Can a UNI REPLACE a BIKE? 29" or 36"?

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Hello everyone!

I’ve been riding on a 20” for quite a while now (mainly doing flatland and street), and now I am thinking of getting a 29” or 36” unicycle for riding long distances.

My bike broke last summer while on a cycling trip (irreparable damage, or at least too expensive to
repair), and I haven’t acquired a new one since then. I like the idea of buying a big wheel uni (specially the 36") to replace my broken bike, but I don’t know which wheel size I should choose. In fact, I don’t even know if it is possible to replace a bike with a uni.

My main concerns are the following. A bike is really versatile. Can a uni provide the same versatility? I used my old bike for a lot of different kind of rides:
a) I would go to my friend’s house: 2km, flat, asphalt terrain.
b) I would go on longer rides around my town: 20-40km, flat, dirt/sand/gravel paths.
c) And I would go on cycling trips: riding up to 100-120km on mountain terrains (mainly asphalt) with great slopes that would require me to use my lowest gear to even be able to climb without dismounting.

Each of this types of rides requires specific characteristics. For example, when riding in town, I need maneuverability to be safe around cars and pedestrians or stop at signs. When riding medium distance (20-40km) around my town I like going fast (even competing with my friends). And when going on long mountain rides I need to be able to go up great slopes without getting worn out.

  1. Can a 36” provide the maneuverability needed to move around town our should I get a 29”?
  2. Can I keep up with the pace of friends in fast rides with a 29”? And with a 36”? (30km/h [18MPH] for around an hour).
  3. Is it possible to climb mountains (I am talking about 13%-20% slopes at some points) on a 29” or 36”?
  4. If it is possible, would be easier on a 36” (which I assume requires less effort since it has a bigger wheel) or on a 29” (I guess maintaining balance is easier)?
  5. Is riding too hard while carrying equipment on your uni?
  6. Would strong wind be a problem?

In brief, can a 29” or 36” replace a bike? To what extent?

[I’ve numbered the questions in case you want to answer to any of them in particular, but any kind of general answer would be highly appreciated].

Thanks a lot for reading until here!
I’m eager to know your thoughts on this.
Thanks again! :slight_smile:

[I tried posting this a couple days ago, but since it stayed unapproved I deleted it and tried again].:slight_smile:

2

I think what you are asking cannot be contained in only a 29" or 36". I think you need both. The maneuverability (how do you spell that) you will find in the 29", but if I’d have to ride 120km, I would take the 36" and then you say you have big climbs. Be aware that a 36 doesn’t have a lower gear. Climbing with a smaller wheel is easier. As for speed, check out Ruari’s post. He’s been doing research into that the last few days and it seems to me he is in top shape.
As for bike replacement, Personally I choose not to ride my bike, but we don’t have showers in the office and on uni I easily get very sweaty. I have about 7kms to work. By bike I don’t sweat and I can have my laptop on the back of the bike, instead of on my back. The chance of falling is bigger with a uni than with a bike, so I generally keep my laptop at work when I decide to take the uni. With a bike you can make a bigger distance in shorter time. I’ve been riding for 5 years now and I have hardly touched my bike during that time. I think a unicycle adds enough fun and challenges to keep you busy. Different kinds than with a bike.

You can bet there will be many more posting here with their own opinions :slight_smile: Have you ever tried riding a 36"?

3

My opinion.

  1. Can a 36” provide the maneuverability needed to move around town our should I get a 29”?
    Yes with practice.

  2. Can I keep up with the pace of friends in fast rides with a 29”? And with a 36”? (30km/h [18MPH] for around an hour).
    No, not at 18 mph…

  3. Is it possible to climb mountains (I am talking about 13%-20% slopes at some points) on a 29” or 36”?
    No. With no gearing on a uni, they are not good for steep hill climbing.

  4. If it is possible, would be easier on a 36” (which I assume requires less effort since it has a bigger wheel) or on a 29” (I guess maintaining balance is easier)?
    N/A

  5. Is riding too hard while carrying equipment on your uni?
    No, you can pack most anything you want.

  6. Would strong wind be a problem?
    Yes, sometimes. You have less steering control on a uni and it is possible for a strong cross wind to blow you off course.

4

Fully replace? No. At least you will have significant downsides.

