Unusually for distance it is a simple 24" wheel, no gears but it does fine and I’m never in a hurry.
Anyway, the countdown has been happening for a while and Carron at my daily coffee stop, Sassy’s on the Swan, had offered a congratulatory banana pancake and long black whenever it happened. So after I checked the the odometer last night I messaged my order and when I arrived this morning and sat down, it was fresh off the skillet.
I was actually a km short as I pulled up at Sassys so I had to do a few extra loops around the Bell Tower before I sat down for my treat.
Thanks Carron. The banana pancake was so mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. My only regret was that I was eating in public. I really REALLY wanted to lick the last bit of syrup off the plate.
What’s the next milestone? 50,000km? Hmmm, that’ll take around five more years. Still, as I said, I’m never in a hurry anyway.
Wow, that’s a real accomplishment! Especially on a 24" wheel. Not many people can say that they’ve unicycled 20,000 kilometers, even fewer on a small wheel.
Here’s the beast. About 6kg, Nimbus (the precursor to the Nimbus II) onto my fourth seat, chrome steel rims with skinny tyres ( I tried 2.5" but did not like them). Aside from tyres I have had to replace one crank, several pedals, and I have even managed to break an axle (metal fatigue) - us unicyclists punish the cranks and axle far more than a pro-tour cyclist). Has replaceable sheepskin padding on a regular Kris Holm gel-seat, a water bottle and a wireless odometer. The rest of what I need goes in the back pack or on my person. The backpack I have settled on after many others is perfect and I am even able to ride with stilts attached or with a pair of full sized fold up chairs.
Good to see yet another person who’s happy doing distance on 24".
I spent about 10 years commuting/distance on my Nimbus 24x3- also got a KH 29, but, on balance, just preferred the 24x3.
Recently switched to a Quax 26, which I’m enjoying- very slightly bigger effective diameter than the 24x3.
No idea how much distance I’ve covered, as I don’t have a cycle computer, but averaging probably 4/5/6 hrs a week over the last decade, I’m guessing it’s quite a lot.
I do around 600 or 700hrs a year (more than a third of a working week) which is why my numbers are large. But if you do something regularly and over an extended period then you get big numbers too. On 26" you could roughly assume about 10kph to cover the broad ambit of commuting. And that gives you about 2500km a year give or take. 25,000 in the ten years. Only you can decide if 10kph is about right though whereas a trip meter, which can be as cheap as a ten or twenty bucks just makes it a bit more solid. You should fit one now for the next ten years.
I have fitted them in the past- but it’s just one more thing to mess around with when getting the old uni ready for a ride.
Also, though I’ve no idea how much distance I do, I do log the actual riding times: being on a small wheel I consider actual time spent riding as more relevant than miles covered.
In summer, I aim for at least 1 hour a day, and, if it turns into a 2/3 hour ride, that’s a happy bonus
I thought that would have been obvious. It is, so far, the most effective way of keeping my bum from getting numb. Cut into strips, use, wash, re-use until they lose their properties.
I go through a full hide about every 18 months I guess.
I did make and try an air seat but I was not overly impressed in my short trial. Perhaps I will try a bought version from KH one day.
Sorry to confuse and you are right - that’s an old photo of seat number three. I am on seat four now (and green sheep skin and lots of retro-reflective tape for night riding). This time next year I expect to be on seat number five or close to it.
