New Upgrades - Nimbus Stealth Pro Rim + 14g SS Spokes

[Chexjc]

I just placed the order on Tuesday and the wheelbuild arrived Friday! Wow, A+ shipping, Unicycle.com . I actually didn't know the rim was white...I thought it was chrome, but white is even better!

Here's my coker:

• Radial Frame
• UDC Super-Wide Hub
• Qu-Ax Alloy Cranks - 125mm
• T7 Handle
• KH Seatpost - Primo Clamp
• Jim C Pedals
• Wheel TA Tire
• Nimbus Stealth Pro Rim
• 14g SS Spokes (36)

I just took it for it's first test spin - The weight difference makes a huge impact on the way it handles. Not only is it somewhat nicer to lug around, it's also much more maneuverable. This should be nice to ride the LBI Unithon with.

I know, the Jim C's are a bit bulky. I'm planning to pick up some twisted Odysseys soon.

[rob.northcott]

Grrr... UDCUK haven't had any spokes for ages. But if my wheel ever turns up it'll be just like yours! (except I'm having a normal width ISIS hub). Very jealous.

Rob

[Chexjc]

Originally Posted by rob.northcott

Grrr... UDCUK haven't had any spokes for ages. But if my wheel ever turns up it'll be just like yours! (except I'm having a normal width ISIS hub). Very jealous.

Rob

I would've ordered mine in early april, but UDC (US) was out of the spokes until the 30th - so I was in a similar boat. ISIS hub, huh? I wish I had the cash to have sprung for that haha. Post pics when you get it!

[rob.northcott]

Originally Posted by Chexjc

ISIS hub, huh? I wish I had the cash to have sprung for that haha. Post pics when you get it!

It's about the same price as the square-taper hubs... are you thinking of a Schlumpf geared hub?
I've got an extra-wide hub on my current steel coker wheel, but decided to go for ISIS this time (seems like the way unicycle cranks are going, and gives me the possibility of using the KH dual-holed cranks, although I'm not using those yet), which means no option of an extra-wide hub. In theory the standard-width hub will make the wheel a bit weaker, but I know loads of people using standard hubs with no problems, even cross-country, so I've decided to risk it (the new rim and spokes are better anyway so hopefully will make up for the narrower hub).

Hopefully Roger will get some spokes soon (he was expecting them a couple of weeks ago I think)...

Rob

[Chexjc]

Originally Posted by rob.northcott

It's about the same price as the square-taper hubs... are you thinking of a Schlumpf geared hub?

Nah, I'm not thinking of the Schlumpf, but we definitely aren't thinking of the same hubs . Which hub are you ordering with yours?

[rob.northcott]

Originally Posted by Chexjc

Nah, I'm not thinking of the Schlumpf, but we definitely aren't thinking of the same hubs . Which hub are you ordering with yours?

Just a normal Nimbus ISIS hub.

Rob

[rob.northcott]

Originally Posted by Chexjc

Post pics when you get it!

OK, Roger's spoke supply arrived and I got my wheel yesterday.
Haven't had time to put it on the unicycle yet, but here are a couple of pics of the wheel FWIW. It's certainly noticably lighter than my old wheel. I'll weigh them when I'm doing the swap and see what the actual difference is. I'm guessing about 400-500g (the spokes alone save 200 I think).

Rob

[rob.northcott]

I built up my 36er today and weighed all the parts as I swapped them over. The new wheel has saved a lot more weight than I guessed. For anyone who's interested:

Old wheel (Qu-Ax steel rim, 12-gauge spokes, UDC extra wide hub): 3125g
New wheel (Stealth Pro rim, 14-gauge spokes, Nimbus ISIS hub): 2155g

Old cranks (steel): 685g
New cranks (Qu-Ax aluminium): 325g

Tyre (TA with about 2000 miles use): 1990g

Frame/saddle/seatpost/brake (Qu-Ax steel / KH Fusion / UDC 22.2 steel / bmx calliper with Tektro lever on steel bar end): 2670g

Forgot to weigh the pedals. They're just standard DMR V8s (with pedal protectors at the moment).