I’ll answer a few of the questions directly:
2.) No. My Marathon speed was 23 km/h on a 36". Yes, some people can go faster, but most are slower than me. I can ride a 36" with friends on a bike without being too much of a slow down, but then I’m going pretty fast, and they are riding very relaxed.
5.) Depends on how much you want to carry. A small backpack with a towel a bottle of water and some snacks for a day at the beach? Easy. Anything more than what you can get in a backpack? not as easy as on a bike with a carrying rack.

For me, I don’t think I could get rid of my bike for a 36". (There is both in my household). I sometimes use the uni instead of the bike, it’s fun, but it’s slower, and takes a lot more attention. There is a bumpy section on a bike path I take regularily. On my bike, if I don’t pay attention and hit it at 25 km/h, it’s uncomfortable but no big deal, on the uni, it will throw me off, if I don’t slow down.

5

Since Setonix mentioned me I will oblige and comment, even though there are others better placed. Still that hasn’t stopped me from saying something before, so here goes.

Yes, easy

Yes, though the sand might be an issue (or at least pretty annoying) unless you have a nice fat tyre.

That is harder because you have combined great distance, for which a bigger wheel uni is most suitable, with the need to use a very low gear (presumably compared with a mountain bike), which would mean a smaller wheel uni, and small uni would be no fun over that distance. Depending on how steep these slopes actually are, you might be able to get up them with training on a bigger wheel. So this last one is hard to answer with any level of certainty.

Do-able on a 36" but easier IMHO with a 29"

I am going straight to no with this one. Can anyone go that fast on a unicycle. Yes, the very best people can unicycle that fast but maintaining it for an hour is something serious. Again, I am not saying it is impossible for anyone but it is a long way from realistic for most people. So, in a race between a bike and a unicycle, the bike is going to win unless the bicyclist is unfit and the unicyclist is amazing.

I guess Setonix mentioned me because I was talking about the gearing provided my different crank lengths, in my other post. So let’s look at that. A stock 36" (i.e. 150mm cranks) has a gain ratio of only 3.05. A 29" bought pre-configured for road usage (e.g. the 29" Nimbus Road from UDC UK) might come with 125mm cranks, which would give it a similar gain ratio (2.95). To put this into some kind of perspective of how low a gear this is, one of my bikes is simple 3-speed. I went and checked the gain ratio of all three gears for comparison purposes and they are 3.28, 4.41 and 5.82. So a stock 36" or road 29" comes out of the box with a lower gearing than the bottom gear of this bike. The vast majority of bikes also have the ability to coast. So unless you are real top unicyclist, you cannot really expect to keep pace with many (most) adult bicyclists on flat unless they are going at a leisurely pace, and downhill they will all leave you for dust. To be fair uphill, when your gearing is likely closer to theirs and the advantage of coasting is removed, you may actually have the upper hand, given how light unicycles are. But I am afraid it is not uphill everywhere, so the bicyclist is still going to win on average.

Yes, you could drop the cranks size down. Several 36" riders mention using 100mm cranks. Let’s look at that, (3612.7)/100 = 4.57. This brings you to roughly the mid-gear of my simple 3-speed (which is obviously not a performance machine). So, if it was you against me on my bike on a flat (or downhill) I could shift to the top gear and you would likely have very little chance. Even if you used 89mm cranks, which would be quite something on a 36", (3612.7)/89 comes out at 5.14. It is still a fair bit lower than my top gear and now you have completely hobbled your ability to go up hills. Plus you still cannot coast.

Yes, there are other forms of gearing, e.g. a geared hub and this helps because it would allow you to retain a lower gear for the hills but let’s be serious unicycles are not built for speed and those that achieve and maintain high speed do this in spite of the limitations, not because unicycles are inherently fast.

My advice, unicycle when you can and enjoy it but keep a bike for those times when you need it, given the advantages it conveys.

6

Ok, I realised that you had more questions and I stopped before answering them all but I think it is already clear that what you have in mind and want to achieve, is not realistic.

7

A uni cannot replace a bike if your objective is to achieve everything that you can achieve on a bike in terms of speed, distance, versatility, comfort, safety, luggage capacity, or a dozen other aspects. Bikes are very good at what they do.

A uni can replace a bike if your objective is to achieve some of the intangible things that you can achieve on a bike: the enjoyment of the ride, the challenge of covering distance, the exhilaration of riding across uneven ground, the satisfaction of climbing the steepest hill you can manage, and the exercise of riding hard for an hour without a break.

