lars clausen started his coast to coast ride today. check out what hes up to at onewheel.org
Re: coast to coast ride
Lars has an interesting use of some kid’s handlebars on his Coker. He says it
allows him to take his weight off his seat, and gives him lots of umph (hope I
spelled that right) when going up hills. It’s pretty different from what Andy
Cotter uses.
Check it out at:
David Maxfield
Bainbridge Island, WA
Plan for the worst- this seems like self fullfillment. Looks like a UPD to the front meens that you ride the wheel into the ground. No, thanks!
Might as well get some long-horns to mount under the seat.
Christopher
can you put a pretty wicker basket full of flowerz on there 
Re: coast to coast ride
>Looks like a
>UPD to the front meens that you ride the wheel into the ground.
Actually, the handlebars are mounted behind the seat for that very reason.
David Maxfield
Bainbridge Island, WA
RE: coast to coast ride
> Lars has an interesting use of some kid’s handlebars on his
> Coker. He says it allows him to take his weight off his seat,
> and gives him lots of umph (hope I spelled that right) when
> going up hills. It’s pretty different from what Andy
> Cotter uses.
> http://www.onewheel.org/docs/phtl/0415al.jpg
It doesn’t look too ergo to me. Looks like his wrists have to bend back if
he wants his hands to be on the grips. Obviously they did not modify the
shape of the original handlebar, so I would think of it as a work in
progress (though I guess he’s using it). He probably puts his hands on the
tops. Surprising he hasn’t put some tape or something up there, though maybe
there have been modifications since that picture was taken.
That handlebar design means that dismounting to the rear is probably out.
But safety-wise, it’s the way to go. Crashes almost always happen to the
front, and in a crash, the handlebars won’t hit first (and additionally get
bent).
For an ultra-marathon ride like Lars is doing, I think he has chosen well to
have handlebars both on the sides and in front. This gives him a number of
choices to shift around during his long hours in the saddle, and to pull up
on in various ways for uphill riding. I never used side handlebars, so I
can’t say how they compare to a front handle. But they would keep you in an
upright seating position. This is good for posture and breathing, but bad
for saddle-soreness and headwinds.
Being aerodynamic is usually a joke on a unicycle, because you’re going to
slow for it to matter. But if you’re riding all day into a headwind, it can
matter a lot. A handle on the front of the seat (or in front of the seat)
can put you into a position similar to on a road bike. This would seem to be
an effective position, based on 100 years of bike racing this way. The
handlebars take a portion of your weight off the seat, and you present a
much smaller profile to the wind. You can still pull up on the handles for
uphill riding also. Plus the forward position tilts your pelvic bones to a
position similar to that of a bicycle, which may be better for long times in
the saddle.
Just make sure your front handlebar is narrow enough for your legs to get
around it in a forward dismount!
Lars is working on adding his name to the very short list of unicyclists who
have ridden across the North American continent, one of the hardest
achievements possible on a unicycle. He should have all of our support on
his ride. If you think what he is doing is cool and inspiring, don’t forget
to send a donation to his cause, as Jacquie and I are. This is the best
possible way to show Lars and his team that you’re pulling for them.
How many people have ridden across North America? Surely there are others
besides these listed below, but these are the ones I can call up from (my
sick unicycle-fanatic) memory:
Walter Nilsson (1933 or so)
Steve McPeak (1968 or so)
Wally Watts (more than once, plus around the world)
Keith Cash (1981:
http://unicycling.org/unicycling/tales/kcash.html)
Pietro Biondo, 1983-4 (12,000 miles around NA)
A guy from India, 1984 (mentioned in On One Wheel before his ride)
Akira Matsushima, 1992
Tyler “Tater A. Peal” (1997:
http://www.shrinershq.org/WhatsNewArch/Archives97/unicyclist12-97.html)
Most of the above are listed here:
http://www.unicycling.org/unicycling/btdt/fhs.html
Most of these riders did not get their achievements into the Guinness
book, for various reasons. Some weren’t interested, others did not have
enough documentation to back up their rides, and some may have been the
fickle nature of Guinness when it comes to tracking such things. Some years
they are apparently more interested in unicycle records than others. I hope
Lars’ achievement will surpass what has been done by his predecessors, and
that Guinness will recognize it in their next available edition.
