Re: Custom Coker help

Not sure how much I can help out in this discussion. But I will try.

I have a stock Coker, and added brakes to it. For moderate hills and
flat riding I was pretty happy, until I started riding steeper terrain.
I put the brake on thinking it would be great for the downhills and
saving a little energy. I was wrong. I can not get the stock wheel
true enough to really feel comfortable enough using the brake on a
downhill. On the uphills when I am really hammering it uphill I get so
much flex, either in the frame, or the wheel that the brake drags. So I
decided to take the jump and buy and airfoil wheel.

I have heard a lot of good things about the Livewire wheel, and decided
to plunk down the money back in the beginning of April. I hope it will
turn out well. Time will tell. Until then, I ride my stock Coker.

After I ordered a wheel I started looking at upgrading my seat. I also
wanted to add the GB4 handle. I had already added a computer to my
stock Coker, so I needed the handle with the computer mount.
Unicycle.com was out of the handles with the computer mount, and I was
trying to get everything before a ride in late May. I emailed George
barnes at GB4 and he responded immediately. Seriously like 5 minutes
later. After a few emails, I was so impressed I ordered a frame too. I
wasn't planning on it, since I had heard others stretched their stock
frames to fit the widened hub with the airfoil rim. Even though George
was in Colorado, he was able to get the frame, handle, brake mounts,
seat stiffener etc... all built to my measurements(I'm short), and then
the handle and frame were powder coated to match in amazing time. He
even sent me pictures of the building process before it was sent to the
powder coaters. He didn't have to, but it was kind of cool since it is
all hand made and custom made just for me. He sent me updates, and
notified me when it shipped. When it showed up it was packed so well a
UPS truck could have drove over it w/o damage. The packing list was
meticulously written on the inside of the box, and each part was wrapped
in bubble wrap. It was then all packed in a double wall shipping box.
I'm sure just the packing cost $10. I have heard he isn't building, but
I think if you give him time, he will probably still take orders. I
guess the only way to know is if he responds here, or you send him a
line.

As for Hunter, I know several on this board have his frames, maybe one
of them can tell something about that experience.

If you have been reading the Coker wheel thread, you know that Livewire
is still working on a quality solution up to the Livewire standards.
And from what I have heard they make a great wheel. I wouldn't have
ordered otherwise. Hopefully this solution won't take too much longer.
I am really looking forward to putting it all together. Until then I
ride the stock Coker, since my GB4 frame was made to fit the wider hub.

--
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I also have a GB4 frame and had a very similar experiance that bugman
had including the in progress photos, e-mails of the building progress
and an apology up front that it may take awhile for my frame to be built
because he was away from his shop. George (GB4) had my frame built
sooner than his original estimate. He was terrific to work with.
Unfortunately, his frame building business may not be available
anymore.

As far as the wheel went, I built my own, and would encourage you to
think about possibly doing it yourself. It's not rocket science, and you
can save $$ and end up with a similar product to the very expensive
wheel that is available. E-mail or IM me if you would like more
information.

--
One on one - Proud member of the UALW and GUA

"However, like the jet pilot, if the Coker rider tries to turn too fast,
he/she could black out."
-Memphis Mud

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Hi there, Phelps! I'd be glad to give you a quote on a full uni or
single wheel from LiveWire. PM or email me if you would like.

As far as the wheels go, the delay has been due to the Airfoil rim's
woes and is completely out of my hands. You are seeing the end of about
9 months of various delays. In fact, by the time we are done with the
braking surface issues we will have an excellent solution to a sequence
of troubles, delays, and technical challenges. Our original project
fixed several flaws of the 36" wheel in a ground-breaking way, and the
latest is no exception. Newcomers may not remember that before The
Strongest Wheel came on the scene, it was -accepted as common knowledge-
that Coker wheels, and large wheels in general, were weak.

As far as "price break", in fact the price will be higher because there
will be additional manufacturing steps involved. However, you will not
be able to buy or make a better wheel. Seriously, there is very little
or no profit in these wheels because of all the labor and trouble; I
hope the uni community understands that.

As far as wheel building not being "rocket science"... Although it is
true that it doesn't take much to assemble a wheel, to build a truly
great wheel, it does take a lot of insight and experience. I use a lot
of my two engineering degrees when I build a wheel, as well as three
years of experience building Coker wheels to the highest standards. The
original project took a full year of many ideas, custom parts, tests,
tweaks, data collection, and the like. In other threads I talk about
all the others who also deserve credit for their contributions to this
technology.

With respect, although a person may claim their wheel is "similar", I
have had a standing challenge up for three years now and have had no
challengers (see http://gallery.unicyclist.com/albuu55). Until that
challenge takes place, there is no basis for that claim. And quite
honestly, I'm glad my first wheel was not a 36". Finally, three years
later with probably eight hundred dollars of custom/specialized
equipment developed just for building these wheels (and more currently
in the works), I'm happy to say that I'm very proud of the LiveWire
product.

Bugman will be very thrilled with his wheel, which won't be long now.
And it makes a great combination with George's fine work -- just ask
Mike Tierney!

--
U-Turn - As long as my feet keep movin'...

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)
'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-- Dave Stockton
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For frames the main choices here in the US are the Hunter and GB4.
There are other's making 36" frames and there are DYI frames. The
Hunter and GB4 are going to be the best of the bunch though. With
George getting out of the frame building business for the time being the
choice is now down to Hunter. The Hunters are great. I'd be glad to
have one if I didn't have a GB4. Hunter is willing and able to
customize the frame to your specs. You can make it truly custom.

The easy way to get a quality wheel is to get it from LiveWire. U-Turn
has built the wheels before and knows the tricks. I had my wheel built
locally here in Seattle. It turns into a rolling experiment. The shop
that I had build the wheel is now closed so I can't go back there for
truing and other wheel maintenance. I then went to a second shop that
has a very good wheel builder. That shop has gone out of business too.
So now I'm at a third shop. Every time I go to a new shop the wheel
builder has to relearn how to build such a big wheel. They don't know
how much tension is needed. So each new wheel builder has to make a
guess as to how much tension to use. It turns into a rolling experiment
at that point. The first shop built the wheel, the second shop added
more tension, and the third shop trued up a wobble and then replaced a
broken spoke. Had I gone with U-Turn to build the wheel those problems
would not have happened.

The saddle designed by 'Scott Wallis'
(http://www.wallisdesign.com/MuniPage.html) is really nicely made. I
want one.

A Hunter frame with LiveWire wheel and a Scott Wallis saddle would be
the killer combo. U-Turn can do all that for ya.

--
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U-Turn said:

*With respect, although a person may claim their wheel is "similar", I
have had a standing challenge up for three years now and have had no
challengers (see http://gallery.unicyclist.com/albuu55). Until that
challenge takes place, there is no basis for that claim. And quite
honestly, I'm glad my first wheel was not a 36". Finally, three years
later with probably eight hundred dollars of custom/specialized
equipment developed just for building these wheels (and more currently
in the works), I'm happy to say that I'm very proud of the LiveWire
product.

Bugman will be very thrilled with his wheel, which won't be long now.
And it makes a great combination with George's fine work -- just ask
Mike Tierney! *

Just curious, I didn't find the challange on your gallery. What is the
challange?

I am sure I'll be happy with the wheel. Can't wait to get it.
Hopefully your machinist gets it all set up soon.

--
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I've been riding a Hunter36 with LiveWire wheel for over 2 years and can
whole-heartedly recommend this as an awesome unicycle. I have two
complete setups now, for myself and Beau. You can see some 'photos of
them here.' (http://community.webshots.com/album/29172825KykoOOuIOY)

These are great for long distance touring, great for offroad including
racing. Solid and dependable. After you ride one of LiveWire's wheels
you won't want to ride anything else. Working with Rick Hunter is also
fantastic as he is extremely capable and willing to make whatever you
want. He enjoys custom projects. For example look at 'this picture of a
recent custom one he made for Bronson.' (http://tinyurl.com/bkb55) Note
the doubly-adjustable handle made exactly to Bronson's specifications.
Also you can't see well in the photo but this frame has drastically
different bearing holders than usual - to handle the Creative Gecko
wheel with custom hub and adjustable cranks that Bronson is using. Rick
has made hundreds of unicycle frames and really knows his stuff.

I'd say the 4 most important parts of the unicycle you're talking about
building are:

1. wheel
2. wheel
3. wheel
4. seat/post/frame/handle

---Nathan

--
nathan - BIG rides: Muni & Coker
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nathan said:

*look at 'this picture of a recent custom one he made for Bronson.'
(http://tinyurl.com/bkb55)
---Nathan *

Su-weeet. I'm waiting on a less jazzed up version of a Hunter frame and
Stockton wheel.

What kind of cranks are those? Those are very cool.

--
munipsycho - Sometimes I fall down.

=====================
Yoopers on family: "Happy wife, happy life."

'Stories' (http://munipsycho.com/stories/)
'The UniSkills Assessment' (http://www.munipsycho.com/uniskills_2.jsp)

I can fly too. But I can only fly down.
-Little Bear

Imagine all the people
Riding on one wheel.
J. Lennon. (paraphrased)
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I have just ordered a GB4 coker frame and I'm just waiting for it to
come back from powdercoating. I'll post a writeup when it comes. I'm
expecting it to be a great frame and add at least 2mph to my cruising
speed.

Daniel

--
daino149 - On Vacation - till i find a job

OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE
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dose aneyone have a pic of a gb4 frame

--
unicyclepa

www.unicyclepa.com
we suck
but its all good
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Thank you all for your helpful information. With GB4 no longer available
my choice for a frame, is a Hunter and unless I'm crazy enough to
attempt building my own wheel, my choice is a LiveWire wheel. Theres not
a lot of choices are there?

John Childs, you give a good reason not to rely on someone unfamiliar
with building and fixing your Coker wheel. I didn't realize that they
were that different from what a bike shop is used to working with.

I would like to see Nathans 3 wheel unicycle

--
phelps
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unicyclepa said:

*dose aneyone have a pic of a gb4 frame *

All sorts of 'em here:

http://gallery.unicyclist.com/GB4-36-custom

BTW: I celebrated the first day of summer with a nice after-dinner ride
tonight which brought me to the 1000 mile mark on my GB4 36. While
there isn't a lot of tread left on my Coker tire, U-Turn's excellent
wheel is still running strong and true. Only thing I've done to it in 14
months is adjust the air pressure in the tire.

--
tomblackwood - Registered Nurtz

Tailgate at your own risk.....

"By George! The man's a genius!"
Murde Mental

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phelps said:

I would like to see Nathans 3 wheel unicycle [/B]

I believe that Nathan has three U-Turn wheels so he's not exaggerating.
🙂
The most important part of a unicycle is the wheel. A stiff and well
built wheel makes a difference in how the unicycle rides. If you're
trying to cut corners on a custom build the motto should be "splurge on
the wheel and skimp on the frame". That's the opposite it is for bikes.
For bikes the frame is the most important part because it determines
the geometry and feel of the bike. On a unicycle the wheel is the most
important part and the seat is second.

phelps said:

*John Childs, you give a good reason not to rely on someone unfamiliar
with building and fixing your Coker wheel. I didn't realize that they
were that different from what a bike shop is used to working with. *

The Coker wheels get more fussy if you install a brake. The wheel needs
to be stiff enough that it doesn't rub the brake pads while you're
riding. That was the problem after the first build. The wheel didn't
have enough tension and would rub the brake pads during heavy pedaling.
So I had to take it to another shop to get more tension. At that point
it became a guessing match by the wheel builder to figure out how much
tension is just right without being too much. It's tricky.

The Hunter is a great frame. I was just a few days from ordering a
Hunter frame when I found a second hand GB4 frame for sale. I couldn't
pass that up so I ended up with the GB4. Six of one, half dozen of the
other.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

john_childs (att) hotmail (dott) com
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bugman said:

*Just curious, I didn't find the challange on your gallery. What is
the challange? *

Read a bit closer. The third album in that gallery has the following for
caption (emphasis added):

Album: Strongest Coker Wheel in the World
With help from the other members of the New York and Eastern Connecticut
Unicycle Clubs, I tested my new Coker wheel. I built it from scratch a
while ago and now testing is almost finished. ALL CHALLENGES ARE
WELCOME! I'm working on a detailed website to describe this and other
aspects to a Coker project, but until then here are some test results.

--
tomblackwood - Registered Nurtz

Tailgate at your own risk.....

"By George! The man's a genius!"
Murde Mental

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tomblackwood said:

*Read a bit closer. The third album in that gallery has the following
for caption (emphasis added):

Album: Strongest Coker Wheel in the World
With help from the other members of the New York and Eastern
Connecticut Unicycle Clubs, I tested my new Coker wheel. I built it
from scratch a while ago and now testing is almost finished. ALL
CHALLENGES ARE WELCOME! I'm working on a detailed website to describe
this and other aspects to a Coker project, but until then here are
some test results. *

Actually I did see that. It just didn't seem like a challange against
all other wheel builders, more like a challenge to "test" Dave's Worlds
Strongest Coker Wheel.

--
bugman - Proud member of the UALW
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I also am getting a gb4 coker frame just waiting for it to come from
the brown truck. Contact gb4 manufactureing L.L.C. He built my 26"
big muni I love it so much, I'm also getting a 24" from him also.

--
Tigger - Muni's have changed my life!

"If you risk nothing, then you risk everything."

From Velosophy
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unicyclepa said:

*dose aneyone have a pic of a gb4 frame *

You can click on the link in munipsycho's sig line to see picture of the
frame being built. If you search one on one, he has pictures posted of
his frame, or maybe he'll repost them in this thread.

--
bugman - Proud member of the UALW
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bugman said:

*You can click on the link in munipsycho's sig line to see picture of
the frame being built. If you search one on one, he has pictures
posted of his frame, or maybe he'll repost them in this thread. *

Here it is.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Attachment filename: gb4 montage.jpg |
|Download attachment: http://www.unicyclist.com/attachment/328843|
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

--
One on one - Proud member of the UALW and GUA

"However, like the jet pilot, if the Coker rider tries to turn too fast,
he/she could black out."
-Memphis Mud

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One on one said:

*Here it is. *

1o1, That's a sweet ride? Very nice. Is that the wheel you built? What
size cranks?

--
munipsycho - Sometimes I fall down.

=====================
Yoopers on family: "Happy wife, happy life."

'Stories' (http://munipsycho.com/stories/)
'The UniSkills Assessment' (http://www.munipsycho.com/uniskills_2.jsp)

I can fly too. But I can only fly down.
-Little Bear

Imagine all the people
Riding on one wheel.
J. Lennon. (paraphrased)
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munipsycho said:

*1o1, That's a sweet ride? Very nice. Is that the wheel you built?
What size cranks? *

Thank- you. Yes it is. It is the end result of my DIY kit.
http://tinyurl.com/83hm2

The cranks are Nimbus X 150's

_1_
O

--
One on one - Proud member of the UALW and GUA

"However, like the jet pilot, if the Coker rider tries to turn too fast,
he/she could black out."
-Memphis Mud

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