so yesterday, after making very little progress for over an hour, i suddenly left the wall, kept my eyes up, and did 2 complete revolutions. then a bit later i did 3 complete revolutions !!!
One question: the pedals don’t seem wide enough to keep my (size 13) feet safely on – my foot is quite a bit wider than the pedals.
should i get wider pedals?
pedal recommendations? are metal pedals a pro or con?
Another issue: It seems that since i fall so much, it has inevitably occurred that my toes jam into the “spokes.”
Does this happen to other people? I’m thinking I need a shoe with a reinforced toe. Any thoughts on that?
Lastly, are ankle biters helpful or do they get in the way? I find they occasionally jam into the “spokes.”
I don’t seat drag, so I cannot help you. however, everyone who rides UW wears leg armor, and I don;t think you need to do this with seat drag, so I think seat drag is easier.
By the way, there’s growing interest in a cross-country UW trip.
We’re trying to find a nation with the shortest distance across, in any direction, with a relatively paved road and few hills–preferably flat, or all downhill in the direction of the ride.
I have the 28" UW from Unicycle.com. I ride it with metalpedals. Pedals with good grip are very usefull for UWs.
To ride long distances, you need strong legs. My longest distance was 200 metres, then my legs burns.
You could zip tie a thin piece of plastic to each side. The biggest I’ve seen at my local plastic store would require two pieces on each side.
A trip of any real distance would require some SERIOUS leg endurance.
The longest specific distance I’ve heard of was 2.5 mi on a 24" wheel w/ breaks, if I remember correctly, it took him 45 minutes. I’ve heard of someone who had tree trunks for legs who could ride for a long time, but I forget the distance.
I assume this idea illustrates your lively sense of humor.
In regard to one of your previous posts about pedals, I have been thinking about replacing my UW pedals with something grippier in plastic. I have heard good things about the Odessy Twisted, but have not yet tried them. I also have not put in the time to learn the UW. You are to be congratulated for sticking to it.
Thanks for your response. Actually, I’ve found that brown packing tape is far more slippery than duct tape. I’m still looking for something more reusable, something I can slip on and off. The UW just takes me so damn long to dress before I can even ride it now, and I’m looking to simplify that process if I can.
And no, not my sense of humor here with the sidewall. David Stone told me someone in the Unatics removed the tire and sewed a satin ?? sidewall right through the tire, then put the tube back in and inflated it. Whatever material is used, it must be slippery and durable.
The rubber sidewall is very sticky, as is duct tape compared with that smooth shiny brown packing tape. That’s one reason people put silocone lube on the sidewall.
Last thing: Does anyone know of serious UW acccidents? What were the contributing factors? I pretty consistently bail out by jumping up and off, soemtimes due to extreme fatigue after riding a city block.
Well, today, for the first time, I tried riding the UW without leg armor. The only protection for my calves was knee socks (actually, tube socks with the toe cut out, pulled past my foot and up to my knees, so they only cover my calf.
The first time around the block (with a number of UPDs), it worked fine. I think this was because my calves were a bit sweaty from having just unicycled around the park with Gala, my dog.
Then I took a break to read this listserve, and the next time I went out the socks spun and fell down with each wheel contact. So I had to add a ring of tape around the top, just below my knee.
If anyone else UWs with this low level of calf protection, let me know your ideas!
Thanks!
Billy
PS: I don’t need ankle biters, though the UW bit my ankle a couple times, not intolerable. I’m thinking high tops might provide sufficient ankle protection, too.
But I definitely cannot wear my usual unicycling slip-ons. Must wear sneakers that TIE up tight, for the extra support.
Mount some rollers on the inside of your legs. Just find some of those rollers like they have at beer stores to roll 2-4s, or like they used to have at grocery stores a long time ago for rolling boxes of groceries. Some of those with some brackets mounted on the inside of your leg and you’re set.
I just received my 28’’ nimbus ultimate wheel today. i was unicycling when it came, and already had my shin guards on and immediately put it together and tried it. I tried for about 20 minutes total and got 2 revs 3 times, and had to quit because my knees and ankles on both my legs were killing me because the tire kept bashing them.
it’s an incredible workout, but i already knew what to expect because I had been practicing seat drops, and getting 3 or 4 revs with that. i expect that this ultimate wheeling will really help with sif riding on the uni.
today I tried again after I had been unicycling for about an hour. I made some major progress, I got to the end of my driveway about 5 times and thats about 5 or 6 revs…but once again after about 20 minutes, my ankles and knees were completely bashed up by the tire. I really like it though when I get going, and am definitely going to keep trying…once I heal up again lol…
Built a 26’’ ultimate wheel with a MTB frame and plywood disc.
So far I’m comfortably doing 10 plus rotations, maximum about 50 metre after about 2 hours of practice. (I can’t uni SIF)
Here is some comments which some may find helpful or interesting:
It is much easier than I expected to freemount
Riding is really hard with the tyre wobbling and chaffing.
It is very exhausting since you kindof squatt while riding. Great excercise
It will never be practical for distance riding.
U used a blade to remove the lettering from the tyre. It helps to some extent with the friction.
Where unicycling looks harder than it is, UW looks much easier than it is. I had a surprising amount of people asking if they can give riding the UW a try, but only once or twice on my uni.
It is much safer than Uni. I’ve never hurt myself on UW.
It is so much fun. Like learning to uni all over again.