Extremely advanced Coker

[bronson]

Thanks for your comments. I was beginning to think that most of the people on this newsgroup are only interested in how unicycles look rather than how they ride.

Originally posted by U-Turn
I'm not really a certified Cokerhead (yet) but I have a couple of replies to your questions.

I have a Magura on mine with the typical cut-off handlebar extension. For a while I didn't like it but now I have it positioned better and think it works great, at least on the stock wheel. When I rebuild the wheel with the Aero rim I'll have more to say. The brake doesn't have drag capability yet but I'm thinking that out.

I had a Magura on my other Coker without drag also. The brake works great. I really missed a drag break on long descents.

So far I adjust the cranks by changing them which works fine. So far I've used 150mm on the road and 150 and 170mm off-road. The 170mm cranks were much easier to work with off-road for climbing hills in sand and mounting in the rocks. For a really long trip you are probably going to have support like Lars did this summer; he changed cranks at times. So it seems like a minor convenience in that situation. But it seems like your capability could be quite useful for rapidly changing terrain, especially unsupported day trips.

Changing cranks many times is simply adding unneccessary wear and tear on your cranks. If you have steel cranks on a steel axle I think the wear and tear is much less, but taking off aluminum cranks forces you to remove the pedals every time. I was swapping cranks about every few weeks with my other Coker.

Right now I have just the Miyata seat handle but I'm working on a variation of the GB handle that will accommodate the brake lever. My Reeder handle is very useful on the Pashley.

The GB handles are great. I have several Reeder handles also.

I don't see how in the heck suspension is going to help seat comfort in the slightest, either on or off-road. If one is riding on-road, there is very little, if any, need for the shock. If one is off-road it's your legs that have to do the work anyway so the suspension is extraneous. I have an air seat so perhaps that affects my perception. The main problem with riding comfort is the saddle and how it handles weight placement and repetitive motion. The small variations in those entities that a shock might transform are insignificant, in my view, compared with the simple saddle design. John Child's questions about resonance are important - perhaps the suspension will cause more problems than it solves. This resonance problem is also possible with an air seat; in my riding so far that hasn't been a problem but again, I don't have the hundreds of miles on the Coker yet to focus in on that in practice. I don't, however, think that a suspension is going to "relieve pressure". Perhaps your different saddle design does that; but if so I'm still not sure that the suspension is really necessary for road riding.

I have not put 100 miles on the new uni yet, but I do have some comments on the suspension. Yes, there is additional movement as you ride. The beauty of the suspension is it gives when it needs to, which reduces the friction between your crotch and the seat. Friction creates heat, which leads to discomfort. It helps to relieve pressure by not having a constant pressure throughout the ride. On my other Coker, after X minutes of flat riding I find the seat becoming progressively more uncomfortable. I have found so far that the suspension helps to relieve this pressure. The suspension certainly takes some getting used to, but I don't find that it requires any significant additional amount of energy. Again, the discomfort is related to many factors, like terrain, saddle, length of riding, crotch tolerance, etc... My experience has been that I can ride longer with more comfort with suspension. That said, there are some "iron-crotch" riders who defy the physics of anatomy. Yes, some can ride a viscount seat for hundreds of miles and not complain about discomfort. I say, "More power to you".

As far as commenting on performance, only someone who regularly does long distance and can try your cycle can truly make insightful comments based on experience. When enough people have done that, then perhaps we'll know whether this great-looking new machine is a breakthrough in long-distance unicycling.

Well, that information will be forthcoming. I am sure Scot and Andy will be interested in riding my custom uni when we are touring around Tasmania.

You may be wary of "doing a Harper" with a $2500 cycle - I know I would! Why not pick a few individuals notable for their distance riding and loan it to each for a couple of weeks, with the understanding that their comments would be public and detailed? I'm sure that Scot Cooper, Andy Cotter, Gilby, David and John Stone, and a few others would love to try it out and I know from experience that their comments would be detailed and meaningful.

I don't plan on shipping this uni around, but others are welcome to ride it if they visit. I am not looking to have this uni "certified" by others, but am interested in what others are doing and if anyone else is pushing the envelope on what a touring unicycle can do.

-Bronson