I’m thinking of getting another uni. Should I get a 24 or a 26 inch wheel (I’ve
got a 20 inch wheel at the moment)? I can’t quite imagine riding on the street
with a 26’, although in some ways I suppose it would be easier, with all that
extra inertia to get you over bumps. Any thoughts//experiences?
John
Re: 24 or 26?
John J Lee (jjl101@york.ac.uk) wrote:
i: I’m thinking of getting another uni. Should I get a 24 or a 26 inch wheel[/i]
i: (I’ve got a 20 inch wheel at the moment)? I can’t quite imagine riding on the[/i]
i: street with a 26’, although in some ways I suppose it would[/i]
^^^ I can’t imagine riding on the street with a
26-foot unicycle either!
i: be easier, with all that extra inertia to get you over bumps. Any[/i]
i: thoughts//experiences?[/i]
When I bought my 26" to supplement the 20", I’d had a go on 24s, and they didn’t
seem much difference. The 26" is quite a step up, and when you get a relaxed
riding style (a lot of weight on the seat, little on the pedals) you can bomb
around, flying off kerbs without noticing!
Don’t try turning or stopping quickly!! 26" yikes are not very manouevrable.
Stan
Re: 24 or 26?
>
>John J Lee (jjl101@york.ac.uk) wrote:
>: I’m thinking of getting another uni. Should I get a 24 or a 26 inch wheel
>: (I’ve got a 20 inch wheel at the moment)? I can’t quite imagine riding on the
>: street with a 26’, although in some ways I suppose it would
> ^^^ I can’t imagine riding on the street with a
> 26-foot unicycle either!
>
>: be easier, with all that extra inertia to get you over bumps. Any
>: thoughts//experiences?
>
>: John
>
>When I bought my 26" to supplement the 20", I’d had a go on 24s, and they
>didn’t seem much difference. The 26" is quite a step up, and when you get a
>relaxed riding style (a lot of weight on the seat, little on the pedals) you
>can bomb around, flying off kerbs without noticing!
>
>Don’t try turning or stopping quickly!! 26" yikes are not very manouevrable.
>
>Stan
>
I really like my semcycle 26" 1.75… I find the ride moderatly fast and still
have a reasonable amount of control… I don’t notice that much of a difference
from the 24" BUT I don’t do half the tricks these guys do so I may not be the
most reliable source… I think the main reason to buy a 24" is that it’s the
“standard” for a lot of unicycling games… such as Hockey and “Basketball… Most
rules as far as I know don’t allow any wheel diameter greater than 24” so if
this is one of your eventual goals then you should weigh this in your
descision… Ofcourse the Muni goers usually prefer a 26"… Again … I’m no
authority… this is just what I gather from FAQ’s and the like…
Oh… one thing… for some reason I find that backward turns on a 26" are pretty
hard as compared to a 24" but that could be just me… later
Re: 24 or 26? (or 28)
>
> If you are planning on doing any racing at official meets, you will need a 24"
> wheel (unless you want to use your 20" 
). If you don’t care about racing,
> but just want to use a unicycle for travelling, I would get the 26", or even
> get a 28". I use a 28" Semcycle for all of my road riding, and it works great.
> I only use my 24" uni for tricks (I don’t have a 20" anymore) and for racing.
>
> Beirne
> –
I have also been contemplating wheel sizes. I would like to get a unicycle for
road and off-road riding. I just recently found out that Semcycle has a 28"
model and I have a few questions.
Is the 28" wheel a “standard” size? Can you easily get tires for it? There seems
to be a huge selection of 26" tires for all types of surfaces. Should this be a
criteria for deciding on wheel size?
By the way, any idea what your average speed is on the 28"?
Thanks!
Troy
Re: 24 or 26? (or 28)
Troy Harding wrote:
>
> >
> > If you are planning on doing any racing at official meets, you will need a
> > 24" wheel (unless you want to use your 20" ). If you don’t care about
> > racing, but just want to use a unicycle for travelling, I would get the 26",
> > or even get a 28". I use a 28" Semcycle for all of my road riding, and it
> > works great. I only use my 24" uni for tricks (I don’t have a 20" anymore)
> > and for racing.
> >
> > Beirne
> > –
>
> I have also been contemplating wheel sizes. I would like to get a unicycle for
> road and off-road riding. I just recently found out that Semcycle has a 28"
> model and I have a few questions.
>
> Is the 28" wheel a “standard” size? Can you easily get tires for it? There
> seems to be a huge selection of 26" tires for all types of surfaces. Should
> this be a criteria for deciding on wheel size?
>
> By the way, any idea what your average speed is on the 28"?
The one I got was an early model from the Unicycle Factory with slightly short
forks, with an off-size tire. I bought a bunch of tires at the time to keep me
for a while. Current models have the proper forks, and I assume different sized
tires that should be more standard. Ask Semcycle or someone who has a current
model to be sure.
