I would like to get some shin pads for bc wheeling, any suggestions?
Its the sides of my legs that are important, i keep on using them as a brake…
I also though about building a frame to fix to the bc wheel plates, has anyone done this?
i have a pair of Mylec deck hockey knee/shin guards that work well for Ultimate wheel. I would guess that protection on the inside of the leg is the same issue with BC.
They were cheap, and stay put really well. The downside is that the PE that they are covered with is very thin, and wears through within a few rides. The upside is that when that happens you can swap them left to right and it’s like having a new set again. Also, it is easy to rivet heavier PE to them when it does wear through.
Here’s a link on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Mylec-Street-Dek-Shin-Pads/dp/B002LBDZ62
Any protector that isn’t fixed will be located at a wrong place after one or few moments of contact.
What I suggest:
Draw a line on the insides of your under-leg, and measure each inch or centimer the circumference (perimeter?).
Then take a somewhat strechable fabric, stronger than lycra/spendex is, and draw what you’ve just measures.
Take a strip of very tough material (like linen or canvas) and patch it on one side (and the for the other leg on the other side), put velcro on each side.
Make sure that they both close different; in the direction of the wheel.
Voila, you have a second skin that can stand the friction with the wheel, and (if made tight enough) will stay in place, fit like a glove and wont annoy.
I’ve had best success with neoprene shin pads stretched tight. For ultimate wheel Anthony Soumiatin recommends getting a couple pieces of leather custom made.
Regarding the frame, an unbike is a unicycle made from the front fork and handlebars of a bike, usually with BMX pegs to stand on. There are variations which substitute a unicycle seatpost for the handlebars and I don’t see any reason why BC plates wouldn’t work in place of BMX pegs. It should be easier to ride and I’ve theorized that this would make a good skatepark unicycle. You might see if you can find an old bike fork that’s the right size (width and tube inner diameter) and try it out. I’m planning to do something along these lines, making a unicycle from a drift trike front end. I’m planning to find someone who can cut a slot in the seat tube and then put a seat post clamp and unicycle seat post in. Some unbike videos are:
Thanks for the comments, they was helpful.
The unbike looks like lots of fun!
are they all home builds?
Is there anything i should know before building one?
Yes, as far as I know. Attaching a picture of mine below, more here and comments in the replies following. It’s all standard bmx stuff, nothing tricky about it.
Many things, but you probably already know most of them.
As I understand it, the big 14mm axle is a must for BC wheels and likely not a bad idea here either. I kept thinking as I was collecting parts that it might be cheaper and easier to find an old bmx bike with at least one good tire, and then just keep what I needed from it. If you already have one or know someone who does, that probably is true. There are even brand new $80 bikes at Wal-Mart, but not with 14mm axles.
It’s an open question whether to go with handlebars or a seat on top. Waaalrus favors a seat and he might well be right about that. The part about slotting the tube and getting the right diameter seatpost for it shouldn’t be too hard to work out. I stuck on a standard bmx stem and clamped a tube (sawed off 22.2mm Sun uni seatpost actually) with grips in there just to go the simple route for now.
And I’m still not even close to being able to ride it. I wasn’t expecting to be for a while. I’ve got a long way to go building basic unicycle skills before then, but it’ll be there when I’m ready for it. Good luck with yours if you decide to do it. Maybe I can learn by watching you.
Well, it’s not so much I favor the seat but my balance and musculature are adapted to freewheel unicycling where I grip the seat with my legs so a seat on an unbike would probably be easier for me to ride than one with handlebars. I would also be concerned getting tangled up with the handlebars during high speed UPDs. A very common UPD for me is when I simply hop forward off the pedals and land with my feet on the ground. On a regular unbike that would leave me running out at 10-12MPH with handlebars between my legs. This may not be an issue if you’re sticking to doing tricks on flat.
I imagine someone with BMX experience would find the handlebars easier and it may be easier in general. It’s not clear to me when BMX riders are on the pedals how much they’re using their legs to balance and how much their upper body or even if balance is part of the equation.
This is the kind of thing I’m talking about.
If the handlebars didn’t hit the ground quick enough or if you tripped on them it could be a bad UPD.
Slow in replying here, but yes that sounds right to me too. Nearly all of the unbike performances we’ve seen up to now have been bmx riders basically doing the flatland tricks that they’d do on the front pegs, just leaving off the parts of the bike they weren’t using. So handlebars make sense for that.
What you’re considering seems more closely related to the freewheel unicycling you already do, and you’re undoubtedly the world’s authority on it. I get what you’re saying about using the saddle for control at speed, though I’m nowhere near to being able to do it myself. I agree that you’d need to be more in that mode for ramps, bowls, pipes, etc, which is something we really haven’t seen yet.
With the latest practice I’ve been doing I feel pretty solid on the pedals and don’t think pegs or BC plates would be much benefit to me. It’s getting used to the speed and balance changes of rollers/ramps that’s tricky. Last week the city I work in announced plans for a new skate park which includes a long bowl area which seems like it would be perfect for this type of riding. I don’t know if they are going to allow bikes let alone unicycles but if so I should be able to ride it by the time it’s built. In the meantime I’ll keep working at the BMX tracks.