Thanks. Maybe faster than average (or slightly above) bikers but definitely much slower than the faster bikers I think there are certainly several factors when comparing the performance of uni vs. bikers on Strava, including the fact that some of these segments are simply not ridden that often/hard.
Last year I participated in a local challenge where people raced 3 uphill road segments on Strava: https://www.les-cols-de-zurich.ch/ (website in German). I think this is a more realistic comparison. All segments were between 200-300m of climbing. I ended up 47/163, that is, out of those who finished all 3 segments. I had to use a G36 on 2 segments because they had longer flat parts. On the steeper climb (10%, 300m over 3km), I still used a G29 due to some shorter flat parts and ended up 39/196.
The unicycle is less disadvantaged on the climbs, but still inferior especially on the mixed gradients we had there. It’s definitely amazing what you can achieve with the unicycle, but more gearing options would really help with the power output. The fastest in this competition are out of reach in any case, they are just crazy
For me, I’m not really comparing myself to the bikes. I was more comparing myself to myself, and I found it a bit surprising that I had beaten my own bike time on a segment. Bearing in mind that when I started this thread I was hoping to manage a fairly mellow climb I am surprised and encouraged by managing to get up that section, never mind setting a new pr on it! Looking at the Strava leaderboard I don’t think I could manage on the flat to achieve the speed some bikes are capable of uphill. I’m mostly riding an ungeared oracle 27.5x3.25 just now with the standard 150mm cranks and around 10mph is the most I get to on flat roads, and usually I’m more like 8 or 9mph.
I also managed a climb yesterday I have never completed before, but it is a steep ramp in the middle of a longer segment so I don’t actually know what gradient is. It’s just steep. I’m just happy to see my own progress and to ride sections I’ve previously had to walk!
That said, I do look at leaderboards and I generally see I’m around 70%. Ben, managing to get in the top 25% is incredible!
@muni_ben Thanks for the reply, including more data. On those climbs you are on average covering 1060m/h which is well beyond the average bicycle rider.
It’s even beyond the average of the riders which competed in that challenge.
More importantly, you’re ~30% slower than the fastest bikers, which is a smaller handicap than I would have thought. (Even assuming you’d match the leaders times on a bicycle.)
My bicycle climb rate is around your unicycle climb rate, so I am looking forward to see if the 30% apply to me as well. Probably not, since I am certainly less efficient on the unicycle than you. It’s still an interesting benchmark!
When I was younger I liked long climbs (ideally around 10%), but that was on a b!ke. When I read of people who thoroughly enjoy climbing a hill on a unicycle, I just shook my head.
Recently I had a longer (by my standards) hill climb on my 36er. Didn’t manage to ride the whole elevation of around 180m, but I did a lot better than a month or so ago. And for the first time I saw the appeal of using a uni for hillclimbs. I guess that has to do with me slowly becoming a better (and fitter) rider, thus reducing the need to constantly focus on not falling and enabling me to enjoy the ride and the surroundings. Hope to someday be able to ride that hill in one single go.
The two rides this week have definitely boosted my confidence and enjoyment with climbing. I have plenty room for improvement still, but that’s all part of the fun and sense of achievement with unicycling! The thing for me is, I’ve kind of avoided the hillier routes around where I live because I get annoyed with myself having to walk. Now I’ve seen an improvement I actually want to ride up hills just to see if I manage it
I’ve switched from arm-chair analysis to collecting real world data.
My findings so far with my 27.5" with 137mm cranks:
I can efficiently ride up to ~10% incline for a couple of 100m of altitude gain, and maintain a climb speed of at least 10m/minute. But if it’s a bit steeper or if the surface isn’t smooth, the efficiency quickly turns into exhaustion.
It’s a fine line: If the surface and the incline is just right, I ride with the hands on the T-Bar handles and the movement feels efficient. A small deviation towards more incline or some bumps, and I have to grab the center bar with one hand and balance with the other hand. In that mode, after perhaps 50m I am exhausted.
Let’s see, how far I can move my “incline-threshold” with some training. Currently I feel, it’s the power in my legs, and not the cardio which is limiting me.
I alternate, to reduce fatigue.
