Gearing up the Torker TX

[flyer]

I have come to dislike the fact that the only size of wheel I have in my fleet of unicycles is 20 inches. I have a (mostly Sem) freestyle, my learner uni (norco), a bc wheel (plates I made myself), and a Torker TX.

The Torker is a really strong and (basing this on the other giraffes I have used, which isn't a great many) solid giraffe. It has 125mm cranks, and 28 tooth sprockets. It's only five feet tall, making it not a 'true' giraffe, but the ease of mounting and the degree to which that wows the audience definitely makes it a worthy machine.

Since I tend to ride my unicycles everywhere, I've always wanted something to go a little faster. And since I'd just gotten quite comfortable, and dare I say, confident, on the Torker, I decided it was time to modify it a little. Since I know nothing about how cogs fit onto freewheels (on the TX, it turns out to be the same as a fixed-gear bike), I took it down to the LBS. They gave me a pretty good deal on fitting the sprocket that I wanted because I gave them mention in the article that was done in my university's newspaper.

So, to make a long story short, I got my wish. They fitted a 14t sprocket to the bottom of the beast, giving me a 2:1 gear ratio, theoretical 40" equivalent wheelsize. I can't even freemount anymore, but damn can this thing haul ass!

I'm very happy with the modification. I'm guesstimating a week before I figure out some way to get on without needing a curb. It also seems that I've just done the exact opposite of what this person has done.

The handling is incredibly finicky, and I've already been going a fair clip and had to drop and roll out of a fall, incurring minor road rash. I'm getting more used to it now, but the wheel needs more air and clings to the road camber like a flat Big Apple riding through tar.

All things considered though, the real reason I wanted to do this was to challenge myself. And have fun, of course

[flyer]

More Pictures:

[flyer]

The lower sprocket.

The bmx pegs are there because I lost the end axle nuts, and I don't have anything else to hold the frame to the wheel.

[habbywall]

how much did that cost in all, it looks rather nice, i would spend the money on it.

[flyer]

The Torker TX is 250$ Cdn at my LBS, the gearing up cost me 10$ for the sprocket and mechanic time.

so possibly the cheapest guni possible

[habbywall]

Originally Posted by flyer

The Torker TX is 250$ Cdn at my LBS, the gearing up cost me 10$ for the sprocket and mechanic time.

so possibly the cheapest guni possible

so 260 total?! that rocks, i wunder if they could do that to any old one, do you think it would be cheaper for me to just buy a 20 lx and then get that fixed up with the sprocket?

[habbywall]

too late to edit,
how much do you think it would cost if you didn't get that discount?

[cegli]

Wow, thats nuts. I can't believe you went straight from 20" inch unis, to a Virtual 40" uni, let alone on a giraffe. Pretty crazy man. Looks like fun though, I've been comtemplating getting a TX just for fun, that looks like more than what I was thinking of, haha.

[subsonic87]

Holy crap! I got to get me a TX!

[GUI]

That's awesome, wish I had some money,


Why do you have axle pegs?

[Mojoe]

I love it!

Mojoe

[Gilby]

Originally Posted by GUI

Why do you have axle pegs?

So that you can stand on the pegs and pedal with your hands.

[habbywall]

Originally Posted by flyer

The bmx pegs are there because I lost the end axle nuts,

im gonna do that with a tx

[manon1wheel]

Originally Posted by Gilby

So that you can stand on the pegs and pedal with your hands.

hahahah is that actually possible? i havent seen it done before =)

[flyer]

That was the original reason I put them on. On a five footer it's really hard to do because the pedals are so low though. If you have access to a copy of Defect there's some footage of someone doing it.

And habbywall - you can do the same to any giraffe really. Unless you're really sure, you probably don't want to gear it up this much. You couldn't do it to an LX, because there's no chain to change sprocket sizes on.

The sprockets that a TX takes are fixed-gear bike sprockets, and apparently they run around 10$. You might want to get really comfy with the giraffe (100% mount rate, good falling practices) before you do something like this.

-Dave