9

A uni cannot replace a bike if your objective is to achieve everything that you can achieve on a bike in terms of speed, distance, versatility, comfort, safety, luggage capacity, or a dozen other aspects. Bikes are very good at what they do.

A uni can replace a bike if your objective is to achieve some of the intangible things that you can achieve on a bike: the enjoyment of the ride, the challenge of covering distance, the exhilaration of riding across uneven ground, the satisfaction of climbing the steepest hill you can manage, and the exercise of riding hard for an hour without a break.

11

My first thought when I read this was that the prices are about the same. My Hatchet of 750 EUR cost more than my commuterbike with 7 gears and hub-dynamos (bought it in Germany, because bikes in NL require at least 1 battery light, which always run empty when you need them) I paid 600 for the two-wheeler.
Otherwise a good quality mountainbike will naturally be more expensive than a uni, as it has more components on it, but a good unicycle isn’t cheap.

12

Yes, an unicycle can replace a bicycle.
And it did it in my case. My case - it is short distance to and from train stations, so during my everyday trip I did 6 km on unicycle and it takes about 30 min. of cycling, and 2 hours and 30 min. a day - it is time, when I carry the unicycle in trains and between trains on platforms end ladders.
So you can see, that I have much more time, when I carry my unicycle, then I ride on it.
If I will to use a bicycle in my case, it will be so hard for me, that I will bev choosen to walk by my legs.
Even if to use folding bike, every day I will need to fold and unfold it 12 times, to hard duty.
But unicycle is compact, light weight, no needs to fold, it rolls on ladders without holding up. I don’t think, those couple minutes a day, that I may to win using bicycle, may to change something.

13

Yeah it can but I don’t think for the original poster’s case where they want to (amongst other things), keep up with friends at 30km/h for one hour, it is going to work.

14

Maybe you should consider a UW. It is much lighter than even a uni to carry around with you. Just pop it on the ground, step on and off you go. Easy does it. You won’t break a sweat :stuck_out_tongue:

15

Now, I have never ridden an UW and not even tried to, but based on your and other threads, I feel like there might be just a hint of sarcasm :stuck_out_tongue:

Either that, or you are a straight out liar!

16

Number 2 (I did write the smiley face with tongue sticking out, ya know ( :stuck_out_tongue: ) ) :smiley:

17

I just bought a 28" UW for that kind of purpose! :stuck_out_tongue: (and I realize this is going to be hard… but I believe it!)

I have no problem answering "Yes, several unicycles can replace a bike… one is not enougth, and I can even add “Can a bike replace a car? Yes” and “Can a uni replace a car? Yes”.
To answer yes to everything, you have to live in the city, with short distances to go to work and shopping and be very motivated and in good physical health (mental health is not guaranteed).

18

I just bought a 28" UW for that kind of purpose! :stuck_out_tongue: (and I realize this is going to be hard… but I believe it!)

I have no problem answering "Yes, several unicycles can replace a bike… one is not enougth, and I can even add “Can a bike replace a car? Yes” and “Can a uni replace a car? Yes”.
To answer yes to everything, you have to live in the city, with short distances to go to work and shopping and be very motivated and in good physical health (mental health is not guaranteed).

19

That is awesome. When you get the hang of it, and you will, don’t forget to make a video and post it on youtube. There are too few vidz of riding the UW there. Now Im learning to free mount and also focus on making metres to get more comfortable with it.

20

I have an ultimate wheel. I can ride a unicycle for 2 or more hours and 20 or more miles without a dismount. On the ultimate wheel, I am exhausted after 500 yards/metres without a break.

The ultimate wheel lacks the day to day practicality of the conventional unicycle.

21

I have an ultimate wheel. I can ride a unicycle for 2 or more hours and 20 or more miles without a dismount. On the ultimate wheel, I am exhausted after 500 yards/metres without a break.

The ultimate wheel lacks the day to day practicality of the conventional unicycle.

22

I have an ultimate wheel. I can ride a unicycle for 2 or more hours and 20 or more miles without a dismount. On the ultimate wheel, I am exhausted after 500 yards/metres without a break.

The ultimate wheel lacks the day to day practicality of the conventional unicycle.