I mostly sit, but stand up from time to time while I continue to grab the T-Bar handles. That feels quite efficient as well, but it’s a bit harder for me balance-wise.
Ok. I thought maybe you get exhausted when using the center bar while standing - it‘s lower than the T-bar grips, so you have different position that could be more tiring. Just speculation…
I’ve been looking at the climbing-topic from a different angle:
On a bicycle I am capable of ~1000m/h climb, when hiking up a steep path, it’s a bit more.
On the uni, I feel, that my power output drops below a cadence 80-90 which equals a speed of ~10-11kph.
(Optimistically) assuming, I could climb 1000m/h on the unicycle, this cadence-constraint would require an incline of maximum 10%, because I have to keep at least 10kph, and I can’t do more than 1000m/h. 10kph at 10% incline lead to ~1000m of altitude gain per hour.
Long story short: The cadence minimum of 80-90 to keep the power output high and my cardiovascular limit of 1000m/h means, there’s no point in trying to climb much more than 10% for longer distances with my current wheel-size and crank-length.
If I was able to climb 1500m/h, that would translate to a reasonable maximum incline of 15%. If I could do not more than 500m/h, the incline limit would be 5%.
So the incline-range to efficiently climb on a unicycle is pretty small.
Don’t yous have sore knees when riding uphill? I damaged my knees some years ago with intensive UW practice. Riding uphill puts too much strain on my knees, that I then to step off and walk up before continuing. Balance wise, I’d rather ascend and descend. Especially without a brake, descending is also bad on the knees.
You talk about 10-11kph on uni. What size wheel? With the 29" on flat I ride at 12-13kph. I never turn it into a race really. The 10-11kph is prolly cruising speed for a 24", which would also be better suited for uphill rides.
I average around 8mph 12.5kph) on 24 with 127mm cranks, and around 8.5mph (just under 14kph) on my 29 with 137mm or my 27.5 with 150mm. That’s average over a whole ride though, usually between 6 and 15 miles (10 and 25 kilometres). Uphill my speed is much less! Maybe 4-5mph.
I don’t find uphill too sore on my knees, but downhill can be, especially when its steep or bumpy and I’m using my arms for balance and not holding the brake!
I felt my knees (probably some tendons around the knee) being quite fatigued after my first uphill (also downhill) rides, perhaps even a slight pain. I was quite surprised about it, since I am somewhat used to trail-running and never had any issues with my knees. Unicycling put more force on my knees, than I would have expected.
Anyway: It appears, I have adapted by now since I don’t feel the fatigue any more.
I have a KH27.5 with 137mm cranks.
Sure - a 24" would raise my incline-limit. 20" would raise it even more.
But I wouldn’t be much faster than walking speed, and the “crusing speed” or the downhill speed would be significantly lower.
So I think the 27.5" is quite a good compromise.
Yeah, after i broke my kneecap in 2022 long cranks have been my worst enemy. Especially on descents where they make for a more acute angle when backpedaling. It is still so bad that i’d rather take the higher pressure from short cranks at a more favourable knee angle.
The 27.5" is the only size I’m still missing in my collection. But I do wonder if it really is much of a difference as I already have a 26" and 29". Pity I don’t live close to a uni store, so I can have test run or something.
I’d say it depends on what tyres you have and what you might use it for. My 29 has a 2.25" with a low profile tread, my 27.5 has the Duro crux 3.25. Diameter ends up being similar, so actual speed is similar but I prefer the extra volume if I’m doing longer and rougher rides. That’s also why I’ve stuck with the standard 150mm cranks too, I like the extra leverage and control for steeper rides (up and down hill). The 29 is lighter, a little faster (maybe 0.5mph on my average speed) but that’s probably more due to the shorter cranks.
If you already have 26 and 29 it is probably unnecessary to get 27.5. Then again, you can never have too many unicycles
That’s interesting and I had a similar experience: I used to lower my seatpost a lot for downhills. Then I found out, I actually ride better with a higher seat. That change probably contributed to feeling no more fatigue around the knees. (besides some adaptation)
I don’t see myself riding shorter cranks than 137mm on bumpy trails anytime soon.
I think there are certainly several factors when comparing the performance of uni vs. bikers on Strava, including the fact that some of these segments are simply not ridden that often/hard.
