I have 155mm (stock) cranks on my Torker 24".
I’m thinking about getting a 26" or 27" uni for street/touring
use.
Any suggestions about which uni to get – e.g., especially
seats, and also what size cranks to get. Things are pretty
hilly around here, so I think I may need at least the same
mechanical advantage I currently have with the 24".
Re: 26" or 27"
Age, height and inseam length (measured crotch to floor with shoes on) are a good indicator of the appropriate wheel size.
Age: if you’re 12 years old, you’re bound to grow. Not so if you’re 30. That affects what we recommend.
Height: if you’re 30 and 5’5", we might recommend a 26 over a 28.
Inseam length: this ensures an appropriate seat post length, one that enables you to reach the pedals.
I ride a Coker 36-inch with 125-mm (5-inch) cranks. We live on the North side of Atlanta with a fairly hilly terrain. It took a year of riding with 6-inch cranks to build enough leg strength to power up these hills. Once that became easy, I switched to
shorter cranks.
The shorter the cranks, the smoother the ride. That said, if I were entering the Mt. Diablo Challenge, I might go for 170s (6.5-inches).
-John
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: hbaker1@pipeline.com
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 05:56:49 GMT
>I have 155mm (stock) cranks on my Torker 24".
>
>I’m thinking about getting a 26" or 27" uni for street/touring
>use.
>
>Any suggestions about which uni to get – e.g., especially
>seats, and also what size cranks to get. Things are pretty
>hilly around here, so I think I may need at least the same
>mechanical advantage I currently have with the 24".
>___________________________________________________________________________
>rec.sport.unicycling mailing list - www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
>
I’ve only done a quick calculation based on a tyre with an actual external diameter of 24 inches and a tyre with an actual external diameter of 28, and to maintain the same mechanical advantage, you would need 180mm cranks.
This is clearly nonsense. 
155s on a 24 are incredibly long for anything except extreme MUni. Putting long cranks on a 28 for road riding misses the point.
I have 110s on my 28 (700c) and find it rideable on most hills that I’m likely to meet. 125s would give substantially more torque. 150s would slow it down quite a bit. 170s would make it almost a MUni. Going the other way, it is rideable and idleable on 102s, but not to the standards I require for road safety.
With experience, I have found I need less leverage - not because I am stronger (and not because I’m heavier, coz I’m now lighter) but because of improved technique, balance and timing. I rode stuff today on a 24/89 set up which I found challenging on a 26/150 set up last summer.
So if you want a road uni, I’d say go for a nice light 700c, and if you’re not confident about the 110s, get 125s. A cheap pair of spare cranks costs only a few quid, so you won’t be making an irreversible commitment to a given crank length, whatever you do.
You will find that with a 700c, the smoothness of the big wheel, and the lightness of the uni combine in a way which means progress is smoother and faster with less effort than on a 24.
Re: 26" or 27"
On Sun, 16 Mar 2003 05:56:49 GMT, hbaker1@pipeline.com wrote:
>I have 155mm (stock) cranks on my Torker 24".
>
>I’m thinking about getting a 26" or 27" uni for street/touring
>use.
>
>Any suggestions about which uni to get – e.g., especially
>seats, and also what size cranks to get. Things are pretty
>hilly around here, so I think I may need at least the same
>mechanical advantage I currently have with the 24".
I too am buying a street/touring uni right now but I’m in a flat area
so I’m shooting for much shorter cranks.
If things are so hilly there that you need 155 mm cranks on the Torker
24", then I think you should buy a 26" wheel with 170 mm cranks. Once
you build more leg power, you can try your 155 mm Torker cranks on the
new uni.
As to seats: you will need to pull on the seat in your hilly rides so
you need a handle, as well as a comfortable seat. I would shoot for
the Velo KH seat, or else the Miyata with reinforcement and air
conversion.
27" unicycles are rare I think, I wouldn’t buy one. And 28" may be too
large for your hilly area. Judging by what you say that is, people
have ridden some fairly steep stuff even on Cokers (36").
"To escape the grip of a crocodile’s jaws, push your thumbs into its eyeballs – it will let you go instantly. "