And best of luck to them! I’m happy to stay under 25 kph the rest of my unicycling life. (Yipe, yipe!)
You would never run out of a 30km/hr UPD. And I think crashing on a unicycle at 30km/hr causes far more damage than crashing on a bike at 30km/hr. That is a factor of what hits the ground first. On a bike, you tend to rub off a bit of skin, on a unicycle, you tend to plant articulating surfaces in awkward positions. That’s why we have so many nasty ankle injuries.
flat ground 22.5mph, Madison, Ungeared Nimbus w/127mm cranks
downhill 28mph ungeared Nimbus w/114mm cranks
Crashed at 22.5 as well… came out with minor road rash but it loosened the crankbolt on the uni. Didn’t have proper tools to fix it with me so I called for a ride the rest of the way home.
And that is why I learned to never try to run out of a UPD on my coker… just tuck and roll as soon as the feet come off the pedals my chin is to my chest to initiate a roll from right shoulder to left hip and my elbows are snapped against my sides so they don’t flail and get injured.
I’m pretty sure that wrists and collarbones count as articulating surfaces, and bikers break those all the time in falls. It would be a rare Tour de France that did not have at least four or five broken collarbones.
If people (in the top league admitteldy) can get 28 km/h on a “IUF-standard unicycle” which includes 125 mm cranks and a 24" wheel, then 34 km/h on a 36" with 125’s doesn’t sound unrealistic. You can fool a magnetic sensor the way you describe, but the other way round is questionable: can it fool you while you think you are just riding? I mean, I believe you can get this effect on purpose, but I doubt that it could play a role during a road ride.
I’ve probably got close to 14-15mph on my 24" MUni w/150mm cranks, going downhill on a speed run test.
Reed-switch cycle computers often report incorrect speeds due to spurious activations of the switch in normal riding.
But I agree that 34km/hour is plausible for fast 36" riders.
Yes I think so too. I do not have a 36" but I was as fast as 24 km/h (very short distance though) on my 28" and the cycle computer on my 29" Schlumpf (which is equivalent to a 43.5" in high gear) tells me that I managed to ride 35 km/h in high gear. I practiced quite a bit and got faster every time - and it also was very scary (with a strong wind pushing me forward) when I tried it, so I believe the computer told me the truth.
Jacob’s top speed was done while the old top speed was something like 25km/h.
We checked afterwards.
And the old record was made with 165mm cranks, when I did mine I had 137mm.
I know that whenever I crash on an IUF 24, I always fall on my face. This is because I fall when I am leaning forwards while sprinting and the wheel doesn’t quite catch up with me. Therefore, when I fall, I am already leaning quite forward and there is no chance that I would be able to run out of it.
Yes that is indeed a good quote and although I knew it before, I had to learn it the hard way. I fell at a speed of ~ 24 km/h, and am not a good runner and of course I landed on my knees, elbow and hands and then I slided a few meters on my right side and on my back. Fortunately I was wearing inline-skate protectors, gloves and a helmet, and I would strongly recommend this to everybody who wants to cross that line. But the more I practice, the more comfortable I feel going past my feet-running speed. I did not fall again, so far. It is also very important that you observe your way thoroughly (stones, bumps, etc), and also what is happening in front of you (dogs, kids, whatever could suddenly make a turn and block your way). I always reduce my speed in such a case, to make sure I land on my feet in case of UPD.
PS: I did my 35 km/h with 137mm cranks (as I wrote, in high gear)
Sounds like you’re pushing it too hard. To win the 100m race, you have to make the transition from hard acceleration to “cruise mode” at the highest speed you can maintain. The key word is maintain. If you don’t leave any left over, you’re going to fall forward as soon as you need to make a correction. Then the rest of your sprint training is about finessing this speed gradually higher, bit by bit, but always leaving a bit left over so you can finish the race. In track racing, there’s no race at all if you fall off, since you’ll disqualify in all but the 800m/1500m races.
