Just got back from my first real coker crash. I was trying to look over my shoulder to see where the dog was, when next thing, i’m flying down the path like superman. (Sort of like the high speed chase on the speeders in the forrest in Star Wars) From where the uke ended up, to where I finally stopped, was about 16 feet!!
Assuming the uke’s inertia carried it, at least, say 4 feet from the point of UPD, I was airborn for like 20 feet!!!
Anyway, the seat came a bit loose at the bolts, but otherwise survived perfectly, and other than a few tiny cuts, and some bruises, I lost no skin - which is sort of amazing - but good.
I’d been planning to get some protective gear - but now I’m really planning to do so.
Can anyone recommend which bits of the body are most often injured in a coker crash? And which brands/retailers are the best?
I’m 6’7" if that makes any difference.
Congratulations! That sounds like an awesome crash!
The most important piece of protective gear (aside from a helmet) is wristguards. Broken or sprained wrists are the most likely serious injuries you’ll recieve.
Freemounting is tough on a coker. Lots and lots of practice.
Brakes are useful for steep and long downhills, especially with shorter cranks. I have some on mine and I rarely use them. Save your money for now. If you need them in the future, you’ll know.
I’ve had one major crash on the Coker and the bit I injured was my shoulder. It’s several months later and it still doesn’t feel right. I don’t know if it’s practical to be wearing shoulder pads though.
I’d recommend a Helmet and gloves a the two most important safety items. Maybe wristguards although I don’t use them. Shin guards if you are riding off road. And also important are good shoes without laces- you can end up spinning very fast on a Coker and the last thing you’d want is your laces wrapping itself around the axle. (And I find having to tuck the laces away every time a bit of a hassle.) I use Salomon trail running shoes- they have a kevlar fastening system that tucks away neatly.
A good rolling mount takes a bit of practice- but that’s what I use to mount the Coker with. And it’s great for off-road or uphill situations. Otherwise, an alternative mount is to grab the wheel with one hand and pull yourself up onto the seat.
I don’t use a brake- but I think it will be quite useful for off-road and also for steep downhills with short cranks. I’d stick with long cranks for now until you get more familiar with the Coker.
When on the Coker (on pavement) I use helmet, Harbinger glove/wristguards, 661 DJ knee and elbow pads. I took a fairly fast UPD once that I was not able to “run out” of and slid on my elbows and knees. Without the pads, my joints woukd have looked like hamburger I don’t use my 661 4x4’s with the Coker bacause I usually get spit far away from the pedals. The 661 DJ (dirt jumper) pads offer excellent knee and elbow protection and (at $7.95) they’re almost giving them away here:
I almost forgot to congratulate you on your attempt at high speed levitation:D
BTW, here’s a response I posted to your other thread in Product Reviews explaining a method for freemounting the beast. It works pretty well for me:
I am a little short-changed in the inseam department, so freemounting a Coker proved to be a challenge for me initially. Here’s how I freemount my Coker:
With the pedals at 2 and 8 o’clock, I place my foot on the rear pedal and reach over the saddle with my right hand to grab hold of the wheel. Then I give the Coker a slight push as I jump onto the saddle while pulling against the wheel with my hand to give myself a little more “lift” as I plant my other foot on the forward pedal. This helps to get a little momentum to start that big wheel rolling.
You’ll find ‘running out’ of UPDs more and more impossible as you enter mach speed (Coker-I). The topic of coker specific protection has been addressed earlier, and I’m sticking with my answer that a helmet, shoes, and wrist guards are required. (I’ve slid a long way on concrete, on the toes of my shoes and wrist-guards, unscathed.)
A brake is useful on any downhill after you’ve ridden a greater distance than usual. During a normal ride, I do not use it. During the MS150, I used it on every down hill, after the rain stopped. I have also found it useful for very steep hills. It takes some planned practise to successfully use a brake on any unicycle.
I no longer can do a ‘rolling mount’, since I put on the shorter cranks. Idling is harder as well. Holding/pulling the wheel is good for starting on hills or in a crowd, but I usually mount it like a regular uni, with the pedals nearly horizontal.
Uke? It sounds like you’re about to throw up. We mostly just call them unicycles. Or Cokers. Or unis. Some people say yikes, but then I say, “Aren’t there any better comic book exclamations?”
Protection, in order of importance:
Helmet
Hands/wrists
Knees
After that it gets more a matter of preference; those are the three biggies. Perhaps add feet if you’re riding real fast all the time.
Mounting:
I use what would be called a static mount. I roll the unicycle forward, but when the rear pedal comes about level, the unicycle stops while I continue forward, up and onto the wheel. Don’t start pedaling until your balance point gets ahead of the axle. With practice you can do it nice and slow with no problems. I use the same mount on my 45" wheel.
I always wear wrist guards whether I am going down to the shops or riding over 100 miles. Falling from the height you do on a Coker tends to be hard on the wrists (I broke my Scafoid falling off my Coker at almost 20mph). Helmets I wear if I am going fast, or off road - I have fallen many times and never come near to landing on my head. I would have said do wear one though, even if it never gets used.
Again with knees and legs, I don’t wear any knee or leg protection and have never hurt my knees. I seam to be unusual with this, it is where most people seam to do damage (Alan’s knees are certainly a mess from his falls!). So would recommend protecting these if you can. XL leg armour is certainly not easy to find at the moment. The Kris Holm ones were great while we had them, but… not sure what I can advise here.
The other area I do get hurt a lot though in falls is my hip. I always get deep painful grazes on my hip. Padded down hill shorts would help this… although I can not find any I like and fit so can not be sure of this.
I don’t use my 661 4x4’s with the Coker bacause I usually get spit far away from the pedals. The 661 DJ (dirt jumper) pads offer excellent knee and elbow protection and (at $7.95) they’re almost giving them away here: