Addicted to unicycling again

General
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It’s crazy how time flies. I haven’t posted regularly here for like 8 years. I quit unicycling years ago…because of excuses now that I look back. I gained a whole bunch of weight. My unicycles began collecting dust. I lost my unicycling sight.

End of May 2018 I hit an atrocious 257 lbs(I was 175 in 2010). I had been fluctuating around 250 for a couple years. I was determined at the beginning of June 2018 to lose weight and began the journey. Within the first month I lost 20 lbs which had nothing to do with unicycling and everything to do with diet. I kept losing weight due to diet and got back on the road bike. I would road bike here and there and around September 2018 I had lost 40 lbs.

I had rode the 36" a little bit through the years and basically every spoke started breaking presumably because of my weight. The 36er was useless. After I lost these 40, almost 50 lbs I decided end of Oct 2018 it was time for the 36er to be rebuilt. I ordered a new rim and spokes for the 36er and had it rebuilt.

I suspected at this point it would be hard to lose additional weight, but when I got back on the 36er regularly the lbs continued dropping at an astonishing rate. I started with 5-8 mile rides at first and they just slowly increased. I rode maybe 200 miles 11/18-12/18.

I am now addicted to unicycling(again) and have put 690 miles on the 36er since the beginning of this year(2019). I have lost a total of 78 lbs and my weight varies around 179-184. I ride the 36er 5-6 days a week. I will not give up unicycling ever again.

This leads to me a few questions:
What saddles do you guys use? My saddle soreness is off the charts.
Where do you order your tubes? As of tonight I’ve spent $120 on 3 foss tubes.
Why is it still so hard to get a guni? My dream uni is a guni

A little bonus video…I don’t know how I did this

I have a lot more footage but shall wait to edit

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Welcome back and congratulations on your newfound health! A lot of people have drifted away from these forums for shinier places like Facebook,where things are harder to look up and threads are harder to organize,
but some of us are still here.

Currently I’m using the Kris Holm One (on my 36"). This one is aimed toward Road riders that spend a lot of time in the saddle. For me it works if I’m riding enough. if I’m not, like the last several months, it’s more of a torture device. But saddle choices are very personal; we have different shapes and widths to our pelvic bones. I would definitely use a different saddle for other activities, like Muni and Trials, though lots of Muni people are using the One.

My wife and I are getting back into more regular riding, and preparing for a 100k on May 19, so today we rode about 34 miles, which is probably the farthest I’ve gone in quite a while. My knees, back, quads and neck were unhappy, but the saddle part was okay! So when I redo my brake and tire, I guess I’ll leave that saddle on there.

Saddle choice also is connected to what you’re using for shorts. I’ve had a few pairs of bike shorts where the padding seemed to be incompatible with the dimensions of the seat, like hitting on the edge of the pad, so those weren’t a good combination. I highly recommend some sort of padded bike shorts, and don’t be cheap on your purchase; in my experience, the cheaper ones tend to not be that great.

Nothing has changed there; still only one maker, they come out irregularly in batches, still made in Switzerland so the price is high. But they continue to make improvements, so those things keep getting stronger and more reliable.

BTW, I don’t have a source for those tubes with my name on them. I’m still on my second one (knock wood)

Wow, that’s badass! You did it with loads of skill and confidence. I still get scared when the skinnies get higher (“still” means since my 30s or so; before that I probably would have done it but Trials unis didn’t exist yet). :slight_smile:

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Always good to hear of a recovering addict. :wink:

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now, ride it down with your eyes closed.

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Since he is “addicted again”, I think I will go with, “Congrats on your relapse!” :stuck_out_tongue:

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I remember seeing your username back in the day, and especially those stillstands and railrides. (Although the new world record of 1h 49min makes those seem short nowadays :astonished: )

As we get older, the wheels get bigger I guess… Welcome back!

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I also use the KH Fusion One. I prefer it to any other saddle I’ve ridden for anything over a couple of miles.

So far I’ve never had a puncture on a unicycle so I’ve never really had to buy more tubes… I’ve bought all of mine from UDC.

I’m hoping that when they appear again, the 125mm version materialises too but that might be a hope too far.

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[QUOTE=
Where do you order your tubes? As of tonight I’ve spent $120 on 3 foss tubes.
[/QUOTE]

don’t you repair them?

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Some people have had them fail at the valve where it’s impossible to repair.

I think it’s more of an issue for heavier riders, and also those who are less careful with installation (unlike most tubes, you <i>can</i> install them facing the wrong way), as none of mine have had such an issue yet.

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I rode on the Nimbus Stadium for a while and was pretty happy with it. Then I got a new 24" with an impact Naomi saddle. Rode it a whole bunch. Recently, I installed the Stadium onto my G26 and was suddenly not very happy with it. Specifically, I noticed that the back of the Stadium was narrower than the Naomi. I have a pretty big frame, my sit bones are perhaps more widely spaced than most riders, and I sit on the extreme back edge of the seat. I’m almost always holding on with two hands, and the saddle is positioned so I can both apply weight downward on it and pull backwards on the bar ends, applying force against my upper thighs. Anyway, for me and my riding style, the extra width at the back of the Naomi ended up working for me. I doubt anyone can predict what saddle is best for you, though. As others have said, if I recall, get a good pair of padded bike shorts.

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Light butyl Michelin tire, available in 29" and will stretch to 36 no problem. Cheaper than a Foss which is essentially ruined once punctured - despite what they say.

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I’ve had a puncture on a Foss tube. I repaired it quickly with the no mess, no glue Foss patch and it seems to be working well. I wonder what experience others are have with repairing Foss punctures?

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I bought a load of the stick on foss patches, found they’re very good for repairing air mattresses…

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My first attempt at using the foss patch worked.

I now, however, have a brand new 36" Nimbus Oracle in my possession :D:D:D

My God I can’t believe how light it is. I’ve been so used to my old Nimbus 36er with a 10 year old tire that I assume is way heavier. This thing rides like a dream. I’m learning to use the brake and I quickly realized that it’s actually when you let go of the brake that really can throw you off. This is my first time with 114mm cranks which I am liking so far.

Does anyone use Runkeeper? If so feel free to add me. http://runkeeper.com/user/Unicyclejunkie

I’m up to 871 miles for the year so far.

I can’t believe how long I have missed out on the unicycle endorphins.

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Welcome back sir! Happy to hear you got the addiction back, I slacked a few years ago (but not quit), and every time I’d take the uni again it just felt much more fun than my bike :stuck_out_tongue:

Stay healthy! :smiley:

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Your new Nimbus should have a "normal’ weight Nightrider tire but the Foss tube in it is quite a bit lighter then the Butyl tube.