My 13 year old daughter is interested in unicycling. I am interested in
suggestions on how to help her get started and what is a good unicycle for
her to learn on. Thank you, Michael Miller mmiller@usaor.net
Michael,
Coincidence: I learned when I was 13, too!
You can get a used unicycle very inexpensively. Here in Vancouver there is
a newspaper called the Buy & Sell. From time to time unicycles pop up
there. I bought a really nice Norco unicycle for like $35CDN. If she gets
serious about the sport, then spend the money for a really good one.
(Don’t get a piece of junk tho, or it won’t be any fun to ride.) Actually
I still have my Norco. It’s lightweight and quite strong. I have also
purchased a Coker with a 36" wheel. It is cool.
There are two common types of unicycle (wheel) sizes: 20" and 24". I
prefer the 24". You can easily do simple tricks but it’s still easy to
ride moderate distances. A 20" takes a long time if you want to ride any
distance, but would be more practical for trick riding or very tight
manouvers. (Easier to control.) My 36" Coker is at times rather sluggish
but I can go a million times faster than a 20" can!
Please, please, PLEASE get one with a comfortable saddle. ‘Nuff said. I
think the top executives of any company that makes unicycle saddles should
be made to ride each of their products for THREE FRIGGIN’ HOURS in thirty
degree heat. If they can still walk afterwards, it will be okay to sell
the product. This obviously does not happen. I have seen saddles made of
pure stainless steel with a .25" piece of foam on top. I couldn’t ride it
for more than half an hour.
Maybe others can comment on what I’ve said.
Cheers, Graham W. Boyes
me AT toao DOT net - http://www.TOAO.net/ http://www.HawHawJokes.com/
I woke up this morning and felt like a two-year-old. But there wasn’t one
around so I went back to sleep.
“Michael Miller” <mmiller@usaor.net> wrote in message
news:4%OY6.31543$Zt6.15127175@news1.rdc2.pa.home.com…
> My 13 year old daughter is interested in unicycling. I am interested in
> suggestions on how to help her get started and what is a good unicycle
> for her to learn on. Thank you, Michael Miller mmiller@usaor.net
>My 13 year old daughter is interested in unicycling.
Good for her.
My suggestion: just get a decent quality unicycle from unicycle.com. I
think most people start on a 20" or a 24".
My next suggestion: YOU should start riding too - i got my first uni last
year, my dad fancied having a go and is now into unicycling as much as i
am. We help each other out learning new stuff etc.
good luck to her (and hopefully you as well),
Ben Lamb
On Fri, 22 Jun 2001 21:44:32 GMT, “Michael Miller”
<mmiller@usaor.net> wrote:
>My 13 year old daughter is interested in unicycling. I am interested in
>suggestions on how to help her get started and what is a good unicycle
>for her to learn on. Thank you, Michael Miller mmiller@usaor.net
> My next suggestion: YOU should start riding too - i got my first uni
> last year, my dad fancied having a go and is now into unicycling as much
> as i am. We help each other out learning new stuff etc.
Hey, cool idea! I can’t get my dad within three feet of my unicycle. My
mom neither. My friends however…
Cheers, Graham W. Boyes
me AT toao DOT net - http://www.TOAO.net/ http://www.HawHawJokes.com/
I woke up this morning and felt like a two-year-old. But there wasn’t one
around so I went back to sleep.
On Sat, 23 Jun 2001 00:14:44 GMT, ben@lamigon.com (Ben Lamb) wrote:
>>My 13 year old daughter is interested in unicycling.
>My next suggestion: YOU should start riding too - i got my first uni last
>year, my dad fancied having a go and is now into unicycling as much as i
>am. We help each other out learning new stuff etc.
>
I second that. My daughter got her unicycle for her 11th birthday (early
last year). No one in the family ever thought of unicycling before. Now
three of us four are riding - so much fun to do this together.
As to what unicycle for a girl that age, no specific suggestions. I tend
to think it doesn’t matter much. We just picked one conveniently available
and moderately priced. In our case a Showtime 20". Seems to be a quite
unknown brand. The seat doesn’t take drops very well i.e. is damaged both
front and rear but that does not matter to riding. My other (younger)
daughter has a 20" Semcycle Deluxe which is just as good except it has
better seat bumpers.
Good luck, Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “Colin Powell, war, Pentagon”
What size is better to learn on - a 20" or 24" wheel? Are there brands to
avoid? How long does it take someone to learn to ride a unicycle?
