Nakedbabytoes

Hey all! I just recently decided to try riding with one wheel instead of 2, and I am loving it! Is there a special place clowns like me tend to gather on here
I thought maybe fixed gear? But I didn't see anything really specific.
Thanks!

CbadRider

You should check out some of Unigeezer's videos here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...per-than-Fargo!

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...rying-unicycle!

Nakedbabytoes

Haha! Yeah, Terry's stuff is awesome! I am a member of unicycle forums but there isn't a ton of traffic over there so I thought maybe the bike forums or mtbr forums might have sub forums for people who lost half a bike So there must not be here then?

Burton

Soooooo ...... maybe you could start something?

DropBarFan

How hard was it to learn? I've thought about buying a unicycle but never saw the point really besides the sheer challenge. I remember 60 Minutes tv show did a segment about a private school where all the students were required to learn & ride unicycles in between classes.

Nakedbabytoes

It really depends on the rider and time to practice.
I was up and riding down our 25ft hallway with small wall dabs with my hands by the end of a weekend(so maybe 4 hours practice). Then I was riding across our driveway with no walls or rails to hold onto in another 2 hours. I was riding a mile or more by the end of the week. Free mounting(getting on & riding without holding onto something) took about an hour to learn reliably. Hopping and idling I need to actually work on. But I figure I need to ride more to get better at balance before I try anything static.
They say 15 hours of practice to learn to ride. The guy I bought my Conundrum from had it for 2 years and never could ride it more than 30 ft. I had it just one week and could ride more than a mile.
Time? Innate ability? Stubbornness? Dunno why some people take to it and others don't.
I wouldn't spend a ton buying something if you weren't sure it was for you though(even though I did). Check your local CL to see if you can find a cheap one used. On my CL, right now there are 2 schwinns for around $30 and a giraffe 5ft tall one for $80.

So how does one go about requesting a sub forum for uni & muni riders?

cplager

I'd be very interested to find out about that.

It was a friend of mine who went to Harvey Mudd who taught me how to ride. His campus was a little too big to walk and a little to small to ride bicycles, so many, many students rode skateboards and unicycles to get from class to class. I haven't ridden much since graduate school, but a few years ago I had a grad student who got a 29" unicycle and helped me ride it. It was a lot harder to start than a 20" unicycle but boy could it fly. It even has a brake.

Cheers,
Charles

Garfield Cat

Maybe in Claremont California, the Harvey Mudd students, called "Mudders". Also some at Cal Tech in Pasadena. Mostly nerdy types.

BlazingPedals

https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Z1YoCfm7nxU

No, I don't have a unicycle - motorized or not.

Velo Dog

Something to shoot for: When I was a newspaper guy, I did a story on a high school teacher who planned to ride a unicycle across the country. He left from San Francisco, and I interviewed him in Reno five days later (he was trying for 50 miles a day but falling about 10 short). It was killing him, and I'm sure he didn't make it. No place for a rack, couldn't carry much water, had just shorts, a T-shirt and light jacket and was headed east across the Great Basin.

downtube42

There are a few of us around, but I don't know if it's enough to keep a subforum busy. Post where appropriate - commuting, training, fixed gear, over 50, general cycling.

Unicycling is a hoot, and a good workout as well. The process of learning as an adult is fascinating - a lesson in the value of immediate feedback.

As far as how long it takes to learn, of course somebody did a poll and posted the results: https://klaasbil.home.xs4all.nl/agelearn_short.htm

Oh, and unigeezer is amazing.

KZBrian

I learned to ride as a kid, and wore out my Sears uni by my early twenties. If I see a great deal on CL, I will replace it.

downtube42

fyi, enthusiasts will advise you to avoid "lollipop bearing" unicycles. https://www.unicycle.com/faq-bearings/

DropBarFan

The 60 Minutes segment was about an elementary (plus middle/high?) school. They rode INSIDE the school, really amazing. In crowded hallways the students could stop, start, zigzag etc to get around. Stairways had ramps for the unicycles. BTW only time I ever heard about Harvey Mudd was from a high school physics teacher--pretty amazing how such a top-notch school is relatively unpublicized. IIRC Mudd students had #1 or #2 ranking in SAT's.

KZBrian

I ordered a unicycle from Amazon.

I hope my body remembers how to ride after going 25 years without riding.

fietsbob

Florian Schlumpf is the Swiss engineer, & maker of planetary 2 speed bicycle cranksets, and an avid Uni rider.
so he has a 2 speed uni hub.. you can build a 24" wheel and kick in the 2nd gear,and it acts like a 36" wheel.

I've seen a rider on an actual 36" wheel, keep up with traffic thru town ..

Others have done mountain tours, Bhutan, for example.. mastering the trials riders positioning bounce
with a brake under the saddle nose to lock the wheel ..

a really fat 24" tire is made by QBP, Pugsly stuff. rims too..

StephenH

https://www.unicyclist.com/forums/

downtube42

I participated in a 'tricks for newbies' challenge on this forum; they lost me on the second trick. Maybe after a couple more years I'll be up to newbie status

BlazingPedals

twospoke.com also has a unicycle forum.

KZBrian

I was able to ride the new uni right away! I forgot how much fun this is. I have around 5 miles on it so far just riding around the neighborhood. With a 20" wheel I can maintain close to 5mph.