Most of the riders above were pioneers, figuring things out for themselves,
and mostly not being aware of the others who had gone before them. Lars is
lucky to have come along at a time when there is much information available
on the Internet. Before starting on his ride he had plenty of time to try
various unicycles, seats, and riding ideas, which will undoubtedly save him
much time and pain on his trip. I think his choice of 28" Semcycle and Coker
will serve him well. Pietro Biondo was successful with a geared giraffe (as
seen on the cover of a 1984 On One Wheel), but I’d be more comfortable on a
nice big wheel.
Good luck Lars! More power to ya.
John Foss
President, Unicycling Society of America
President, International Unicycling Federation
jfoss@unicycling.com
Re: Re: coast to coast ride
Oh yeah, I’ve got it now. The Coker is facing backward so we’re looking at the back of the wheel. Now you’ve pointed it out I notice the speedo is fitted to a long arm toward the rear of the photo and the brake fitting to the front which would only work if the uni was facing away from us. That also explains the odd angle of the grips. Makes perfect sense that way round. There’s some great ideas in the design mods.
Re: Re: coast to coast ride
Ah. Now that I’ve got the front and back of the uni figured out. Makes more sense that way.
Now I’m trying to figure out how one would mount the uni with the handlebars in the back? A rolling mount would not work. A standard mount is difficult on a Coker with short cranks unless the Coker is pointed downhill. It looks to me that the mount of choice would be an assisted mount using a signpost or fence. A proper freemount might be possible, but I’m having a hard time picturing it.
john_childs
How many people have ridden across North America? Surely there are others
besides these listed below, but these are the ones I can call up from (my
sick unicycle-fanatic) memory:
Walter Nilsson (1933 or so)
Steve McPeak (1968 or so)
Wally Watts (more than once, plus around the world)
Keith Cash (1981:
http://unicycling.org/unicycling/tales/kcash.html)
Pietro Biondo, 1983-4 (12,000 miles around NA)
A guy from India, 1984 (mentioned in On One Wheel before his ride)
Akira Matsushima, 1992
Tyler “Tater A. Peal” (1997:
http://www.shrinershq.org/WhatsNewA...clist12-97.html)
soon i will be on the list. on may first ill be starting the second leg on my coast to coast ride. in spring of 2000 i went from boston to the mississippi. saddle soarness was becoming a very serious issue and i want to have kids in the future so i took a break. it isnt till now that i actually have a chance to finish. ill be starting at the west coast and riding east to the point i left off last time, manona iowa. i had lunch with lars clausen the day before he left on his ride and we compared routes. it looks like ill ride with him for a few days once we hit misoula mt. then we separate and meet again in the twin cities. its just chance were riding at the same time. i didnt even know he was doing this till two day before he started when tyler “tater a peel” told me.
Re: coast to coast ride
In article <john_childs.3krvz@timelimit.unicyclist.com>,
john_childs <john_childs.3krvz@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
)
)
)Now I’m trying to figure out how one would mount the uni with the
)handlebars in the back? A rolling mount would not work. A standard
)mount is difficult on a Coker with short cranks unless the Coker is
)pointed downhill. It looks to me that the mount of choice would be an
)assisted mount using a signpost or fence. A proper freemount might be
)possible, but I’m having a hard time picturing it.
How about a side mount? Anything where the seat comes in from the rear
should at least be possible. Maybe I’ll try a side mount on my new
29" Pashley tonight. Dealing with the weight of the Coker would be a
problem, but the margin for error is also larger than on a small-wheel
uni.
-Tom
Re: coast to coast ride
“john_childs” <john_childs.3krvz@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:john_childs.3krvz@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
> Now I’m trying to figure out how one would mount the uni with the
> handlebars in the back? A rolling mount would not work. A standard
> mount is difficult on a Coker with short cranks unless the Coker is
> pointed downhill. It looks to me that the mount of choice would be an
> assisted mount using a signpost or fence. A proper freemount might be
> possible, but I’m having a hard time picturing it.
I think a backwards rollback mount (rollforwards mount?) into idling would
be possible, or even just a backwards version of the way you mount straight
into backwards riding.
Or maybe just bung the saddle under you, step backwards onto the pedals and
use the handlebars to pull the unicycle under you. I suspect this would be
easiest, although because it’s using the bars wouldn’t be so easy on an
unmodified coker.
Hmmmm, I think this lunchtime’s uni practice is now officially stupid
backwards mounts. There must be some way.
