So I’m in the process of planning my next unicycle purchase
And thinking about going for a big wheel
I’ve been riding a log time but been riding lots for the last 12 months
I currently have a G26 with 150-125 dual hole cranks.
I really like trails rides. But tend to go for simple flowing hardpacked dirt trails rather than anything very technical. But I’ve found myself really enjoying rides on the excellent cycle path network
Hence my thoughts going to the big wheel
I’ve never ridden a 36 before. But can comfortably ride all other sizes
I’m expecting an adjustment period but I’m pretty confident I’ll be able
To ride once I can mount it
I’m puzzling however on what cranks to get.
Another 150-125 dual hole spirits
Or the 137-110
I can shift in either position reasonably well on my current set up but slightly small feet (UK size 8 (US size 9)) means the 150 hole I’m setting my feet a bit further back than feels normal
I don’t have a G36 yet but I am pondering the same situation, should I go with the crowd and get 150/125 or go with my initial instinct and get 110/137 mainly for the 137 hole which I imagine would be my favourite.
The 150/125 is a tried and tested combination which works well, but for some reason I want to go shorter at 137- mostly due to the last time I spent this amount on a unicycle I listened to Unicycle.com who told me 170mm cranks were the thing for 24x3- even though I knew it was too long. When I rode it first time it was way too long and I eventually bought new cranks.
I’m not familiar enough with shifting to know how the crank length effects me but I don’t think it is a problem on 150mm apart from being a noob at it.
I wear US size 10 and had the same problem with 150mm cranks. Yes, my heal could reach the button but I have trouble readjusting my foot placement (or drinking from my camel bak, checking my rear view, and waiving to my fans) in high gear (after 2 years and thousands of miles, riding in high gear still requires 100% of my attention) which means I had to ride with my toes on the pedals. When the Spirit cranks were released, I took the plunge, made the switch to 137mm cranks, and couldn’t be happier! Now I can ride with my feet in the traditional (ball of foot over pedal) position. It has caused a couple of accidental (thankfully, up!) shifts but I expected as much. As an added benefit, 150mm cranks were much too long for Cokering in low (1:1) gear. I enjoyed 110mm cranks on my (fixed) Nimbus Impulse. I’m really happy with 137mm cranks on my geared 36er.
Ive never ridden 137 cranks
(although I have 140s on my trials) so close enough. but think the shifting will be about right for my feet
I too need lots of concentration whilst riding the geared uni, but if i can get my feet in the right spot shifting is OK. the trouble is if that right spot is the natural comfortable positon or not. I find moving my foot position on the pedal on the go much more difficult than shifting
my worry is
I do expect the adjustment to a 36 to be a big one. and i do expect this to take time.
however i imagen the longer the crank the easier it is?
do most people start of with 150 or 154mm cranks on 36ers?
150 125 i guess may be easirt to start with but may be looking to switch later
where as 137 110 may be more long term
I think for your foot size, 137s are definitely the optimum length for shifting. (I have US size 9, and 150s are a bit difficult to shift on.) However, since you’re new to the 36 entirely, I think that going that short will be a mistake and you will probably have trouble controlling the uni, especially in high gear. Also, since it’s a road uni, you probably won’t be shifting that much unless you ride in the city or on hilling terrain a lot. Being able to shift well is much more important off road than on (unless you’re racing…).
There’s also the option of 165/137 Spirits. Maybe you could start on the 165 setting while getting used to the new wheel size and then switch to 137.
I’m thinking about getting 165/137s for my 36er. I’d expect Coker muni and uphill stuff to be good with 165s too.
I was thinking the same thing when I bought my G36 a few years ago. In fact, the pedals are still in the 165 mm hole. I like the control, and the spinning is quite reasonable up to 30 km/h - and I don’t dare to go faster anyway. Somehow I have my feet far back because shifting is easy (at least as far as foot position goes - I’m not a very good shifter-on-the-fly).
Don’t go under 150 as a novice G36 rider would be my advice. Unless you would be seasoned with short cranks on a non-geared 36 but as I understand you aren’t.
I think most likely I’ll get 150 - 125s
Reason being I know I can shift on 150s.
1 less new thing to worry about
Changing to 137s later maybe
Just spent so long fettling and adusting and modifing parts to get my setup working on my g26. That I’m keen to buy the uni in a usable condition and keep it like that for the forseeable future
Another thought?
Do you think trying mounts and starts in high gear on my G26 will be of any use in preparation for the 36?
Because at the moment I totally can’t do this. Tried and failed horribly
Getting used to mounting different unicycles in different configurations will definitely help you be better at mounting the 36 but the 36 is such a different beast that practicing mounting the G26 in high gear won’t really transfer to mounting a 36 at all.
As Scott says, the 36 is a totally different beast to mount. Different crank sizes on it lend it to different mounts, with the shorter the cranks the more the need to rolling mount regardless of geared or not.
Thanks guys for starting and contributing to this thread. I’ve been wondering about crank length on the G36- especially in the hills. My new beast (when it gets back from the wheelbuild) has 137s on it currently.
For reference, I usually run 100s on an ungeared 36. I wear a size 12.
A big thanks to Scott for already giving me some advice.
This is a really good point that I hadn’t really considered. The goal I gues is ti shift up to high and stay there
Funnily although I live in hong kong a tiny very dense city, I live in a fairly remote area but with a really extensive cycle path network. So city riding. But well away from cars etc
Others have said it by yes thanks for the very helpful advice. I think I’ll be starting my 36er experience on 150s