giraffe uni

If you are looking for a Torker to handle basic trials, you can easily
think what a normal inexpensive non-trials freestyle would handle, and
go from there. The cranks are going to bend just as easily, and the
axle isn't a BMX 14mm axle, but is a normal 3/8". So the axle will bend
just as easily as a normal kid's bike. Finding a commercially available
replacement hub with a stronger axle is not as easy as it might seem.

Adding a really nice rim and pedals is like putting professional boxing
gloves on me, and sending me out to face Mike Tyson. It's not just the
gloves that counts.

So I would expect that, as you ride more aggressively, that you would
trash the equipment pretty fast.

You may also have trouble replacing the rim because I think the lower
sprocket is welded on, which makes replacing the spokes on the wheel
difficult. If the two rims have the same ERD, though, you should be
able to use the same spokes without unlacing them from the hub. There
is a procedure outlined in the wheel building references.

Scot Cooper built a MUni giraffe and I hope he contributes to this
thread.

--
U-Turn - Member of Generation XO

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.

'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)

'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)

'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)

-- Dave Stockton
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Scot's giraffe was based on a low-end Taiwan 5 footer, but there have
been several mods and upgrades over the years. I think some of these
were done after bends or breaks.

A giraffe frame undergoes a tremendous amount of bending stress to the
front and rear. Much of this is focused on the joint between the crank
barrel (bottom bracket) and the seat tube. Though you can start with the
Torker and do Trials on it, I'm sure it will bend or break at some
point. So you can wait for that to happen and then reinforce it, or
customize it to begin with. Or you can make one (or have one made) from
scratch.

Or find a used one from Tom Miller (The Unicycle Factory). Though heavy,
one of his will probably take anything you can dish out.

--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not
because they are easy, but because they are hard." -- John F. Kennedy,
1961
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