> available and moderately priced. In our case a Showtime 20". Seems to be
> a quite unknown brand. The seat doesn’t take drops very well i.e. is
> damaged both front and rear but that does not matter to riding. My other
> (younger) daughter has a 20" Semcycle Deluxe which is just as good
> except it has better seat bumpers.
mmiller@usaor.net writes:
>What size is better to learn on - a 20" or 24" wheel? Are there brands to
>avoid? How long does it take someone to learn to ride a unicycle?
I usually recommend a 20" for learning. It takes 9 hours. David
>It takes 9 hours.
Actually I’ve heard five, and have seen people do all five hours at once
and ride away down the street.
>Michael wrote:
>… My 36" Coker is at times rather sluggish but I can go a million
>times faster than a 20" can!
WOW, I can only do about 1.6 times faster on my Coker than my 20".
(hyperbole challenged) Dirk
> >What size is better to learn on - a 20" or 24" wheel? Are
> there brands to avoid? How long does it take someone to learn to ride a
> unicycle?
David Stone replied:
> I usually recommend a 20" for learning. It takes 9 hours.
I agree with 20" as the short answer to the question. A longer answer I
would give is that unless the rider is small, there is no big difference
between learning on either size. I learned on a 16" piece of junk, but
rode a 24" Schwinn once during that process, and it was the longest ride I
took until several years later. Your choice of wheel size should be based
on the type of riding you intend to do.
For David I would like to complain that I did not learn in 9 hours. No
fair! It took what seemed like forever on my 16" piece of Troxel, most of
which can be attributed to the bad design of the hardware. Part of that
time can also be blamed on total lack of information and coaching on how
to learn to ride.
There is no fixed amount of time it takes to learn to ride, and this
is dependent on factors of equipment and training technique, but
mostly on the riders themselves. I’ve seen people ride in less than an
hour, and I know others who took more than a month. So though it’s a
good idea to give suggested times, I don’t recommend giving a fixed
time period for learning.
Everybody wants to know how long it takes to learn to ride. But the real
answer is always “It depends what you put in, and what built-in skills you
already have.” People with other athletic abilities or training have an
advantage. Dance, gymnastics, and martial arts are examples of skills that
will make learning the unicycle easier. Another part is mental. Some
people are so driven that they learn to ride relatively fast, even with no
similar experience. Others are unsure of their ability to conquer the
beast, and often take longer just because of that fact.
Are there “brands” to avoid? YES!
Branding is an interesting thing in the bike business. What we often see
as a brand label on unicycles is actually the brand of the distributor.
Example: Unicycles are manufactured by Company X in Taiwan. These
unicycles go to different bicycle distributors and are loaded onto
different container ships. One distributor puts on stickers that say Norco
while another puts on Savage and a third company might stick on Quentin.
Same (theoretical) unicycle.
Then the plot thickens. Company X changes their manufacturing for a few
months. Instead of lollipop bearings, they run off a few thousand frames
with split block or main cap bearings. The rest of the process stays the
same, with the various stickers being applied to the unicycles. Seat
changes are also common.
So a Quentin from last year might be different from one from this year.
Even the Quentin company might not know what they’re going to get next. So
instead of naming names, here are some unicycle attributes to avoid:
- Tricycle technology – If it looks like a tricycle, it’s going to ride
like one. Tricycles are built for riders that don’t weigh much. Also, a
tricycle only supports about half the riders weight on the drive wheel.
Use the same parts in a unicycle, and you have a way-stinko machine.
This is the type I learned on. Things to look for in tricycle
technology:
- one piece crank that looks like a bent piece of tubing
- small pedals held on by plastic caps or clips
- no seat adjustment
- anything that looks like tricycle parts
-
Seats with metal bumpers. Unless it says DM Ringmaster on it (made in
England and found in very few stores), stay away. -
Lollipop bearings. This is a wheel bearing that is shaped like and
upside down lollipop, stuck into the bottom of the fork leg and
held with two bolts that screw in from the sides. Bad engineering.
If the unicycle says Pashley on it and the bolts go front to back,
these are fine. -
Training poles. I have not seen any “good” unicycles that come with
training poles.
Start by visiting www.unicycle.com. If you don’t live in the US or UK, you
can still get a good idea of what’s out there.
Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com
“Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night” –
good advice
dirk.iwema@ae.ge.com writes:
>>… My 36" Coker is at times rather sluggish but I can go a million
>>times faster than a 20" can!
>
>
>WOW, I can only do about 1.6 times faster on my Coker than my 20".
>
>(hyperbole challenged) Dirk
I haven’t recently timed myself on a 20", but there is no way I could go
10mph on it. I can easily hit 18mph on a Coker (not for too long, tho!).