Overall saving: 1330g, more than twice (almost three times) my guess, and all from the wheel.

I'm now starting to think I should save some weight from the saddle foam and bar end (it's a REALLY heavy cheap steel one, but swapping it for a light one wouldn't really make that much difference - I'll probably cut the foam down a bit though and flatten the profile slightly while I'm at it).

I haven't ridden it yet - might ride it to work tomorrow.

Here are a couple of pics of the complete machine (sorry about the quality - it was raining and the light was a bit funny):

Rob

[unicyclist.ca]

Originally Posted by rob.northcott

I built up my 36er today and weighed all the parts as I swapped them over. The new wheel has saved a lot more weight than I guessed. For anyone who's interested:

Old wheel (Qu-Ax steel rim, 12-gauge spokes, UDC extra wide hub): 3125g
New wheel (Stealth Pro rim, 14-gauge spokes, Nimbus ISIS hub): 2155g

Old cranks (steel): 685g
New cranks (Qu-Ax aluminium): 325g

Tyre (TA with about 2000 miles use): 1990g

Frame/saddle/seatpost/brake (Qu-Ax steel / KH Fusion / UDC 22.2 steel / bmx calliper with Tektro lever on steel bar end): 2670g

Forgot to weigh the pedals. They're just standard DMR V8s (with pedal protectors at the moment).

Overall saving: 1330g, more than twice (almost three times) my guess, and all from the wheel.

I'm now starting to think I should save some weight from the saddle foam and bar end (it's a REALLY heavy cheap steel one, but swapping it for a light one wouldn't really make that much difference - I'll probably cut the foam down a bit though and flatten the profile slightly while I'm at it).

I haven't ridden it yet - might ride it to work tomorrow.

Here are a couple of pics of the complete machine (sorry about the quality - it was raining and the light was a bit funny):

Rob

Was the old one 48 spoke?

[Ducttape]

Originally Posted by rob.northcott

I built up my 36er today and weighed all the parts as I swapped them over. The new wheel has saved a lot more weight than I guessed. For anyone who's interested:

Old wheel (Qu-Ax steel rim, 12-gauge spokes, UDC extra wide hub): 3125g
New wheel (Stealth Pro rim, 14-gauge spokes, Nimbus ISIS hub): 2155g

Old cranks (steel): 685g
New cranks (Qu-Ax aluminium): 325g

Tyre (TA with about 2000 miles use): 1990g

Frame/saddle/seatpost/brake (Qu-Ax steel / KH Fusion / UDC 22.2 steel / bmx calliper with Tektro lever on steel bar end): 2670g

Forgot to weigh the pedals. They're just standard DMR V8s (with pedal protectors at the moment).

Overall saving: 1330g, more than twice (almost three times) my guess, and all from the wheel.

I'm now starting to think I should save some weight from the saddle foam and bar end (it's a REALLY heavy cheap steel one, but swapping it for a light one wouldn't really make that much difference - I'll probably cut the foam down a bit though and flatten the profile slightly while I'm at it).

I haven't ridden it yet - might ride it to work tomorrow.

Here are a couple of pics of the complete machine (sorry about the quality - it was raining and the light was a bit funny):

Rob

first picture almost looks like a 29'er.

[Rowan]

My first impression was "I'm not impressed with this ugly white!". Because there was no choice of black in NZ. Replacing a black Airfoil in a black frame seems a bit silly.

My first problem when getting my wheel built was finding spoke washers. On my previous wheelbuild I had a lot of snapping spokes problems due to the Coker hub being designed to take 13 gauge spokes- so the ends of the 14 gauge spokes would wriggle around in the holes. I managed to find stainless steel washers easy enough but in my opinion they should come with the spokes and come with advice on using them since it was only $2.

Originally Posted by rob.northcott

Overall saving: 1330g, more than twice (almost three times) my guess, and all from the wheel.

The weight saving is nice, but at what cost? If you ever get a puncture how the heck are you going to take the tire off? It took me 3 tire levers to get the damn thing on- resulting in a pinch flat. I got it off and on, fixed with a slow flat left over, and snapped my tire lever trying to get it back off. Now I am going to order Nylon coated steel core tire levers from England to get this ridiculously tight tire off, negating most of the weight savings if I carry them. If I am ever in an endurance race and I get a flat tire I will probably have to give up instead of fixing it cos I am not looking forwards to taking it off again.

