I used to use a big trash bag when I was taking the train with my 26 muni.
However, I recently tried to flight with my Muni and looked for a bag I can use and maybe pad properly.
I found that Mavic is making bags for 29er MTB wheels. There is a lot of room in it. I used two square of cardboard boxes on each side to have stiffer sides (the fabric looks strong but is very flexible).
I had no problem fitting my 26 Large Marge and my Conundrum frame as is. Dropped the pedals and seatpost and voila.
There was enough room for a 29er for sure and I was able to add my shin guard and elbow guard in the corners, as well as the pedals, tools and some clothing.
The hardest part was to make sure I pick an airline with no extra fee for this bag (that was right at the size limit)
And the best part was that it was around $30 at my LBS !
Back again, this time with two unis in the bag
Soon I’m going to take a plane with my 24" and 26" munis. To pack them in, I had to dismount frame, take off tires and unscrew one pedal on each uni. Not to much space left in the bag. Looks like I shouldn’t meet problems on airport. The bag looks causal. But the fact, I have to take off tires and put them again on rim after travel makes me really discouraged .
I have an alternate approach that would be the best by far unless it has already been tried.
I talked with the state government authority that set the policies and rules under which the various types of public transport operate. It took me about three months but I successfully negotiated (indeed, substantially wrote) a workable policy which they agreed to. It enabled me to take my unicycle onto buses.
A couple of years later I did the same thing for trains.
As result I am travelling on either with no need to break my unicycle down into bits or bag it. I am also not restricted as to the times on which I can carry it. I don’t need to carry bags, dismantle anything, plan my times or anything. There just has to be room on the train, same as if I was not carrying it. I get on when it is packed full of passengers just like everyone else.
With the prospect of an outcome so perfect, it is worth giving a try before anything else.
Thanks a lot for your post, however in Israel the law for carrying bicycles, etc. onto buses and trains had changed only in the last few years.
It would be almost impossible for me to get such special approval as the law is very strict.
BTW - I already made my custom bag (and posted its pictures earlier).
The point is that I felt, correctly IMO, that the problems and practicality of carrying a unicycle is not at all the same as for a bike. That the difficulties a bike presented for other passengers would not be present for a unicycle. Carrying a golf bag would be a better (not good) comparison.
While we had bike policy that they were happy with, the staff didn’t know how to treat me. So they bundled me in with bikes. My negotiations were to get it treated NOT as a bike. Once I opened that line of reasoning they considered it and agreed with me.
Your people may have a recently reviewed bike policy. What you need to do is show them that it is not appropriate. That the carriage of a unicycle is not as intrusive to others as a bike.
I gleaned from the bike policy at the time that one of the significant issues they had was dirty chains in crowded passenger space. So I addressed that in my submissions by limiting it to “chainless” unicycles. (You will see that on their site.) We have no chain, dirty brake pads etc.
Another issue was space taken up. So I sent them an image of me standing at a bus stop leaning on the unicycle close to me - not much room at all. And offered to meet and show.
On movement of the unicycle though pedestrian space and crowded carriages I again offered to meet them with it in a station to show how it was easy to control and carry and move around people. To do whatever they asked to alleviate any concerns. As it happened they never called me in and so everything was done by phone and email.
They must have agreed with my basic premise - that a unicycle does not have the same issues as a bike - and they expanded their policy accordingly.
I am sure that I still have most of my correspondence filed away somewhere. If you wish to see it, PM me your email address.
Well, after thinking it over - I will take my shot and see how it goes.
Although, we are talking about 36" uni and not 20"/26" so it’s not that small and easy in terms of space…
I had my rather savvy daughter make me a custom bag. However, it proved not be satisfactory - it is difficult to get thru crowds, had to get it to sit well wehn hands are full with other stuff and so forth.
So last time I travelled by air I broke it into three - the forks, the seat and post and the wheel. The forks and seat fit easily into my 70L backpack and the wheel, in a bag, is strapped to the backpack when I am at the airport.
Disassemebly/reassembly takes ten minutes with a light ratchet spanner for the bearing caps, a socket to undo (and later refit) the crack bolts and a samll crank puller.
The wheel cover has a pair of core flute disks to protect the spokes. When the unicycle is re-assembled they are folded flat in half and carried in the backpack.
The wheel cover features four radial slits for attaching the strapping (though they are not essnetial). One slit is longer so that I can carry the wheel in my hand if I have the backpack on my back.
I had plans of making a “cello gig bag” type zip case for a 26" unicycle, albeit a bit less form-fitting than the green one shown earlier in this thread. But I was impatient and my long zipper hadn’t arrived yet, so last night I decided to make a quicker version as an evolution of the laundry bag I’d been using to carry my 20".
Basically I made a big drawstring top sack out of a canvas painter’s tarp.
But before I closed it up, I sewed some 1" nylon webbing up the center, from where the axle ends up to just below where the seatpost top falls, forming loops at the top and bottom for snap links. Then on the inside I put some ties at either end of this. Before putting the unicycle in it, I use a loose piece of string to tie the outboard pedal to the frame in a raised position, putting the inside one down. The lower of the two sewn in ties goes around the axle to hold the lower end, I raise the bag over the tire and pedals, tie the upper tie around the seatpost, and use the drawstring to close the bag just above the saddle.
A carry strap clips to the upper and lower loops and lets me sling the unicycle across my back, or over one shoulder - effectively the carry strap attaches right through to the ties inside and carries the unicycle, which thus wears the bag more than rides in it, and so doesn’t shift around. Some back padding inside may be in the cards at some point, but it’s surprisingly comfortable without - I’ve carried the 26" a mile that way across town to the bike path.
But even though I thought I made it loose enough, raising the bag over the tire is frustrating (putting it in a garbage bag first would probably help, but I’d probably have to replace those frequently). Doing the original version with a zipper on one edge seems like it will be worth the time. I’m also hoping to find some nylon packcloth that won’t show mud quite as much as I imagine this will, and hopefully won’t fill up the little backpack I put it in when riding to quite the same degree.
I may also make up a bare version of the carry strap for briefer “portages” where I’m not going in an out of buildings or elevators and so don’t feel wrapping it up is worth the bother.
I thought I’d re-open this thread out of curiosity. This year I’ve taken part in a boatload of cycling events, almost all of which involved me having to carry my unicycle on a tram that doesn’t allow any sort of bicycle, unless they’re folded up and inside a bag/case/box.
I used a thick plastic bag my sister got from work, looks like this:
However the bag isn’t lasting particularly well and I’m worried my uni is going to eat it up if I try for another year of events!
So I’m looking for a bag that’ll fold or roll up and be small and light enough to stash into my backpack I wear to do the actual ride, and yet be big enough to carry a 29" wheel without undoing the bearing cups (Seatpost is fine though).
Quite open to bodging a solution together using a bit of tarp and some blue rope if it comes to it, I literally just ride to the tram stop, whip my seatpost off and stick the uni in the bag, reversing the process once I’m in town, so I don’t need anything high-tech!
Does anyone else have such a solution that might work? Again emphasis on keeping the bag packable when not in use is preferred
It’s listed as being 25.5" high which doesn’t sound big enough for a 29" wheel, but if it fits then I reckon I might go with it. If the saddle pokes out I can always pop the seatpost out (which is what I do with my plastic bag right now).
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