Firstly why did I purchase a Tonaro Unicorn rather than any other bike? Well, I wanted good hill climbing, off road ability, a really soft ride and a reasonable price. I am aged 67 and live in the wilds of the Yorkshire Pennines. I used to walk a lot but a recent medical condition means that the vibration from walking became painful after more than a mile. There is a favoured mountain bike trail that runs across my front garden (well actually between the lawn and the old mill pond). We get upwards of 100 mountain bikers through here most weekends as they like the challenge of loose gravel, mud and a 1 in 4 hill. I get plenty of opportunity to discuss bikes with them. I thought that a full suspension bike might provide a soft ride and be an answer to my ‘vibration’ problem but I also knew that a 1 in 4 that defeats every tenth mountain biker would be too much for me without pedal assist. A Tonaro Unicorn seemed to offer the potential of meeting my requirements.
The bike arrived promptly in a giant cardboard box inside another giant cardboard box – the only problem was meeting the courier in his transit van as access to here is pretty much 4x4 only and also no mobile phone signal. I have not owned a bike for 50 years but managed to piece the bits together. The worry was that I can only cycle either East or West from here up a 1 in 4 in either direction or North/South through a field of sheep. I opted for West as there are no houses or people in that direction to witness my embarrassment for at least four miles. I needn’t have feared. With a fully charged battery, maximum power and steady pedalling the Unicorn managed the very steep climb that continues forward for maybe 250 metres before levelling out to a gentler uphill bridle path onto the moors. Coming back was scary as my mountain biking skills are zero and the handlebars, as delivered, were set quite low and going downhill felt as if you were about to pitch over the top of them. Close inspection revealed an allen bolt under the stem that allowed the bars to be raised.
I suspect that my requirements might be exceptional as currently there are a number of climbs where I would like to use an even lower gear than that on the Unicorn; particularly when half of the battery level lights have gone out. The main ring on the crank has 42 teeth and the rear derailleur has a set of eight (Shimano Alivio) cogs from 11 to 32 teeth. The un-assisted mountain bikers that come through here have a choice of three front rings and drop down to a 22 tooth ring on the crank to get past here; but some still get off and push. I have had very little exercise in the past 12 months so I might build up strength over the coming months and no longer feel a need for lower gears. Apart from that minor quibble I have only positive comments to make. All the ancillary parts such as disc brakes, shock absorbers, wheels, tyres etc are from the lower end of the enthusiast’s mountain bike price range but of a better quality than you would find on basic consumer bikes from the high street. Remember that I am comparing this with the ‘average’ non-assisted mountain bike that comes through here which costs anywhere between two and four thousand pounds – perhaps twice or more the cost of a Unicorn. The Unicorn is far from an enthusiastic mountain biker’s dream machine but it does represent value for money.
Weight might be an issue for some people. Complete with 10Ah battery it nudges around the 30Kg mark and would need some careful planning if you regularly expect to transport it using a small car. It does however have quick release skewers for both wheels and the battery is held in place by a simple bolt and key mechanism. With practice you could strip it down and rebuild it without tools in under a minute. Remember that this is a full suspension mountain bike that expects to receive harsh treatment from obstacles such as ‘rain bars’ across the track. If you are not expecting to leave the tarmac behind, nor want the vibration damping that I needed, then you probably don’t need a bike with this strength of build. But on the other hand there are plenty of Range Rovers in Chelsea where the biggest climb is a three inch kerb. Finally you might want to know how a Tonaro Unicorn differs from a Tonaro Bighit? TONARO The short answer is that I don’t really know. They are basically equipped identically. The only difference appears to be the frame design. The Unicorn has a conventional seat tube whereas the Bighit has no seat tube and uses a cantilever top tube. Both are large frames and probably unsuited to anyone less than 1.65 metres tall; although my daughter at 1.60 metres managed a comfortable trial run. I believe that some of the earlier Tonaro’s had only 200W motors and the more ‘Touring’ orientated models have the slightly cheaper Shimano Acera gears and Rockshox 1 forks – so check carefully. If you want to know about range or speed the facts and figures are almost certainly identical to those of the rest of the 250W and 10Ah Tonaro range. ie a good average but nothing spectacular.
Tony
The bike arrived promptly in a giant cardboard box inside another giant cardboard box – the only problem was meeting the courier in his transit van as access to here is pretty much 4x4 only and also no mobile phone signal. I have not owned a bike for 50 years but managed to piece the bits together. The worry was that I can only cycle either East or West from here up a 1 in 4 in either direction or North/South through a field of sheep. I opted for West as there are no houses or people in that direction to witness my embarrassment for at least four miles. I needn’t have feared. With a fully charged battery, maximum power and steady pedalling the Unicorn managed the very steep climb that continues forward for maybe 250 metres before levelling out to a gentler uphill bridle path onto the moors. Coming back was scary as my mountain biking skills are zero and the handlebars, as delivered, were set quite low and going downhill felt as if you were about to pitch over the top of them. Close inspection revealed an allen bolt under the stem that allowed the bars to be raised.
I suspect that my requirements might be exceptional as currently there are a number of climbs where I would like to use an even lower gear than that on the Unicorn; particularly when half of the battery level lights have gone out. The main ring on the crank has 42 teeth and the rear derailleur has a set of eight (Shimano Alivio) cogs from 11 to 32 teeth. The un-assisted mountain bikers that come through here have a choice of three front rings and drop down to a 22 tooth ring on the crank to get past here; but some still get off and push. I have had very little exercise in the past 12 months so I might build up strength over the coming months and no longer feel a need for lower gears. Apart from that minor quibble I have only positive comments to make. All the ancillary parts such as disc brakes, shock absorbers, wheels, tyres etc are from the lower end of the enthusiast’s mountain bike price range but of a better quality than you would find on basic consumer bikes from the high street. Remember that I am comparing this with the ‘average’ non-assisted mountain bike that comes through here which costs anywhere between two and four thousand pounds – perhaps twice or more the cost of a Unicorn. The Unicorn is far from an enthusiastic mountain biker’s dream machine but it does represent value for money.
Weight might be an issue for some people. Complete with 10Ah battery it nudges around the 30Kg mark and would need some careful planning if you regularly expect to transport it using a small car. It does however have quick release skewers for both wheels and the battery is held in place by a simple bolt and key mechanism. With practice you could strip it down and rebuild it without tools in under a minute. Remember that this is a full suspension mountain bike that expects to receive harsh treatment from obstacles such as ‘rain bars’ across the track. If you are not expecting to leave the tarmac behind, nor want the vibration damping that I needed, then you probably don’t need a bike with this strength of build. But on the other hand there are plenty of Range Rovers in Chelsea where the biggest climb is a three inch kerb. Finally you might want to know how a Tonaro Unicorn differs from a Tonaro Bighit? TONARO The short answer is that I don’t really know. They are basically equipped identically. The only difference appears to be the frame design. The Unicorn has a conventional seat tube whereas the Bighit has no seat tube and uses a cantilever top tube. Both are large frames and probably unsuited to anyone less than 1.65 metres tall; although my daughter at 1.60 metres managed a comfortable trial run. I believe that some of the earlier Tonaro’s had only 200W motors and the more ‘Touring’ orientated models have the slightly cheaper Shimano Acera gears and Rockshox 1 forks – so check carefully. If you want to know about range or speed the facts and figures are almost certainly identical to those of the rest of the 250W and 10Ah Tonaro range. ie a good average but nothing spectacular.
Tony