I’d say that my Coker is easily twice as fast as the 20". - David
How long it takes to learn: Of course I was kidding about the 9 hours
comment – as you mention, there is NO fixed time, and there are so many
variables that one can’t account for; the question is really impossible to
answer without a long explanation. It happens that 9 hours is how long it
took me to learn, but that was when I was 13. I practiced for 3hrs a day
for 3 (obsessive) days. I had no instruction whatsoever and was riding on
a uni that was much too low, so I assume that with some help (a plus) a
person who is of average coordination and obsession (a neutral) and who is
older than 13 (a minus) can learn in about that time, give or take. Take
that as an average.
Now, if the learner is less obsessive, add 3 hours. If the learner is
really coordinated, subtract at least 3 hours. If there is any
instruction, take away an hour or so. For every decade past 20, add an
hour or so (no flak, please, peanuts – it’s just a guess). And recall
that these ‘hours’ are TOTAL time to learn and must be done over a few
days so the brain can make certain adjustments. So I’ll stick with 9 hours
as a rough (and I mean really rough ) estimate.
john_foss@asinet.com writes:
>> >What size is better to learn on - a 20" or 24" wheel? Are
>> there brands to avoid? How long does it take someone to learn to ride a
>> unicycle?
>
>David Stone replied:
>> I usually recommend a 20" for learning. It takes 9 hours.
>
>I agree with 20" as the short answer to the question. A longer answer I
>would give is that unless the rider is small, there is no big difference
>between learning on either size. I learned on a 16" piece of junk, but
>rode a 24" Schwinn once during that process, and it was the longest ride
>I took until several years later. Your choice of wheel size should be
>based on the type of riding you intend to do.
>
>For David I would like to complain that I did not learn in 9 hours. No
>fair! It took what seemed like forever on my 16" piece of Troxel, most of
>which can be attributed to the bad design of the hardware. Part of that
>time can also be blamed on total lack of information and coaching on how
>to learn to ride.
>
>There is no fixed amount of time it takes to learn to ride, and this is
>dependent on factors of equipment and training technique, but mostly on
>the riders themselves. I’ve seen people ride in less than an hour, and I
>know others who took more than a month. So though it’s a good idea to
>give suggested times, I don’t recommend giving a fixed time period for
>learning.
>
>Everybody wants to know how long it takes to learn to ride. But the real
>answer is always "It depends what you put in, and what built-in skills
>you already have." People with other athletic abilities or training have
>an advantage. Dance, gymnastics, and martial arts are examples of skills
>that will make learning the unicycle easier. Another part is mental. Some
>people are so driven that they learn to ride relatively fast, even with
>no similar experience. Others are unsure of their ability to conquer the
>beast, and often take longer just because of that fact.
John Foss <john_foss@asinet.com> wrote:
> So instead of naming names, here are some unicycle attributes to avoid:
> 1. Tricycle technology – If it looks like a tricycle, it’s going to
> ride like one. Tricycles are built for riders that don’t weigh much.
> Also, a tricycle only supports about half the riders weight on the
> drive wheel. Use the same parts in a unicycle, and you have a
> way-stinko machine. This is the type I learned on. Things to look for
> in tricycle technology:
> - one piece crank that looks like a bent piece of tubing
> - small pedals held on by plastic caps or clips
> - no seat adjustment
> - anything that looks like tricycle parts
Be careful with this one John - there are some magnificent trikes out
there. I’ve long had a quiet hankering after a Trice or a Windcheetah,
both of which are top-notch recumbent delta-tricycles. I’d be very happy
with a uni built to the standards (and with some of the innovative
technology) of some of these machines…
–
Paul Selwood paul@vimes.u-net.com http://www.vimes.u-net.com
On 25 Jun 2001 18:15:08 -0700, dstone@packer.edu (David Stone) wrote:
>dirk.iwema@ae.ge.com writes:
>>>… My 36" Coker is at times rather sluggish but I can go a million
>>>times faster than a 20" can!
>>
>>
>>WOW, I can only do about 1.6 times faster on my Coker than my 20".
>>
>>(hyperbole challenged) Dirk
>
>I haven’t recently timed myself on a 20", but there is no way I could go
>10mph on it. I can easily hit 18mph on a Coker (not for too long, tho!).
>I’d say that my Coker is easily twice as fast as the 20". - David
>
That’s remarkable. Is the (absolute) crank size the same? I usually ride a
24", sometimes on the club I try other sizes. After a brief
getting-used-to, I am quite sure I get more rpm on a 12" than I ever
manage on my 24". Crank size is comparable: on the 24" they are 5"; on the
12" I am not sure but if I turn more than mildly they hit the ground so I
guess they are about 5" too.
