Alt Bike Culture - Unicycling anyone...

I just got a new unicycle, got it for 50bucks on ebay Torker CX 24. It should be arriving tommarrow. I had an old unicycle i bought for ten bucks, it was too small so i decided to get a new one.

Does anyone else out there have any experiences or unicycling tips etc. They want to share.

I was also curious if there was a way to figure out the gear inches equivalent for unicycling.

Thanks

Heres a pic http://www.unicycle.com/images/catalog/trainingseries/UNT24C.jpg

ha, i just learned to ride my friends uni today, i can go like a whole block. he rides uni trials and has a really beaffy one with a 3" tire on it

ha, i just learned to ride my friends uni today, i can go like a whole block. he rides uni trials and has a really beaffy one with a 3" tire on it

If you check out this site (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopdisplaysubcat.asp?id=1&cat=Unicycles) they have a ton of different ones. I was pretty amazed to see that people acutally get pretty crazy on these things. Some cool movies (http://www.unicycle.com/moviesandphotos.asp) on that page.

There were a bunch of unicyclists who did the Strawberry Fields Metric Century last Sunday.

Gear inches = tire circumfrence.

Mark my words, when the singlespeed and fixed gear fad dies out, it'll be unicycles and highwheelers all the way...

heres a picture of noah
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/enjoisk8s89/noah.jpg

i want a unicycle so bad, we have bikefest the last week of june here in pittsburgh and there's gonna be a unicycle class deal, so i'm gonna be all over that. i think those ultimate wheels are crazy looking though, that ones that have the pedals attached to the thick inside of the wheel, that one is dumb though, that's just a front bmx wheel with metal platforms to stand on for $150, I could peice one of those together out of a bmx wheel and some pegs

I've got a couple torker unicycles at work. They are pretty nice unicycles! They have cotterless cranks, decent hubs, comfy seats with plastic bumpers (good for beginners, so you don't tear up the seat upholstry), and so on. They aren't the best unicycles, but they are a great value, and are the perfect way to see if you like unicycling. Anything cheaper and it would break and not work well (which would frustrate you and prevent you from learning), and anything more expensive might be too big of a risk for a hobby you may not get into.

Used unicycles are common too, but they often need a little work (though sometimes you get lucky and find a great schwinn unicycle that sat in someone's garage for 20 years and is in perfect shape for 10$).

peace,
sam

the plasic things arent just for begginers, my friend has them on his trials uni.

Well, I think in the world of 'regular' uni, they are considered 'for beginners', but of course trials uni puts some serious stresses on the unicycle that a 'normal' unicyclist wouldn't have to put up with.

Regardless, plastic bumpers are handy for anyone who might be dropping their unicycle a lot, beginners, or muni/trials folks. :)

peace,
sam

Gear inches = tire circumfrence.

No, gear inches = diameter of wheel with tire mounted.

I tried it one time and found it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.

Edit: I'm wrong. Original wrong post removed, correct info follows. ;)

Gear inches is the diameter of high-wheel wheel that would go the same speed as your vehicle for the same cadence. Since a unicycle is a high-wheeler with no rear wheel, it is its own gear inches. The diameter of the outside of the mounted tire is your gear inches.

Meters development (or inches development) is the distance you will travel in one complete stroke of the cranks, would would equal the circumference of the tire on a unicycle.

peace,
sam

There's a really cool uni-commuter who lives near me. He must go about 7miles with a backpack and helmet.

i just bought a unicycle yesterday at the flea market, $4! it's definatel a cheap one, 16inch wheel, torn up seat, solid one peice crank from the outside of one pedal to the other, so it's nothing to brag about, but I think it was a steal for $4, now I've just gotta learn how to get on the thing

I have a uni and I am still in the process of learning how to ride it. I think it is actually more difficult than it looks. :)

How to ride a unicycle:

1. Get on.
2. Fall off and get back on 1000 times.
3. Ride away.

peace,
sam

I have a uni and I am still in the process of learning how to ride it. I think it is actually more difficult than it looks. :)
This brief note may be of encouragement to you. Just persevere and practise often. I assure you that it is a similar skill to cycling, and once learnt, never forgotten. However, learning takes time and all your practice attempts go towards developing a set of conditioned responses which, taken together, constitute an autopilot facility. On smooth and level terrain it's actually no more difficult than walking. Walking is a set of conditioned responses too.

As a personal note I learnt the unicycle at age 66 and use it daily at home for a mile or so as general exercise. It's great fun, and there are all sorts of tricks to master if you like a challenge......

How to ride a unicycle:

1. Get on.
2. Fall off and get back on 1000 times.
3. Ride away.

peace,
sam

This brief note may be of encouragement to you. Just persevere and practise often. I assure you that it is a similar skill to cycling, and once learnt, never forgotten. However, learning takes time and all your practice attempts go towards developing a set of conditioned responses which, taken together, constitute an autopilot facility. On smooth and level terrain it's actually no more difficult than walking. Walking is a set of conditioned responses too.

