On a train of thought, I began to wonder…what types of unicycles do they use in the circus? Freestyle Miyatas? Semcycles? Custom girraffes? Do circus folk prefer the Miyata style saddle? Do they ever do airseat conversion. As uncomfortable as unicycle saddles get for the weekend Muni ride, imagine what they must be like night after night under the big top.
Re: Don’t hate me for asking…
On the other hand, on a muni ride you’re on the seat pretty much constantly for several hours; persumably these chaps don’t actually spend that long at a time on them? A short routine every night maybe, but not hours at a time…?
Phil
I don’t know about you, but on a MUni ride I spend very little time in the saddle and alot in the dirt. The circus folk do very short performances and probably have reasonable saddles for whatever they’re doing but perhaps dressed up to make them look fancy from a distance.
Re: Don’t hate me for asking…
On MUni rides, I’m off the saddle more than I’m on it.
Dylan
Re: Don’t hate me for asking…
Tom Miller (The Unicycle Factory) has built uni’s for circus folk all over this big sphere we live on. I’ve seen his work in Cirque du Soleil shows. I’ve also seen Miyata’s in some Cirque du Soleil pictures.
Crazy thing, I’ve seen more than one circus performer riding junk when it comes to uni’s. I think this is because the uni is usually a peripheral part of their act and not their main tool. All they use it for is a quick trip across the stage. Not long enough to worry about comfort or durability.
Re: Don’t hate me for asking…
nbrazzi <nbrazzi.hfdvz@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
> On a train of thought, I began to wonder…what types of unicycles do
> they use in the circus? Freestyle Miyatas? Semcycles? Custom
> girraffes? Do circus folk prefer the Miyata style saddle? Do they ever
> do airseat conversion.
Good old bomb proof DMs seem popular with preformers in the UK, lots of
street preformers use a DM giraffe and I’ve seen both Ring Masters and
older Mecanno DMs in circus company kit heaps. Interestingly, the old DM T
bar saddle is quite popular with preformers, not because its comfortable,
it is far from comfy. But it is very slim and doesn’t catch on trousers
when mounting, making for a more reliable giraffe mount.
Sarah
Union of UK Unicyclists
By and for UK riders