Some questions for you guys that are riding 36" unicycles from a beginner here:
How hard was it to transition from a smaller unicycle to a large one? Minor adjustment? Days and days of learning?
Related question: How good should you be on a smaller one befoe you even think about a larger one?
And, in doing a bit of reading, it looks like there are four or five different models to choose from. Are there any obvious standouts or dogs to avoid in the choices?
Just for background, I’ve been slowly learning on a 20" Torker, and working on a bit more distance, which makes a larger wheel seem attracive. My interest is mainly riding around, not mountain unicycling, not circus stuff. I won’t be buying anything just yet, it’ll be down the road a bit yet.
Thanks!
I learned on a 20", then went to a trials, then went straight to a 36".
The first time I mounted, I didnt stay on, but the 2nd time I tried I was up and riding. The transition was very easy.
As long as you have the basic skills of riding, turning, mounting, and stopping, then you are good to go.
I havent kept up much on all the new parts and stuff, so im not gonna comment on all that is out there.
There have been a ton of threads on similar subjects, so there’s plenty to read on here. One good place to search would be on (29" vs. 36") type threads.
Transition will take a while. Though you will probably be off and riding pretty quick, it will take hours of riding to get comfortable and confident on the larger wheel. I recommend 150mm cranks to start, then work your way shorter when ready.
Keep in mind these cycles are best from point-a to point-b riding, not as well suited to swooping around. They are great for cranking out the miles, or riding to work. Tomorrow I have to go 85 km to get my first day of Ride The Lobster qualifying in (not much climbing).
I love my Coker Deluxe (from 2002). There isn’t a huge difference between the various brands available now; it’s more about what extras you want.
Search is your friend
Lots of threads on the 29 vs 36 and 36 vs 29 threads. Check them out lots of comparison info and opinions of the riding community.
For me personally I took the route of the 29" first then 4 month later a 36".
For what I wanted to do I’ll I really needed was the 29", but this little race called Ride the Lobster came along…
Unicycling can become a bit of an addiction. Once you have one unicycle and you can ride it, you soon come back for more.
I think you can be ready to move up to a 36’er as soon as you are comfortable riding on your smaller wheel. I made the jump straight from a 20" to a 36’er and it took maybe a few hours to be able to mount and ride away and a few miles worth of riding to finally get to the point I was comfortable at higher speeds. I agree with John when he says there isn’t much difference between the various 36’er models, it just depends on the extras you want and how light you want the 36’er to be.
Thanks for the input, guys. I did try the “search” but didn’t turn up much so I went ahead and asked.
I was just down at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dallas and saw a guy riding a unicycle there:
I think I’ve seen this guy out at White Rock Lake a couple of times, also have seen a guy on what I think was a 29" unicycle there.
the first 36er I road was a coker with 110mm cranks and it was a pretty easy transition.
It seems like a lot of people have trouble mounting on them but I’ve never had that trouble.
When I first tried a 36" wheel back in 1999 it was quite intimidating. I was an experienced rider but it had short cranks and I made the mistake of trying to ride it slowly. Big wheel unicycles are quite unstable at low speeds, they feel much nicer and easier to ride when your are moving along at a fair click. When you first get on you are at your most unstable. Once you are cruising a bit faster you’ll feel fine.
If you are already using your 20" unicycle to get around then transitioning to a 36" unicycle is possible. The more practiced you are on your 20", the easier that transition will be. Trying other size unicycles before hand helps too. If you ever visit a club see if you can try out different wheel sizes, just to get used to the fell of transitioning between different unicycles. Using 150mm cranks as opposed to shorter cranks will make the transistion easier too. Depending on your previous riding experience the transition period can be anything from 5 minutes to a few days. I know some people who have been riding big wheels for ages are have no problems riding but still have difficulty free mounting (usually shorter people find it harder to get onto a big wheel than taller people).
Riding a bigger wheel isn’t that much more difficult, although it can feel a little scary until you get used to sitting a little higher (in just the same one riding a giraffe can feel a little scary until you get used to it).
The main differences are that a 36" wheel is less manoeuverable, a bit harder to get up on to and they require more effort to bring to a stop. You need to plan your moves just a little further in advance with a 36" wheel. On a 20" you can stop on a dime, on a 36" it can take a good 20 metres to brake if you are zooming along at a fair pace.
I just got my 36 after 10 months of riding mainly a 20. Pretty spooky and intimidating at first, but as was posted earlier, much more comfortable once you get going a decent speed. I’m not a tall guy so the first main obstacle was how to get on the seat. I just used a fence or pole or whatever was handy, and after a few false starts I’m now pretty confident with just jumping up one pedal at a time from a quick walk and right up onto the seat. Unfortunately after my 2nd day of my RTL qualifying ride, I had some problems with my bearing not staying where it was supposed to on the axle. It keeps sliding out causing my bearing cradle to grind into the crank arm. I had the bearing repositioned and pushed back into place, but as soon as I started to ride again it started moving again. I hope I can get it all sorted out soon. I’ve had the Nimbus 36 for 2 weeks and have only been able to ride it a few times, most of it was me learning to ride it during my qualifying ride. Nova Scotia just got another helping of winter in the last few days so that’s also putting a damper on RTL training. Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy the 36. it’s a blast!