Joe
Re: coast to coast ride
“Joe Marshall” <news@joemarshall.org.uk> wrote in message
news:1019643390.682872@ananke.eclipse.net.uk…
> I think a backwards rollback mount (rollforwards mount?) into idling would
> be possible, or even just a backwards version of the way you mount
straight
> into backwards riding.
Hmmm, tried it. This is difficult. My legs don’t want to put enough pressure
on the pedals in the right direction to get the uni anywhere near me.
Backwards jump mount anyone? Backwards rolling mount?
Joe
Re: Re: coast to coast ride
Joe,
You are a Monster. I have no doubt that you have attempted this. (We better lock him up before he makes us all look any worse.)
Christopher
RE: coast to coast ride
> Now I’m trying to figure out how one would mount the uni with the
> handlebars in the back? A rolling mount would not work.
You might be able to work out a rolling mount if you can work your legs
around the handlebars.
> A standard mount is difficult on a Coker with short cranks
> unless the Coker is pointed downhill.
This might also work; the taller Lars is, the easier it would be. It seems
to be the most logical choice for an unassisted mount. Grab the tire and all
that.
> It looks to me that the mount of choice would be an
> assisted mount using a signpost or fence. A proper freemount might be
> possible, but I’m having a hard time picturing it.
I’m sure Lars has figured something out. Hopefully he’s not stuck with an
assisted mount. This gets difficult in the middle of the great plains, for
example.
Someone suggested a side mount. Due to the narrowness of the Coker wheel, I
would not recommend this as it might put too much side-stress on.
I think you could do a regular rolling mount with the unicycle backwards,
then do a 180 to straighten it out. How about that? Watch the legs while
jumping… 
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
jfoss@unicycling.com
“I am never riding the wrong way on a busy street again, esp. when on the
phone.” - David Stone, on survival
Re: RE: coast to coast ride
I had forgotten about the grab the tire type of Coker mount. That would probably work.
john_childs
Re: coast to coast ride
On Wed, 24 Apr 2002 14:41:55 GMT, “Joe Marshall”
<news@joemarshall.org.uk> wrote:
>Backwards jump mount anyone? Backwards rolling mount?
Unless I don’t understand the question, Robin (10) did it last Sunday
as one of the mounts for level 4 (on a 20" wheel). He stood before the
uni, seat in crotch, put pressure on the near (forward) pedal to bring
the wheel under him and presto. While I can’t do it, it didn’t seem
like a big deal. Or maybe the problem is just on the Coker?
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“22 SAS, klm, 32”
Re: coast to coast ride
“John Foss” <john_foss@asinet.com> wrote in message
news:mailman.1019673826.28181.rsu@unicycling.org…
> I think you could do a regular rolling mount with the unicycle backwards,
> then do a 180 to straighten it out. How about that? Watch the legs while
> jumping…
>
Wow, please please please if you can do this on a Coker (even an unmodified
one), post a video so we can see, that’d be wicked!
Anyone?
Joe
Re: coast to coast ride
“Klaas Bil” <klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl> wrote in message
news:3cc71eb5.2265831@newszilla.xs4all.nl…
> Unless I don’t understand the question, Robin (10) did it last Sunday
> as one of the mounts for level 4 (on a 20" wheel). He stood before the
> uni, seat in crotch, put pressure on the near (forward) pedal to bring
> the wheel under him and presto. While I can’t do it, it didn’t seem
> like a big deal. Or maybe the problem is just on the Coker?
I tried it on a 24" wheel and even then it seemed like it was going to be
pretty hard, with the seat under you the pedal is quite a way behind you.
I think this is one of those tricks that’ll be harder the bigger the wheel
you use, though someone better than me might be able to do it easily even on
a coker.
Joe
Re: Re: coast to coast ride
Joe-
I think Klaas is describing the run-of-the-mill reverse mount, not a rolling reverse mount.
Re: coast to coast ride
“harper” <harper.3oa9y@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message
news:harper.3oa9y@timelimit.unicyclist.com…
> I think Klaas is describing the run-of-the-mill reverse mount, not a
> rolling reverse mount.
>
yeah, I still think it’d be hard on a coker, because stepping backwards just
isn’t as easy as stepping forwards and that’s one big backwards step.
Please someone demonstrate this on a coker cos I know I can’t.
Joe