The other part you train for is explosive starts, but that’s less on-topic…
Yeah, you’re probably right. I haven’t practiced 24" racing much, but I have fallen a few times on the 100m races (like at Unicon 
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Please elaborate on the starts, as these are my weak points. (You can PM me or start a new thread if you want to stay on topic).
Me too, me too. As in: I also fell in my 100 m race at the last Unicon. More importantly: I’m also interested in John’s start wisdom. If you don’t start a new thread about it, John, then please include me in your PM. But I think a thread is in order, I can’t remember ever having seen one on this topic. I’ve got a few questions around starts.
About fastest speed on a distance ride: The current world record for marathon distance is at 1:27:07, for 42.195 km. That is an average speed of 29.1 km/h. It was done on a geared (Schlumpf) 36" wheel. I think it is safe to assume that 40 km/h would be possible on short distance.
Interestingly, another guy did the same distance on a standard hub with 36" wheel in 1:34:39.
As far as I know, he will probably have a geared 36" next year and I think might be able to set a new world record.
I’ve hit 33km/hr on a 36" with 125mm cranks, so 34km/hr or more is definitely plausible.
My top recorded speed on my 36" schlumpf is 37.1km/hr set during the marathon reconnaissance at UNICON in Denmark. No handlebars nor brakes.
It looks like you’re doubting some of the posted times. I’m the opposite: I can’t believe there aren’t more fast times posted, esp with all the geared 36"ers out there. It’s scary to go that fast, but I’m sure that under the right circumstances, there are many of us who could eventually feel comfortable enough on a 36" guni to get it up to about 25 mph, and a few who could get the speed up to 26 or 27. Frankly, 34 kmh on a geared uni (even a 29") isn’t that fast. I’ve done that on a Coker (110 mm cranks).
I measured my fastest speed with both a cycle meter and a GPS watch, and they both weighed in with speeds around 37 kph.
I figure it will get more mileage here. A thread dedicated to race starts will die fast and get lost. Long as we’re talking about high speeds I guess it’s okay to talk about race starts to get there fast.
Only two things to know about fast race starts:
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Go at the gun. Our race starts are designed for this; that’s why we have the 4-count start. It took a few years to convince people, but unicyclists need to fall forward before they can start pedaling. Having a “surprise” start, which is the method for most other forms of racing, would add an element of randomness to this, with people who “guessed right” having the luck of the draw, while others would false start/DQ if they leaned too early. So learn to time your fall forward to match with the gun. Your wheel is not allowed to move forward before the gun, but if you time it right, you can shoot forward at full power.
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Don’t fall off. That’s obvious enough, but it does happen. I missed out on the world track title in 1991 because I made this mistake in the 400m race. Plop! Right on the first pedal push. In those days it was only the 100, 400 and 1500 to determine the title, so there was no way to catch back up with other fast riders around, such as Javier Ruiz who was the champion that year.
But that’s not the whole story. You guys probably didn’t fall off in the first few pedals, you lost it at the transition. This is the key part where a lot of people have trouble. To maximize your race efficiency, you need to learn the maximize your start timing, hard acceleration, transition to “cruising” speed, maintenance of that speed for the duration, and “closing the deal”, which means making it all the way across the finish line.
The transition is tricky, because you have to go from maximum acceleration to a stable speed without overextending. Best way to get good at this is with lots of practice races. With training, your body will know when you’re getting up to your maximum cadence and be able to prepare for it. At the transition, you have to bring the wheel up under you so you’re not leaning forward too much. Remember to always leave a little left over to catch yourself.
Nobody wins sprint races consistently by riding at their all-out max. speed because it’s too risky. To win you have to finish. Once you’ve reached your maximum speed you can “tap” at your limits by trying to add bits of speed on, but again, always leave a little left over. In time, you’ll know when you’re pushing against your own personal max. speed wall. Then with more practice, you can bring that speed up in increments.
The reason I still do well in sprint races these days, even though I don’t ride 24" “regular” unicycles anymore, is because I remember the technique. I no longer have the speed training, so the hockey players (Robert Mager!) eventually pass me, but somehow I still remember how to do the starts. 