I have always wanted to ride a tall uni,but never had the chance. I am seriously thinking abou getting one. So my ? is,how diffficult are they to ride? How do you get going and dimounnt? Thanks,
Mike
Like riding a 20’’ that is really high up. Mounting is difficult. Dismounting is simple. Jump off. Good luck!
Riding a giraffe, in my opinion is a little easier than a regualr uni once you get used to it…This is how i figure, balancing a short stick on end on your palm is a lot harder than balancing a long stick. You have more time to make up your next move and anticipate…
To mount: Make sure the pedals/cranks are verticle, NOT HORIZONTAL. Put your dominate foot on top of the tire and in between the frame. Hold the back end of the seat with either one or 2 hands,which is ever feels best. Push yourself up with the foot thats on the tire, put other foot on the pedal and push yourself up with that and sort of swing your other leg around to the other pedal… .Its a little hard to explain:( if someone could post a movie, that would help a lot.
Good luck,
-Sabin
I have ridden a variety of giraffe unis but only very rarely. I used to have a couple of home made ones, single speed (of course) but geared up to the equivalent of quite a large wheel. I have had goes on other people’s proper giraffes.
Riding a giraffe is fairly easy if you can ride a unicycle. Mount agaisnt the wall bars in the gym, or climb on in some other way, launch yourself and totter along.
However, there is a lot to go wrong. If the giraffe shoots out forwards unexpectedly, you can have a ver bad landing. If you jump off forwards, the wheel can roll back and hit someone or something. Get it wrong with a turn and you can fall sideways.
So, giraffes are easy to ride, but riding one well and safely is not easy. Mounting? I used to be able to freemount one that had a seat at about chest height. Never tried a bigger one.
Good luck. Sounds like a fun project.
Thanks for the info guy’s. I really really want one,I just have to convince my wife that I won’t kill myself. Injuries hurt alot more than they used too,LOL:( ,I’ll keep you all updated.
Mike
There are two mounting techniques covered for a 5’ giraffe at www.unicycle.2ya.com . See the video tutorial. For a 5’er most people will most likely be tall enough to skip putting their first foot on top of the tyre and therefore be able to spend less time losing balance while climbing up the giraffe.
Andrew
I recently got a Torker TX 5ft giraffe and it’s been a blast to ride. The 1st time riding it felt insanely high, but once you get a few revolutions it comes natural, assuming you are proficient on a little one. My main problem is getting my kids to take a break so I can ride it.
We started by practicing jumping from a ladder a bit higher than the pedals of the giraffe, then mounting from the ladder. My kids are 8 and 10, and I’m 43, so far no injuries with all of us riding and jumping off alot. Of course this assumes you can jump from it, and that’s why we don’t wear shoes with laces on unicycles, especially a giraffe!
Have fun,
Brad
Brad,I’m looking at the Savage 5ft’r on E-Bay. I know Savage aren’t the best,but the price seems about right,$149.95.
I am proficient at the smaller ones,I’m not much on freestyle,but I can ride all day long anywhere without any difficulties at all. I’ve been riding a long time,but not 2 frequently until about 1-1/2 years ago. Since then I ride 5 miles a day 5 times a week. I am going to work on my wife this weekend and convince her that I just have to have it!
Wish me luck,
Mike:) 
Mike,
The Torker is $129 new on unicycle.com.
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1&subcat=8&cat=Giraffes+(TALL)
I never compared the Savage to the Torker but would guess they are similar in quality.
My intention was to start with something cheap like the Torker to learn on and then buy a more expensive one like the Semcycle if we can justify it later.
So far the Torker is holding up fine with all our newbie riding. We’ve had a few minor issues, the bottom bracket (the axle and bearings for the cranks and pedals) came loose and I had to take it to a bike shop for adjustment. (I don’t have the tools). When attempting rolling mounts, the bottom cog tends to unscrew. There is a lock ring which is suppose to keep this tight but I don’t have the correct tool, so another trip to the bike shop is in order. I have a feeling that this is a design issue that will go away with a different mechanism. In the mean time my solution is to put the seat backwards so my rolling mount tends to tighten the cog. Of course if I ride much like that the pedals will unscrew unless I ride backwards all the time!
Brad
That’s an elegant idea! I wonder if a proper left-side drive could be rigged up with an aftermarket BMX crank. It looks like some of them have identical crank arms left and right except for the pedal threading.
I think the pedal problem isn’t severe. If you have a good pedal wrench then just snugging things up as part of the “pre-flight check” before every ride ought to be enough.
yer, i think you ave alot more controle when riding a girafe and it definetly feels alot better. go 4 it