Giraffe speeds are low compared to 36" roughly around 10km/hr so I’m always on footpaths. There’s a few places I ride on the road but it’s low traffic and only in areas I know. I tend to ride early morning to the bakery so I see a lot of cyclists and traffic is light. When I rode to work the roads were busy during peak hour but as I said I stick to foot paths and I can idle well enough to wait for traffic to clear to cross some roads/driveways. Sometimes I need to idle to wait for trains to pass on the crossings too. I only cross main roads via traffic lights which I can hold for a breather and my feet are at the perfect height to kick in the pedestrian buttons on them. There’s plenty of room when riding and there’s no need to ride next to parked cars. For some reason pedestrians always give me a wide berth and other times I ride into larger open areas and idle so they can pass me without having to get close. About the only thing I’m reluctant to ride across are bridges.
I find no issues dismounting off the back of a giraffe. It feels more natural to me and makes catching the giraffe much easier. Dismounting off the back also let’s you see where the wheel is going so that it does not hit anything. Some riders have had instances where the wheel hit something behind them when dismounting off the front causing them to be unexpectedly thrown forwards.
Thanks all for your advice with giraffe riding and I can imagine a sideways dismount would be scary and would do ankles no good at all.
Hi unimyra and thanks for the video which is fantastic and gives me encouragement to get on mine soon.
Hi unigan thanks for your advice and thats amazing that you actually use your giraffe as I just had them down for a novelty unicycle to just ride around a carpark on so hats off to you.
With a rear dismount on a 6ft giraffe I think I would be concerned about catching chin on the seat so I think il go for a front dismount and try to catch the seat or just step clear out the way of it!
When I dismount I hold the seat as I get off and let the wheel roll out in front of me, so I can keep the seat away from my face easily. This works well in spacious areas, but I imagine in smaller areas where there isn’t space to roll the wheel away from you the unicycle may have to remain more upright and then could present the risk of hitting your chin on the seat.
One thing that feels different with a giraffe compared to a standard unicycle is that the center of the wheel/axis that the frame pivots on is not the same as the axis of rotation for the cranks. On my first few tries the seat slipped out from under me because although I was centered over the cranks, I was not centered over the wheel.
A dismount off the back. Holding the handle, chin nowhere near seat.
The next occasion I rode though, I was doing fine but during the ride I kinda got scared, decided to dismount off the back and sprained an ankle so badly I ended up having surgery… wasn’t wearing the best shoes - Mary Jane flats and my skin was also broken so I was bleeding - no top of foot protection, not even socks.
That’s a reason I will never get a giraffe. I get enough injuries as it is.
Hi Gockie,
Thanks for adding the video , you ride it well. Sadly I remember reading about your ankle after dismount , how’s your ankle now and have you ridden your giraffe again?
Ankle is ok except I keep having ankle problems… since spraining that one I sprained the other twice (trail walk and a trail run) and that one again on a trail ride on a unicycle. All much more minor sprains though, not stopping me for any long period of time.
I decided I wouldn’t ride the giraffe again, and sold it to another rider, (only aged about 11), he had ridden it before, he’s very capable, can ride 1 footed, go up very steep hills… I was happy for him to buy it off me.
I used to have a “Penguin Giraffe” which is the shortest possible chain-drive unicycle you can have, and it was geared up 2:1. It had a 20" wheel but the gearing meant it was equivalent to a 40" wheel and I got that thing going at 26 km/h a few times. I rode it in a 21 km race once which was good fun (I did not win, but I didn’t lose).
I agree about dismounting off the back of a giraffe. That seems more natural to me, and it makes it easy to hold the seat as you drop. The drop distance on a 5-6’ giraffe is actually not that large either way.
There are shorter chain driven unicycles. There is the Hunirex as well some custom builds with cranks above the hub as well as the The Holy Grail Project and it’s predecessors.
I’m glad my giraffe only goes about 10km/hr as UPD’s aren’t too bad at those speeds. UPD’s on 36ers at over 20km/hr can be painful and they are relatively low to the ground. Adding height into the mix at speed and there is a great chance for broken bones. I have longer chains and the extension for 7’ but I’ve only done it once and a dismount from that height once was enough to cause pain in my foot so I’m in no hurry to increase the height again.
How high is your penguin compared to a 36”? It sounds interesting but I already have a geared 36” that I can push to over 30km/hr if I feel like killing myself.
Any pictures? That sounds interesting!
I can do better than pictures. I had the foresight to create a video about this wonderful machine:
And a couple of blog posts about geared unicycles in general: Riding Faster on One Wheel: Geared Unicycles | Random ASCII – tech blog of Bruce Dawson
Hey, you’re that STP on a unicycle guy! I found that story very inspiring. I am a newer [Puget Sound area] unicyclist but I hope to complete at least a half marathon on a unicycle some day. (That’s the farthest run I have ever done, so thought it would be cool to do the same on a unicycle)
Yep, that’s me. I don’t ride much anymore but I’d be happy to ride along on a half-marathon ride sometime this summer. Doing a half-marathon distance on a unicycle is much easier (for me anyway) than running it, and there are some lovely routes.
I rode that difference various times with the uni, but never ran that far. Nowadays I wouldn’t want to run further than 5 and I’d be thinking “if only I had my uni”. Im kinda lazy and prefer to sit while exercising. 
I had seen that before, but never knew it was yours. It’s a great build. I hope to build one at some point, maybe even this year, but I would try gearing it up higher.
I think “if only I had my uni” when in large stores, parking lots, and at school. Exercising while sitting is great and unicycling makes most things more fun.
I’m still in the unicycling is exhausting stage, mostly because I dont get nearly as much practice time as I would like, but I feel like I am getting closer… i get periodic short, 1-3 revolution periods, where I feel balanced and pedaling smoothly without a lot of pedal pressure, thinking “I got it!”, then suddenly, no I don’t, and the heart rate goes up as I feel I am going to lose it, over correct, and then try to correct for the over correction…
About 450m is my record without dismounting. I’ve got a ways to go to get to 13.1mi=21km.
It’s hard to imagine completing the STP on one!
I think ur doing great. Just keep at it and ur body will get used to the feeling. Dont aim for 20km right away. Find some quiet areas to ride and try to reach 3-5km. When you can do that you’ll build up stamina for longer runs.
I generally ride 10-12km and that gets me real sweaty and I feel like ive had a good exercise.
Maybe now is a good time to focus on freemounting if ur not already.