As a personal note I learnt the unicycle at age 66 and use it daily at home for a mile or so as general exercise. It's great fun, and there are all sorts of tricks to master if you like a challenge......
Thanks tedward! Thanks Sam!

I will keep trying then. ;) I think I am getting close to the 1000 mark :D

buy bandaids!!!!! :o

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/enjoisk8s89/f37f1298.jpg
heres noah riding a ledge

Why is it that every Noah I seem to know some how is always a crazy ass? I dunno.

I have a unicycle I got for one christmas but haven't rode it but maybe a handful of times and its a punk to ride.

We've had a unicycle floating around in our family for decades. The original one got trashed but I replaced it a few years later. Now it's over at my brother's house, hoping his son will carry on the family tradition.

The next one I get will have the big cruiser 36" tire.

youre getting a coker? coolness, those things go really fast

Gear inches = tire circumfrence.

No, gear inches = diameter; development = circumference.

See: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_g.html#gearinch

vs.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_da-o.html#development

youre getting a coker? coolness, those things go really fast

That's what I've heard, and that's what I'm hoping for.

I've heard that they can really get out of control if you're not careful. It might be good training for a fixie one day.

Well count me in. I just ordered a Sun 26-inch (http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=651). The unicycle.com FAQ (http://www.unicycle.com/faq1.asp) says it takes 10-15 hours to learn. I find that hard to believe.

check this thing out http://www.tlb.org/eunicycle.html

So after about a week of messing with my first unicycle for an hour or so each night, I've gotten to where I can flail my way some 25 feet.

I got the 26 inch wheel because I'm tall, but I dont know if that's a good starter or not. I assumed it would be more stable, but I dont have anything to compare it to. What I do know is that I feel really high up, it can go way too fast, and requires more torque to back pedal. It's fun though and I guess it's not impossible to learn it, but I'm looking forward to trying out a smaller wheel to see what thats like...

ive found that a 20" is easier to learn on. ive only just messed around on my friend's uni, and i can go a good block or so. ive also found that having a lower tire pressure helps alot.

Have you guys seen these? Like a unicycle without a frame or seat...

http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1&subcat=83&cat=Ultimate+Wheel

ABSOLUTELY CRAZY! Can anyone actually do this? I don't get it.

This is obviously the future. I *need* to have an Ultimate Wheel.

Have you guys seen these? Like a unicycle without a frame or seat...

http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1&subcat=83&cat=Ultimate+Wheel

ABSOLUTELY CRAZY! Can anyone actually do this? I don't get it.

Somebody (whom I suspect wants to see me injured) gave me one as a present a few weeks ago. The 700c version.

It isn't as difficult as you'd think. Not much harder than a regular uni, at least to go in a straight line, but certainly more of a leg workout. I haven't put a lot of time in on it yet, but I can go up and down the hall at my office only touching the wall once every 1/2 revolution or so, which is about as good as I ever was on a regular uni.

In some ways it is easier. Your center of gravity is lower, you can't put too much weight on the seat and have it squirt out from under you like on a uni, and you can rest it against the inside of your down-side leg when you want to stand in one place.

This is obviously the future. I *need* to have an Ultimate Wheel.

If one follows the fixed gear ethos of stripping away all the extra parts and getting to the functional minimum of the cycling experience to its logical conclusion, ultimate wheels may just be the next big thing. That or 700c coaster bikes. Either way I'm covered.

If one follows the fixed gear ethos of stripping away all the extra parts and getting to the functional minimum of the cycling experience to its logical conclusion, ultimate wheels may just be the next big thing. That or 700c coaster bikes. Either way I'm covered.

Yeah, they think they're hardcore and minimalist over there! LOL

I vote for the latter.

I am trying to get one on ebay. With luck, I'll have it by the weekend! Kind of a crappy one, but physics is the same regardless of how the bike (or uni) looks. After trying schwinnbikelove's this weekend, I realized that I need one in my life.

Here she is! I pick it up saturday.

As I said earlier, this can only mean trouble for Bowling Green and Toledo, respectively.

I wonder how that 24" is going to handle? I'm excited!!! Can't wait!

I guess I'll be able to smoke your ass in a race with the bigger wheel!

I've got three unicycles, including a Coker. They are a lot of fun and the Coker really flies! In fact, I've got a photo of a group of roadies drafting off me while I was out for a ride in Siesta Key. I know they were just playing around but we all got a big laugh out of it. There are some great unicycling forums and other resources on the 'net and John and Amy at the Unicycle Source are great people to deal with if you're in the market for one.