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' (u-turn.unicyclist.com29erTireStudyOpen ↗)

'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(unicyclist.comalbup39Open ↗)

'New York Unicycle Club' (newyorkunicycle.comnewyorkunicycle.comOpen ↗)

-- 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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