In my opinion this might have happened due to the bad batch of Airfoils. They were made the wrong size and some people's tires popped off at high pressure I think- so they went and made the Stealth pro the wrong size bigger- so they are not practical!

I'm sick of hearing the old excuse from manufacturers that "It costs too much to make a new tire/rim and there are not enough unicyclists". I reckon if one was available, I'd use a tire that is similar to 700c, but around 40" or 42" in size. Make a Carbon or alloy rim. We have had so many new combinations of 36" tires and rims but very little innovation- basicly the same thing but a few grams different. There was obviously a lot of money to be made or they wouldn't make so many different sorts- airfoil, coker, stealth pro, wheel ta, nimbus nightrider etc. All these wheels are basicly designed to be ridden offroad- we need a lightweight high pressure road version! And a new narrow innertube to match!

Maybe I don't understand how difficult it would be to mount such a tire/rim combination and have it stay on successfully.

I get the feeling unicycle.com is there to make money off us rather than to serve our needs sometimes.

[Ducttape]

Originally Posted by Chexjc

I just placed the order on Tuesday and the wheelbuild arrived Friday! Wow, A+ shipping, Unicycle.com . I actually didn't know the rim was white...I thought it was chrome, but white is even better!

Here's my coker:

• Radial Frame
• UDC Super-Wide Hub
• Qu-Ax Alloy Cranks - 125mm
• T7 Handle
• KH Seatpost - Primo Clamp
• Jim C Pedals
• Wheel TA Tire
• Nimbus Stealth Pro Rim
• 14g SS Spokes (36)

I just took it for it's first test spin - The weight difference makes a huge impact on the way it handles. Not only is it somewhat nicer to lug around, it's also much more maneuverable. This should be nice to ride the LBI Unithon with.

I know, the Jim C's are a bit bulky. I'm planning to pick up some twisted Odysseys soon.

why is it so clean and pretty! crash that thing a few times at high speeds and dirty it up!

[Chexjc]

Originally Posted by Ducttape

why is it so clean and pretty! crash that thing a few times at high speeds and dirty it up!

Heh, funny you say that...

I took a nice fall just yesterday when I hit a pothole I wasn't looking for . I'm okay though, just a few scratches. The T7 got a little banged up.

I rode 15 miles on Sunday and another 15 on Monday this week - My first decent rides on the new rim. It feels excellent. Powering up hills has never been easier. The best part is how much easier the overall handling feels. It's much more nimble of a ride.

Give the 125's some more time. My guess is that you'll end up liking them a lot more. I went from 150's as well and also felt a bit unstable at first. But once you get the feel for them, it's almost as though hills get easier (?). Maybe it has to do with the extra speed you can pick up with them.

I'm going to try 114's next. The wobble in my wheel at high speeds is starting to bug me.

[rob.northcott]

Originally Posted by Chexjc

Give the 125's some more time. My guess is that you'll end up liking them a lot more.

I can see myself getting to like them on the road, but for my half-xc route to work I think they're a bit too short. I've never been much of a road unicyclist anyway - that's what bikes are for! That's probably why I've never really become comfortable at high speeds on my coker - my top speed is around 15mph; any faster and I feel really unsafe. It amazes me how people manage to ride at 20mph without crashing on every tiny ripple in the road.

Actually the climbs weren't too bad on the 125s - I almost made it up the steepest bit of my route (about 1:6 for nearly half a mile, with little bits probably 1:5), and I only stopped because of a horse in the middle of the road. I think I could have JUST made it to the top if I'd had a clear run, but there was no way I could mount on that hill (I can't do it on 150s either). Downhills are a completely different matter though - utterly scary (and the new rim/brake block combination hasn't bedded in yet )

Rob

[Chexjc]

Originally Posted by rob.northcott

Downhills are a completely different matter though - utterly scary...

I agree. I'll get a brake sometime in the future. I hate downhills.