I move along at about 10-12 MPH without too much effort. If I’m moving quickly
on the road I go 13-15. This isn’t the 17 MPH or so that some can do on a 24",
but it is a safe speed for travelling.
Beirne
Re: 24 or 26? (or 28)
On Tue, 5 Mar 1996, Troy Harding wrote:
> Is the 28" wheel a “standard” size? Can you easily get tires for it? There
> seems to be a huge selection of 26" tires for all types of surfaces. Should
> this be a criteria for deciding on wheel size?
28" is common only in mainland europe. 26" (that’s MTB 26") is common
everywhere and there is a vast range of high quality tyres and rims to choose
from. Now, I run an 1.5" slick tyre pumped up to about 120 psi on an aluminium
rim. The low weight, low rolling resistance and low tyre wear make this a joy
to be on top of.
For 28", I’ve only ever seen low quality, roadster-type tyres, which can’t cope
with such high pressures. I’ve also never seen an aluminium 28" rim.
Jez
Re: 24 or 26? (or 28)
Hi, Here in Cambridge I ride a 28" DM unicycle. I find that because it has such
a large steel rim that the wheel has a huge amount of inertia making manouvering
hard. The two 26" MUNI’s owned by two other students here are much more
conventional to ride due to their light alloy rims. They are also no slower as
you can afford to pedal nearer your limit as the uni accelerates faster.
If I were getting a new unicycle I would get a 26" MUNI as they are just
as fast, lighter, more manouverable and have such a wide selection of
rims and tyres available to them.
Mark RushtonRe: 24 or 26? (or 28)
On Tue, 5 Mar 1996, Beirne Konarski wrote:
> Troy Harding wrote:
[…]
> > By the way, any idea what your average speed is on the 28"?
[…]
> I move along at about 10-12 MPH without too much effort. If I’m moving quickly
> on the road I go 13-15. This isn’t the 17 MPH or so that some can do on a 24",
> but it is a safe speed for travelling.
>
> Beirne
On my 20" I do a ‘controlled dismount’ (fall off) from time to time, when I’m
not concentrating -do you find you come off more on a
20/24/26/28 inch? What happens when you fall off on the street at 15mph?
Despite what people have said I can’t really imagine being able to
control a 26 or 28" like a 20" or 24", but maybe that’s just because I
haven’t tried.
Why do so many people buy 20"(including me) when 24" are probably a better
‘balance’? Why do the people who sell them sell them?
John
Re: 24 or 26? (or 28)
John J Lee wrote:
>
> On Tue, 5 Mar 1996, Beirne Konarski wrote:
>
> > Troy Harding wrote:
> […]
> > > By the way, any idea what your average speed is on the 28"?
> […]
> > I move along at about 10-12 MPH without too much effort. If I’m moving
> > quickly on the road I go 13-15. This isn’t the 17 MPH or so that some can do
> > on a 24", but it is a safe speed for travelling.
> >
> > Beirne
>
> On my 20" I do a ‘controlled dismount’ (fall off) from time to time, when I’m
> not concentrating -do you find you come off more on a
> 20/24/26/28 inch? What happens when you fall off on the street at 15mph?
> Despite what people have said I can’t really imagine being able to
> control a 26 or 28" like a 20" or 24", but maybe that’s just because
> I haven’t tried.
>
> Why do so many people buy 20"(including me) when 24" are probably a better
> ‘balance’? Why do the people who sell them sell them?
>
> John
I don’t fall off of the 28" enough to notice. I fell off more when I first got
it, until I got used to pushing harder to get balanced. I still usually land on
my feet. The last time I remember taking a hard fall (I had to roll to avoid
injury) was on a 24" unicycle, trying to keep up with my wife on her bicycle.
I don’t own a 20" unicycle anymore (I bought a Miyata, but didn’t end up liking
it, so I sold it). I got it because I am getting high enough up in the skill
levels that I figured it would be easier for doing tricks, but it didn’t end up
helping that much. All of those who are better riders than I will say that the
20" models are better for performing special skills, and I won’t dispute them. A
20" model is also easier to learn on. In general, I feel if someone is going to
own one unicycle, it should be a 24". If they are doing lots of tricks rather
than traveling, a 20" model is better. If they want to do lots of travelling and
fewer tricks, a 26" or 28" is better.
Beirne
Re: 24 or 26? (or 28)
jjl101@york.ac.uk wrote:
>Why do so many people buy 20"(including me) when 24" are probably a better
>‘balance’? Why do the people who sell them sell them?
Some reasons for using a 20" wheel:
John Foss the Uni-Cyclone unicycle@aol.com
Re: 24 or 26? (or 28)
Unicycle@aol.com wrote:
> >Why do so many people buy 20"(including me) when 24" are probably a better
> >‘balance’? Why do the people who sell them sell them?
John: Very informative article. Thanks, Dan