moosebreath1@juno.com (Jeff T.) wrote:
>Another topic I have been intending to bring up for some time is the
>eligibility of geared unicycles in competition. I understand that in
>races like the 10k unlimited anything human-powered on 1 wheel goes, but
>what about long distance records (such as 100 mile). Personally I feel
>that only standard unicycles should be allowed. It just seems that if
>geared uni’s are allowed, the records won’t so much be based on
>athleticism but whoever has the funding to have someone machine a geared
>hub. Maybe I’ll feel differently once geared hubs are commercially
>available. But even so, my opinion is that only standard, 1:1 unicycles
>should be accepted. Please let me know how you feel.
Almost all international and national championship races will continue
to have varying restrictions of wheel and crank size. However, new
classes such as unlimited could be added to races other than the 10km.
Standard class (with specific wheel and crank size limitations) and
unlimited class in all races would be quite interesting to compare.
Unlimited class would be very interesting to watch as well as compete
in.
The Guiness 100 mile unicycle record has very few restrictions, I’m
sure. For example, the cycle must be balanced on one wheel. I’m sure
there are no train drive restrictions, so an epicyclic hub would be fine
to use in this race. This record has already been dominated by big
wheel unicycles, which are standard only in the sense of their one to
one gear ratio or lack thereof. A major aspect of this record for
unicyclists is the technology used in the competition unicycle.
Sincerely,
Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>