Why are Unicyclists Unpopular?
 

I just got a unicycle for my short (3 mile) commute. I adhere to traffic rules and basically ride it as I do my road bike but I have never had more abuse or objects hurled at me. It's like I'm an unappreciated Vaudville act.

I just may be going back to the bike and putting a knobby tire on my unicycle so I can try U-MTBing.

bf

got a snort from me for u-mtbing...

I would fall down a lot. Like a LOT.

With apologies to George Orwell:

"Two wheels GOOD -- One wheel BAD!"

We do have two folks here in Little Rock who commute by unicycle, or at least run their downtown errands on one. They ride the sidewalks, though...

a whole lot...no a whole whole lot....yeah that's more like it.

falling down just thinking about it :roflmao2:

Hotlinky-fail, dude :)


Seriously, though - wait ... are you serious? That's really strange, I'm in Little Rock, and I've seen a guy in Hillcrest riding around on his uni - probably one of the same guys mentioned earlier in the thread- and I thought it was neat/cool. Why would that make anyone mad??

WERE YOU RUNNING RED LIGHTS??? :)

I am shocked the Pink Unicyclist is so powerful amongst the realm of Internet, shocked I tell you!

u-MTB MTU?

Nobody minded me riding in Melbourne, but there is the advantage there that sidewalk riding is strictly illegal. I'm thinking it may be that they are more worred about unpredictability than usual. Also, you might be going slow; I do fine on my 36", but a 24" or smaller is going to have issues keeping a reasonable pace.

How fast can you even go on a unicycle, like 8 mph? Why not walk?

Much faster, actually. I only know that because I remember reading somewhere that speeds aren't particularly dangerous until you exceed your ability to sprint on foot, because unicycles tend to fall forward, which allows you to run one out, unless it's faster than you can run when you hit the ground.

Must be quite a workout to ride a uni 3 miles.
Unicyclists are unpopular because unicycles are unpopular. I don't think I've ever seen anyone commuting on one.
That said, the abuse you report is unjustified. I wish you the best.
Caruso

a guy in my building unicycles to work, and I admire the heck out of that.

Seriously? It's fun as hell!

Unicycling In The Streets of Manhattan

Fairly comparable to a fixie or a BMX. Some people regularly do upward of 20 mph on flat ground. I can easily get a good cadence up, somewhere around 90-100, on a 36" diameter wheel on flat ground. Do the math. Faster than that and I start feeling unsafe because of the knee bouncing.

I would love to see someone ride a unicycle with SPD pedals.

I'm sure a lot of the racers are. First hit on a search - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIz05MV07_s from the finish of an 800km race.

Take up juggling while you ride the Uni and solicit for donations to buy a proper bicycle.

I've never had abuse on a unicycle- usually people are pretty supportive.

For me, a 20" unicycle is faster than walking but slower than jogging.
A 28" unicycle is faster than some joggers, slower than some joggers.
Of course, some people can go twice as fast as that, and then using a 36" picks it up some more.

One thing that is not obvious is that by local law, unicycles may or may not be considered as "bicycles". So restrictions against sidewalk riding may or may not apply to you, and your right to take the lane may vary as well.

Not that I want to be cynical about human nature, but I bet a lot of them honk just to see if you'll fall off.

Unicycles can be pretty fast, but their greatest advantage is the über-manœverability.

bf

State law applying to Melbourne explicitly included unicycles inside the definition of 'bicycle' in spite of issues with the definition otherwise, though I'm sure a savvy lawyer with time on their hands could argue it.