johnfoss said:My guess is that you'd get best results with your third link....But that
one might have the least-flat center section, which means it may tend
to pull to either side. The first two examples look "flatter," but they
also look like they'd have poor traction on dirt.
I never noticed that problem with my Big Apple, but I haven't put too
many miles on it. I *have* noticed it on my Coker, trying to ride
around Lake Tahoe on skinny, no-shoulder roads with traffic. Apparently
learning to handle the camber is an acquired skill, as Nathan and Beau
attest...
The "camber problem" on the nimbus is that the wheel seems to want to
be perpendicular to the road underneath it - so you end up riding with
your body leant way way over to compensate, which makes it pretty hard
to do much, but as you say, an acquired skill - and it seems to want to
steer down the camber...I don't know whether this is because the tyre
is round or flat, high pressure or low (tho my 20*2.1 The Wall didn't
suffer from it nearly as much) and guess that's what I'm trying to find
out....
johnfoss said:
In general, a word about "hybrid" stuff. I have a hybrid bike, a Miyata
Triplecross. Great bike, very well made, spiral-splined, triple-butted
tubing in the frame, nice components, etc. But due to its cross-purpose
intent, it makes a slow road bike and a weak (skinny) mountain bike.
That's what you get. Fortunately it's perfect for commuting. But a
hybrid is generally going to be a compromise of some sort.
Well, any unicycle is a compromise, no? I mean, the Nimbus 29er is
great for going in a straight line due to the huge heavy tyre, but it
has this camber problem, and it's neither nimble nor easily portable -
but, more so than a coker...the 80mm-cranked 20" uni I rode 20+ miles
on before is still small, agile, easily to hop and idle, but doesn't
have anywhere near the wheel mass or speed.
My bike is a Thorn Raven Sport Tour - an 853 steel-framed fast but
rugged tourer; 26*1.75 Panaracer Pasela semi-slick tyres. It's superb;
not as fast as a road bike, no, but indestructible and takes anything
you throw at it - an enormous virtue on many of Britain's shoddy roads;
not as good as a mountain bike, no, as anything technical's probably
out - but I've done some fairly rough ground on it all right. It's
versatile. And one bike to go anywhere, do anything, is awesome -
you've got to get *to* and *from* those beaten off-road tracks
somehow...
So ymmv, obviously - I guess what I'm aiming for is a unicycle like
that bike. When shiftable geared uni's come down in price, maybe I can
do better that way, but in the meantime....
Thanks to Andy for the recommendations, however - those do look like
good options - and to both of you for your input and expertise. It's
very helpful (even if you can't speak for those particular tyres, of
course!) :-)
--
acl
------------------------------------------------------------------------
acl's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/12048
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/51247
