1st Time Back at a Skatepark in Almost 20 Years!

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Now that I have a heavier wheel 36er, I decided to give it a go at my local skatepark last Monday. This was my first time at my local skatepark and my first time riding at a skatepark in almost 20 years! I only spent about a half hour there because I wasn’t feeling like I had full energy and because I didn’t want to push myself too much on my first time back. Nonetheless, I had a great time! While I don’t think my current heavier wheel 36er weighs as much as my old steel rim Coker, I believe it is heavy enough for me to continue practicing skatepark riding. Ultimately, I would like to figure out a way to make my wheel a bit heavier than it is currently so that I’ll have a chance to reach my full potential at the skateparks, but for now my current set-up will do.

Over the past several months, in anticipation of returning to skatepark riding, I watched dozens of videos of skateparks in the tri-state (New York, New Jersey & Connecticut) area and categorized them based on my perceived level of difficulty of (what I think are) the ridable obstacles at each park. When I say “ridable” that means that I believe the obstacle is conceivably ridable by someone with the skills to conquer said obstacles in one way or another, but does not mean that I believe I have sufficient skills to do so. I categorized the skateparks at a difficulty level of 1 – 5, with 1 being the easiest and 5 the hardest. I would like to visit as many skateparks in the tri-state area as possible, starting with the level 1 skateparks and possibly working my way up to the more difficult ones as I (hopefully) progress. Realistically, I don’t think I will make it past the level 2 skateparks, but that’s ok with me because I really enjoy skatepark riding tremendously and any skatepark riding I can do is a great time for me. If anyone who lives in the tri-state area has any interest in riding at skateparks and/or filming me ride there, it would be great to have a skatepark buddy. I’d be happy to film you, as well, if you so desire. Although I don’t think anything I’ll be doing will be all that impressive, I figure some riders may enjoy getting a sense of what riding a 36er at a skatepark is like, or at the very least, get a kick out of seeing my inevitable fails and falls. So if you’re in the area and interested in joining me for some skatepark adventures, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

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Hi @HardcoreCokerRider, while I’m pretty sure the guy above me is a spambot, I’m lucky he targeted your thread, since it brought your very interesting post to my attention!

There are a few skateparks and pump tracks I’ve dipped into on 36er rides around town, but I’ve had limited success. Why do you prefer a heavier wheel? Also, what crank length do you find works well for skatepark riding?

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If your rim is flat enough maybe you could stick adhesive lead wheel weights onto it. The weights used to balance car wheels. Maybe the tire liners meant to protect inner tubes from thorns would add enough weight.

After seeing you search for a steel rim Coker for so long I am quite happy to hear things are working out for you and you are back in a skatepark. I’m looking forward to seeing your videos.

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I didn’t see the spam post, so I assume it has been removed. My primary interests in unicycling are not very mainstream, so I am very happy and excited when I meet other riders who like to do similar sorts of riding or are hoping to start doing this type of riding. It’s especially cool that you’re probably within a road trip away from NYC. It may be possible for me to escape the urban jungle and meet up to check out those skateparks and pump tracks that you mentioned sometime. I usually like to check out recent videos of the skateparks, pump tracks, and MTB parks that I intend to visit before I actually go there because some obstacles are very conducive to 36er riding and some obstacles are either not very good or potentially not even ridable (at least for my skill level). If a park or track is highly rideable, then it would be high on my list of places I’d like to visit. However, even at places that have obstacles that are too challenging or impossible for me to ride, they often have at least some obstacles or sections that are a lot of fun to ride. All it takes is a few good obstacles or sections to ride and you can can still have a fantastic time!

I think this sort of riding (Rolling Trials) is kind of like golf in a certain respect. For most obstacles, I prefer a heavier wheel (with the weight concentrated in the rim/tire area, not the hub) because it gives you far more stability, which for me also equates to safety. I find it a lot easier to go up and over or up and down various skatepark obstacles on a very stable wheel, as opposed to a more squirrely, lighter wheel. Also I think the flywheel effect and ability of the heavier wheel to store more energy is a big advantage when it comes to skatepark and MTB park riding. However, when riding certain obstacles, a heavy wheel is not the best choice, especially when you need to be able to accelerate as quickly as possible. That’s why ideally, I would like to have both my heavier wheel (High Inertia) 36er and my lighter wheel 36er with me when I go to skateparks. I think pumps tracks would very likely be better with a lighter 36er. As far as your limited success, I can’t offer any advice because I haven’t seen you ride at these locations, but it’s possible you may just need a bit more time to get accustomed to it. If I can make it over to your neck of the woods, it sure would be fun to ride with you and I’d be happy to offer any suggestions that I could. I ride with 150mm cranks for everything. Anything shorter doesn’t give me the leverage I need to do the kinds of maneuvering I like to do, and anything longer is overkill.

