I’m looking into buying a larger wheel unicycle, im currently riding a 20 and doing distance is alot of pedaling and time, which size of wheel would you recommend for commuting in the city? I’m interested in knowing what you ride for comuting.
A 36er (Kris Holm ones are amazing) is definitely the best, or a geared one if you can afford it. Anything smaller is a lot slower and much less fun. 36ers are also great fun to ride down stairs and just about anything.
Like Miles said, a 36r would be your best bet. The only downside is that they’re expensive. The next best option would be the next size lower, a 29", which can be bought for much cheaper. What kind of commuting will you be doing?
just pretty much around the city.
The only real problem with a 36er is that they are bulky thus less maneuverable.
It would be more difficult to do simple hops up curbs and such with a 36er. Also it would be difficult to ride in crowded areas.
If maneauverability is important for you, go for a 29. Otherwise, 36er for sure, it will be much faster.
Hills are also going to be easier on a 29er.
In the city stopping at crosswalks and such with a 36er can be annoying.
A 29er is easier to free mount or idle
Yes, I missed those points.
I use both the 29" and the 36" in the city. The great thing about 29" is you can maneuver them very well in all sorts of situations. The dowside is that you will be slower than most bicycles. I use that size when I am going to get a backpack full of heavy groceries.
36" is nice because it’s fast and smooth, plus people really dig the huge wheel. But I really don’t like it in tricky situations. Also if your city is hilly, the 36er doesn’t make much sense, it’s too hard work then to be enjoyable.
I posted this thread a couple of weeks ago [THREAD]68182[/THREAD], it is a discussion + poll about the introduction of a new wheel size in between 29ers and 36ers. I think that maybe 32" would be ideal for that kind of city riding and also for cokermuny stuff. Check it out if you’re interested.
+1 on the 29".
I commute about three miles each way on mine (KH29 with dual hole moments: 125mm for urban, 150mm for muni). Easy mounting and good maneuverability are pluses for weaving through pedestrians on campus. And it’s compact enough to take into class without much hassle.
36ers have always been quite maneuverable for me, less so than a 29er, but I’m not really sure when you need to be ‘that’ maneuverable. If the sidewalk is too crowded, then it is fast enough to ride on the street.
Instead of having to hop up curbs, 36ers can roll up (multiple) steps quite well. 36ers can also go down stairs well.
Hills are easier on a 29er, but unless you live in a really hilly area, or have very weak legs, a 36er will still be much faster.
If you have a brake, you can stop really really quickly with a 36er just by leaning back lots and cranking on it.
Idling is definitely a lot harder on a 36er than a 29er, but you can always just get off.
I’ve never had any problems mounting 36ers, just run forward and jump on, or, if there is not much room (although I’m not sure where you would be going on one if there is not much room) just grab the tire with your hand and do a normal mount.
I haven’t tried those ways of mounting the 36er yet. So far I just do normal mounts and get them right about 80% of the time. Often I will have to wave around with my arms or hop myself into balance before I can get going very slowly. That just doesn’t make me very confident when I’m in front of groups of people… Also, if I have to dismount at a red traffic light, I sometimes walk over when it turns green, so I don’t have to mount in a hurry with traffic waiting for me. These mounting problems might be attributed to using 100mm cranks too, maybe I should put some longer ones on? Anyways, I’ll try the rolling mount next.