Hello,
I just started riding a 29er after being pretty comfortable with my 24" uni. I would appreciate some suggestions. My experience on the first ride: I did not have too much of an issue free mounting and riding away. I am aware of some adjustments I will have to make mounting the new uni. I like the quick response on the 29", but I feel like I work harder when riding it. I would normally travel 10-15 miles on the 24" without a problem except for the occasional break to get the blood to circulate in my crotch. I took the 29" for a 2.5 mile ride and was totally wiped out. I also found it much harder to go up hills. For some reason I was using my left leg harder than my right while riding. It could have been from the slant in the road. I bought the Nimbus 29" Road with the standard 125mm cranks. This was my first ride on the 29" and plan on giving myself some time before I think about putting longer cranks if I need to.
A 29" wheel with 125s should be fine. I don’t think you need to change your cranks.
Give it some time. I went through a pretty long adjustment period when I started riding 36" wheel. My muscles hadn’t caught up with the extra weight. I ended up sitting kind of crooked, and road crown really bothered me. You might be going through the same thing. It goes away eventually. Just make sure your tire is aired up all the way. I think that helps.
I had a similar experience. I didn’t start to get in my comfort zone until I had logged about 20 miles or so, now the 29er with 125s is as natural as my 26 with 150s.
29" uni
Thanks for the feedback. I feel much better after hearing about your experiences. Did you do anything to correct sitting crocked, or did that just straighten out after you got comfortable? I felt kind of crooked on my first ride now that you mention it.
I forced myself to sit straight by riding around with both hands on the seat handle. It took a while to get used to, but it worked. That’s probably not necessary though. I’ve heard other people say it went away on its own for them.
I find that I sometimes fight with a new unicycle. The symptoms include struggling for balance, putting too much weight on my legs, and muscling turns that should flow. It helps me to relax in the seat and not to oversteer or over-control the unicycle. If I keep my weight on the seat and just use my feet to float on the pedals and keep thing moving along it works much better.
Give it some time, try to relax, and soon you will be having great rides.
Scott
My Nimbus 29er rode much better after I replaced the seat post. The top must have been badly missaligned when welded. One bum cheek was taking all my weight and I was all over the place.