Re: Coker crank size for hills

I had a 29 with 125s then got a Coker with 150s, if anything I found the
Coker slightly easier due to the increased momentum in the wheel. If I
hit a short hill quickly enough I only really need to work towards the
top, whereas on the 29 I'd be working almost all the way up.

If you work out the ratio of crank length to wheel radius for a 29 with
125s and a Coker with 150s the numbers are very close, 2.98 and 2.93
respectively, so a Coker with 150s should feel relatively familiar if a
little heavier.

I've just switched to 125s on the Coker and it's definitely harder work
on the hills, but I think I'll get used to that in time.

Good luck with the new Uni

Paul

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paul royle said:

If you work out the ratio of crank length to wheel radius for a 29 with
125s and a Coker with 150s the numbers are very close, 2.98 and 2.93
respectively, so a Coker with 150s should feel relatively familiar if a
little heavier.

You probably mean the other way around: ratio of wheel radius to crank
length. The again, by my calculation, the numbers are 2.95 and 3.05
respectively. Still quite close though.

However, as to feeling familiar, there is of course more to how you
'feel' a unicycle than just the wheel-radius-to-crank-length ratio.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
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"When it comes to the family jewels, you won't be having fun until they're having fun. - Jake D"

My Qu-ax 36" unicycle (Coker? See 'this thread'
(http://tinyurl.com/d2vfj) ) came with 150s on it which I tried but they
were too long for me so I quickly changed them to 125s. I'm happy with
the 125s for now but I'll probably go shorter when I'm more used to it.
The only time when longer cranks would be of benefit for me would be
downhill but I'm getting a brake for that.

I think leg length has a significant role to play in crank length
preference but I'm not sure why, it's just a hunch. BTW I have fairly
short legs and use 125s for Muni also.

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unicus

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unicus said:

*I think leg length has a significant role to play in crank length
preference but I'm not sure why, it's just a hunch. BTW I have fairly
short legs and use 125s for Muni also. *

A little bit off-topic, but on a bike people with short legs often
prefer to use shorter cranks, in proportion to the length of their legs.
Mass-prduced bikes (even a lot of children's bikes) almost always come
with 170 or 175mm cranks, which are far too long to be comfortable for
shorter people. But on a bike you can compensate for the lack of torque
of the shorter cranks by gearing lower and pedalling faster. On a
unicycle shorter cranks means you need stronger legs - but saying that,
shorter cyclists do tend to be good climbers.

I mostly ride a 26x3 with 165s, and I can't imagine using anything much
shorter even with that wheel size - up hill is fine unless it gets
_really_ steep, but going down some even fairly steep hills (nothing
extreme, just 1:6 or so roads) I'm struggling to hold it back. I would
say I have fairly strong legs, but then I've been a cyclist all my life
and only took up unicycling just over a year ago, so perhaps I just
haven't developed the "backwards pedalling" muscles enough. I'm tempted
to have a go with a coker, but I think I'd need brakes for the
descents!

Rob

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rob.northcott - OK as long as it's not too windy
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The answer to this question depends a lot on how much riding you're
going to do and how fast you want to go on the flat.

If you ride a lot you'll get stronger legs and be able to ride with
shorter cranks. If you want to ride really fast on the flat you have to
ride a lot and short cranks will really help your speed.

I've got 110 cranks on the coker. Without brakes you can ride down 1 in
7 hills but it's hard work once it's that steep. If you've not got a
brake downhill is the big thing that is hard. I ride a lot though (10
miles most weekdays plus long rides at weekends), so I can ride more
than most people.

It also depends a bit on how hilly you mean by hilly, if you mean 10,000
feet mountains and massive ascents then you might want really long
cranks, you might even want 170s or something. If you mean rolling hills
and nothing about 1000 feet, you could probably learn to use shorter
cranks just fine.

Whatever happens, riding with 150 cranks is probably a good start, then
moving down after you've ridden a few hundred miles if you feel you're
needing a bit more speed.

Joe

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Thanks again guys for all your comments. I have nothing extreme here as
far as hills go (2000-3000ft peak elevations) and roads can have climbs
of 1000ft or so over a few miles distance. I plan to stay mostly away
from crossing over the mountians sticking to the rolling hills in the
lower areas. There you may run into some short but steep hills. I have
ridden a 29" uni w/ 125s on all of these roads no problem without a
brake. I have very strong legs and have good endurance I've just never
experienced a Coker before. I'll start out with 150mm cranks to get
used to the uni then tweak it as needed. I'll see how it goes without a
brake at first. I've been riding so long without brakes and like going
down hills as it works your legs the opposite way.

I just know that riding the Coker is going to be the coolest thing since
learning to ride. Can't wait!!!

Looks like unicycle.com is out of stock of the Airfoil rim version. Any
other source for these?

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hedge - Vet Rider
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