One more of us, one less of them… and one more of us with sore knees.
So, I’ve converted another b*ke into a Giraffe 29’er (greared to nearly 1:1) and I can’t figure out how to land when I UPD. It seems I land one foot first with my knee locked straight then break into a bit of a run. After a few dismounts I’m hurting.
How do you normally run out of a UPD off a Giraffe or a Big wheel? I’d rather not learn how to combat role every time I UPD. 
locked joints, there is your problem.
landing from high places involve no locking of joints, or you do damage.
i guess all you can do is try to land on ur feet,plan for the worst and hope for the best.
I had a UPD once on my 5 ft from slipping off the pedal and had time to land on my feet. Maybe with practice u can learn to “Be Ready” to land on ur feet.?
Learning to roll out safely is extremely helpful. Also wearing pads, just in case. A helmet is a MUST, and 661 shin guards are good for you too.
But yes, learn to roll out.
Come to a complete stop. Pop the seat out in front of you, then jump down behind the unicycle. You’ll land standing behind it, with it still upright in front of you. The crowd will burst into applause!
You can dismount to the rear. First kill your speed, then either let yourself fall back (holding the wheel still), or let the wheel roll out to drop straight down.
Going off the front tends to put more pressure on the joints, I think. You should only use that method if you’re falling off. Be sure you know how to drop and roll as mentioned above. At 29" speeds it’s going to happen sometimes, and you’ll really benefit from knowing how to protect yourself if you’re going at or above running speed when you lose it.
And especially, no locked joints!
The two most important things when dismounting a giraffe:
This is simple if it is a controlled dismount. Just stop and let it go out in front or back of you. You said UPD though so I assume you mean going forward with speed and the wheel getting stopped or deccelerated enough to pitch you off forwards.
In those situations you have to gauge whether or not you can run it out and whether or not you can land with both feet. If you are going slowly enough to land on both feet, doing so is your best option. Land on both feet and smoothly bend your knees with the fall to absorb the impact. This really saves your knees. If you are going too fast to land on both feet (meaning doing so will cause you to topple forward because of your horizontal momentum) try to land in a run with one foot rapidly after the other. Then keep running in a normal stride until your momentum is gone. If you can’t run it out land on your feet and try to run off as much of the momentum as possible before you roll.
How do you convert a bike into a giraffe?
That sounds cool. Id like to make one myself.
Yeah can we see a picture? I’d like to see the 29" wheel.
The frame design is similar to this project: Self-designed Mini-Giraffe unicycle
Except with a 24" B*ke frame and a 700c street tire.
I hope to do another one once I find another b*ke. It should be possible to make entirely out of one bike with no extra parts needed. For tools it would only be a adjustable wrench, pliers, chain tool and a drill.
If these are really UPD’s than most of that dismounting info isn’t going to help you, correct? If you are having uncontrolled and unexpected falls than you need to learn how to roll. Find a car or a deck of jump off it a bunch of times, then move up to something higher (I’d recommend into grass). When you land tuck and roll until it stops hurting. You need to learn how to fall correctly, or make sure that you never UPD on the giraffe.
By roll do you mean a “combat roll” eg. landing on you shoulder and then roll?
Does anyone have a video of how do do a good roll that won’t break anything?
Diving headfirst onto pavement looks rather painful if you don’t get it right. 
Running out off a giraffe is tough for me because of the drop before the run. Does it just take practice?
Controled dismounting is working better for me now, it’s just dismounting when I’m at speed and the wheel stops for some reason.
No no, not like that at all. Do you play any other sports? That’s where most people learn how to fall.
The general idea is you land on your feet and then collapse your legs while moving forward into a roll. You let your legs and arms/shoulders take most of the downward force as you transfer that into forward force. You simply change all your downward momentum into forward momentum.
Although, if it’s not a very high giraffe you should be able to get by with just bending your knees upon landing until they almost touch the ground (squatting). Rolling may not be neccisary. Just remember to stay loose no matter what you do.
This might help you:
http://p202.ezboard.com/furbanfreeflowfrm31.showMessageRange?topicID=743.topic&start=1&stop=20
The first post seems like a good tutorial. I ideally proper falling should be iinherent and natural - something you learn as a kid. It’s hard to explain it.
I still wanna see a picture of that 29" wheel.
Thanks for the link to pk roll. If I can’t save myself by running out I automatically roll, I just can’t make myself do it on purpose. Maybe if I work on it on grass I’ll work up to the roll onto pavement.
As requested: A photo of the 700c wheel on a 24" frame.
That thing looks pretty dangerous for UPDs!! 
I was going to leave the handle bars and seat on but after thinking about it I changed my mind.
It’s not so bad but I can’t figure out how to free mount since there’s no way to step onto the back of the tire to climb up.
Eventually I may cut some of the frame (I still need the back triangle for strength) But for now it’s kind of a novelty and doesn’t mess much up, as long as I don’t land on it (eek!)
Any ideas for the mount? Mount the front then unispin? :o
Thanks for the pic. Looks like a bigger attention-getter than a standard giraffe.
Can you rotate the seat 180 degrees and have the “back” become the “front”? Probably not, due to the angle of the seatpost.
Whoa, does that have a freewheel on it still?
And, be careful with those rear dropouts. The more you pedal the looser the chain will get until it slips. Make sure you keep those bolts tight since you’ll be fighting against them.
Sweet design!
Forgot about the left/right threading on the pedals making it non-reversable. But disregarding that, would it be practical to turn it around?