Actually, I intend to have my airfoil rim modified by adding a thin layer of lead flashing (which is something another member of this forum had recommended and I need to find that thread so I can remember who it was and give him credit) inside the channel of the rim. I hope to match the weight of my steel rim as closely as possible.

Thanks, I really appreciate that! It was a rare find, and I am now extremely happy to be the proud owner of a steel-rim Coker. I don’t want to risk tacoing it, so before I ride it I will have it professionally rebuilt with a 125mm hub and new spokes.

Regarding my video, I had hoped to be shooting some scenes by now, but unfortunately, I got into a crash on my electric unicycle and did a superman on to the pavement with no protective gear. I wasn’t going too fast at the time of the crash, so luckily I didn’t get injured too badly. My sore knee and road rash seem to be healing up pretty well, thankfully, so I think I’ll be back on my 36er fairly soon. I found someone who is interested in filming my riding, so I should have some things in the works within the next couple of weeks, if all goes well. Hopefully, I’ll be able to put out something that is halfway decent. Thanks for your encouragement!

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Your golf analogy makes sense. Thanks for explaining that. I’d love to do some skatepark unicycling with you! Boston’s a bit of a schlep from NYC, but if you do find yourself over here, send me a message.

The park I’ve ridden at is the Lynch Family Skatepark downtown. It’s got a good range of stuff there, but it’s very busy during peak hours. The Velosolutions Pump Track in Allston is great. Not too crowded, seemed well-suited for unicycling, and nearby, there’s a series of small ramps and banked turns that make for great warmup

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My pleasure, I’m glad that analogy seemed to work. That sounds awesome! I just had a look at a video of the Lynch Family Skatepark, but it was from 8 years ago. You can see it here:

I couldn’t find anything recent. However, if the Lynch Family Skatepark still has the same obstacles, features, and layout as it did eight years ago, that park looks fairly epic for Rolling Trials! I’m actually getting a late start this season. I went out for my first long ride of the season and completely overdid it, due to my enthusiasm. After that, I was super busy with life and work and then I had my EUC crash. But things are looking good now and I should be back in the saddle getting my legs in shape within the next few days. Then its off to my local skatepark. After that, there’s a skatepark in the Bronx that I want to visit. Both of these parks are probably difficulty level 1.5 on a scale of 1 - 5. Lynch Family Skatepark (if it’s the same as it was) looks like it could be a level 2 or maybe even 2.5. I’m not ready for it yet, but I will be soon… and I would really look forward to attempting to ride some of those obstacles! The tall flat bank ramp looks incredible! How high do you think it is? Any idea how many degrees of bank it has? The quarter pipe next to it also looks pretty nice! I prefer quarter pipes with top landings that I can try to ride up, but I sure would like to see how high I could get on that quarter pipe and then 180 and ride back down. I haven’t checked out the the Velosolutions Pump Track in Allston yet, but I will soon. I am now even more motivated to get my skills up to speed at some level 1 and level 1.5 parks so that I’ll be ready to make a road trip to Boston to ride with you at your local skatepark, which will be a decent step up. I’d probably want to spend at least two days riding at that park, with at least one or two sessions per day. Thanks for letting me know about that skatepark! :+1:

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What about a video where you ride with the 36er in a skatepark? I prefer to just go distance with the 36er. Then there is more space to maneuver

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That sounds like a great idea! I will surely work on that. The beginning of my first video (from 20 years ago) has some skatepark riding in it, but I hope to do way more skatepark riding in my next video.

It seems most people prefer the 36er just for distance riding. My main interests in the 36er are skatepark riding, MTB park riding, aggressive maneuvering, and city riding. I don’t mind riding my 36er in confined spaces, and sometimes I prefer it. I suppose I am not your typical 36er rider, though I do enjoy some distance riding, as well. Keep in mind that “distance riding” for me is probably only about 10 - 12 miles max, lol.