seat grip, also considered adding some sticky stuff to the seat cover, like beads of shoe goo.

Again, I am amazed at what is rideable on the big wheel given some time to adjust (my attitude).

So yeah, the riding is coming along nicely, I feel like my skills are growing quickly, comparable now to where I was on a 29er a few years ago, but still not where I want to be 

On yesterday’s ride, I met up with a couple bikers, one guy road into a hole while scoping out my 36er Anyway, they wanted to see me ride, so I took off fast, seeing if I could stay ahead of them, which I did, yeah! So when they caught up with me I was taking a break, leaning against a tree. The first guy asks me if my uni has gears. Priceless!

[DavidHood]

I put 165s on my Impulse and tried Coker MUni for a while. I did not like it but I'd like to try again now that I've gotten a lot better at MUni. But alas, my new 36er is much too nice to throw about. Besides, IMHO a wheel that large belongs on the road or preferably the paved multi-use (rails-to-trails) so that is where King lives. Speaking if bike paths, our mayor cut the ribbon on a new 5 mile section of the Loop today (need to update my sig)!

[uniShark]

I've got a Coker. Steel hub, 48 spokes. I smash it around plenty, and no worries. Unicycles should be able to handle being dropped.

[uniShark]

I did by far my most aggressive 36er ride Friday evening. 10 miles of single track trails, more down than up, but still a good amount of climbing, as well as some rock gardens, and many more roots than I'm used to. I would not have chosen my heavy Coker with 152's for this ride, but it's the uni I've got with me. Went to the Brown County mountain bike trails, a little more then an hour drive south of Indianapolis, with padawan. I fell plenty, and was exhausted at the end, but was amazed at how much more I was able to do on the 36 than I would have thought. I'm strategizing for how to get myself a new 36 with an ISIS hub, longer cranks, the new lighter tire, and a disc brake.

[Nurse Ben]

David, the 36er is plenty tough enough as long as you aren't running the aluminum spindled Impulse hub. I have a "built" 36er Impulse with an Oregon hub, KH Tbar, 165/137 Moments, and the new muni tire. I have ridden some hairy stuff, most recently I did a Tech 3-4 downhill in Pisgah, all roots and rocks, drops up to 18" and it was awesome. Riding a 36er off road is faster and more fun that a 29er, rarely do I miss my smaller wheel.

Don't underestimate the big wheel, the limits are all in your mind.

[DavidHood]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

Riding a 36er off road is faster and more fun than a 29er.

I'm beginning to see the light. I've set up my new KH29 to do MUni. 165mm Spirit cranks, lowered the seat, brought the handlebar in a little, and dropped the air pressure to 18 psi. Having learned MUni on a 26er, I can definitely see how a bigger wheel helps get the speed needed to get up the hills on a Mountain Bike trail so it would follow that moving from a 29er to a 36er would help that much more.

[Nurse Ben]

Bigger is better

[MuniAddict]

And yes, Virginia, it's also possible to do trials and tricks on a 36er too! I put this little video together to help give some insights into the wonderful world of 36ers, mostly for those just getting into it.

36er - Coker Unicycle Guide & Mounting...

[Nurse Ben]

Added some color, rebuilt the adjustable Trans X bar end, running the prototype mtb tire tubeless at 20psi (the Foss tube died), 165 Moments, 200mm rotor and Magura MT 2 disc brake, no complaints, this 36er kills it!

I rode two different trails this week on the 36er, none of that easy stuff, both had some tough downhill, rocky and rooty, even some wild berm action and a boardwalk through an old marble quarry.

Don't underestimate the big wheel