Pashley Review

Pashley Stats:
 

	Wheel Size	26"
	Crank Length	152mm, 6.0"
	Frame	Steal
	Bearing Size	35mm od 17mm id
	Number of Spokes	36
	Spoke Type	2.32 Stainless Steel
	Axle	Susue (Miyata Axle)
	Rim	?
	Pedal	Large Platforms w/grip
	Seat Post Diameter	1 inch
	Tire	?
	Water bottle cage attachment
	Price in US	$250

 
Pashley Positives:

• Price   -- Unbeatable price!
• Frame -- Excellent tire clearance.  Solid design.
• 1" Seat Post -- Matches mountain bike seat post, so seat post shocks can be used.
• Cranks -- Decent cranks and the right size (152mm)
• Pedals  -- Good Pedals!  I don't think they will wear very well, but they have good grip
• Water bottle cage -- Very cool!  I use a Camel Back instead, but the water bottle cage bolts are a definite plus

• Seat -- The seat is pretty nasty.  It is big, bulky and not too comfortable.  I got rid of it first thing
• Bearing holder to Frame Interface --  The bearing holder has a cylinder that fits inside the frame.  The problem is that the frame is tapered from big to small from the top to the bottom of the frame.  That means that the bearing holder does not have 100% contact area with the frame since the frame is wider at the top than the bottom.  It would be best if the frame stopped tapering at the bottom, but is probably very difficult to manufacture and could compromise frame strength.  So far I don't know of anyone who has a broken frame, so we will see how long they hold up.
• Bearing Holder Bolts to Frame Interface -- The bearing holder is bolted to the frame by 2 bolts on each side that go through the frame and through holes in the cylindrical top of the bearing holder (that fits inside the frame).  See picture below.  The frame is round and the bolts are flat, so the bolts do have 100% contact area with the frame.  On other unicycles this has caused the frame to crack where the bolts touch it because the stresses there are very high.  To fix this problem, I had a special washer made.  The washer is flat on one side and matches the curve of the frame on the other.  The bolt then gets 100% contact area with the flat side of the washer, and the round side of the washer gets 100% contact area with the frame.
• Axle -- It is the best that is available, but it is still not good.  Heavy abuse like hopping or jumping will quickly snap an axle.  The axle usually breaks between the crank and the flange.  The solution is a really big axle (like 1" diameter) with a splined crank attachment.  A splined axle has a bunch of grooves cut in the end that go along the length of the axle.  A splined crank fits the axle with opposing grooves.  Most high end BMX bikes use this technique because it offers much higher strength than standard cranks.  High quality chrome molly cranks are usually only available in splined interfaces (if you find a chrome molly crank with a standard interface, let me know!)  It would not be too difficult to machine a splined axle.  The problem is that a larger axle requires a larger bearing holder which could require a bigger frame interface, which means that a whole new unicycle needs to be made.  Hopefully we (the Muni community) will figure out a way to get a high quality axle for a high quality mountain unicycle under $1000.

Pictures:

• The Seat -- The Pashley seat is awful, so I replaced it with a Miyata seat
• The Seat Post -- New seat post for the new seat, also it is longer than the original seat post
• Cranks -- The Pashley comes with cheap steal cranks, and I got one with the 5" cranks, so I replaced them with 152mm aluminum cranks that get rounded out really easy.  The 5" cranks were a mistake on the Pashley and they are currently being shipped with 152mm (5.5") cranks.
• Pedals --  The Pashley comes with cheap platform pedals.  They aren't that bad, but I suppose they would wear out pretty quickly in muddy or dusty conditions (which is everything on the dirt).  I use Crupi bear claw pedals which are excellent!