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “Dani Halutz, marijuana, cannabis”
Graham W. Boyes wrote:
> >>… My 36" Coker is at times rather sluggish but I can go a million
> >>times faster than a 20" can!
David Stone replied:
> I haven’t recently timed myself on a 20", but there is no way I could go
> 10mph on it. I can easily hit 18mph on a Coker (not for too long, tho!).
> I’d say that my Coker is easily twice as fast as the 20". - David
Whereas the best sprinting speed I ever clocked on my 20" was somewhere
over 12mph, and the top speed I’ve recorded on my Coker so far is 14.8mph.
I’m nowhere near that million multiplier yet. Mind you, I am at least
getting close to averaging twice the speed on the Coker that I would
on the 20".
–
Danny Colyer (remove your.mind to reply)
http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/danny.html “The secret of life is
honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made” -
Groucho Marx
On 25 Jun 2001 18:27:57 -0700, dstone@packer.edu (David Stone) wrote:
>Now, if the learner is less obsessive, add 3 hours. If the learner is
>really coordinated, subtract at least 3 hours. If there is any
>instruction, take away an hour or so. For every decade past 20, add an
>hour or so (no flak, please, peanuts – it’s just a guess). And recall
>that these ‘hours’ are TOTAL time to learn and must be done over a few
>days so the brain can make certain adjustments. So I’ll stick with 9
>hours as a rough (and I mean really rough ) estimate.
I suggest one more correction based on multiple observations: if the
learner is a “daring” person, who just goes for it rather than
contemplates how to best approach this, subtract a few hours.
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “Dani Halutz, marijuana, cannabis”
danny@speedy5.freeserve.co.uk writes:
>David Stone replied:
>> I haven’t recently timed myself on a 20", but there is no way I
>> could go 10mph on it. I can easily hit 18mph on a Coker (not for too
>> long, tho!). I’d say that my Coker is easily twice as fast as the
>> 20". - David
>
>Whereas the best sprinting speed I ever clocked on my 20" was
>somewhere over 12mph, and the top speed I’ve recorded on my Coker so
>far is 14.8mph.
Wow – were you using tiny cranks on that 20" uni? I’m guessing 3cm (1")
cranks. That’s where you wiggle your toes to ride.
>
>I’m nowhere near that million multiplier yet. Mind you, I am at least
>getting close to averaging twice the speed on the Coker that I would
>on the 20".
Honestly, my speed on 20" is greatly affected by the fact that I’m riding
it with fairly huge cranks (5.5" or 6" (= 137-150mm)). And then on the
Coker, I’m riding with 5" (125mm) cranks. So crank size matters. David
>>Whereas the best sprinting speed I ever clocked on my 20" was somewhere
>>over 12mph, and the top speed I’ve recorded on my Coker so far is
>>14.8mph.
>Wow – were you using tiny cranks on that 20" uni? I’m guessing 3cm (1")
>cranks. That’s where you wiggle your toes to ride.
My best on my coker is 26.8 mph, I have no idea on my 20" because the
computer is broken.
>>I’m nowhere near that million multiplier yet. Mind you, I am at least
>>getting close to averaging twice the speed on the Coker that I would on
>>the 20".
>
>Honestly, my speed on 20" is greatly affected by the fact that I’m riding
>it with fairly huge cranks (5.5" or 6" (= 137-150mm)). And then on the
>Coker, I’m riding with 5" (125mm) cranks. So crank size matters.
I am using 5" cranks on my coker, and I’m not sure what I’m using on my
20" although I think they might be 5" also.
Chris Cline MUni-Cow
> My best on my coker is 26.8 mph, I have no idea on my 20" because the
> computer is broken.
Awesome!! Was that downhill? Is that much faster than your normal max?
Wow! I thought 20mph was scary. -Mark
> Chris Cline MUni-Cow
I was doing my timing for a mile: 20" mile - about 7 min. 36" mile - about
4.5 min. Ratio - about 1.6
I have 6.5" cranks on the coker and 4.5" on the 20" I burst to better
speeds on the coker but can’t keep it up for a mile. Then again I could
keep going for miles more on the coker but would be rather wiped out doing
a 7 min mile on the 20".
Dirk
dirk.iwema@ae.ge.com writes:
>>… My 36" Coker is at times rather sluggish but I can go a million
>>times faster than a 20" can!
>
>
>WOW, I can only do about 1.6 times faster on my Coker than my 20".
>
>(hyperbole challenged) Dirk
I haven’t recently timed myself on a 20", but there is no way I could go
10mph on it. I can easily hit 18mph on a Coker (not for too long, tho!).
I’d say that my Coker is easily twice as fast as the 20". - David