Haven’t been here for months. Been busy. How’s everyone doing so far?
Just so you know, I haven’t stopped unicycling. It’s been a little over a year since I started on a 24".
On my 36er:
I can now stay on my unicycle without getting off at red lights and there are quite a few where I live, bunny hopping and standing still waiting for the lights.
I use to struggle going 11 MPH (7mph average), now my fastest speed is around 17 (13-14mph average).
It’s been fun and my only form of consistent exercise. I’m still grateful to find out about it and will continue to highly recommend it to anyone that asks. It will never be as practical or fast (and safe) as a bicycle, but I enjoy riding it way more. The constant feeling of certain doom whenever there is a large crack on the ground really keeps me alert
Not fully, I still get that ache when I do it too often or pull up too hard on the handle. But in the most part it’s a lot better. I’ve also been on the 36er a lot more often. Most of the wrist issue came from the constant jumping I do on the 26er, it’s probably due to to the weight and also the bigger jumps I’m able to do on it.
One thing I learned the wrist issue is to always take a day or two break after a long session even if you think your body can handle it the next day, especially for us folks that are not as young as we use to be. I’m not old but I’m not a teenager anymore.
So nowadays instead of feeling like every day that I’m not unicycling is a waste of practice time, I consider the break as part of the practice.
Out of curiosity, have you tried wearing wrist guards while riding? I broke my left wrist twice when I was a kid so it’s a bit weaker than my right wrist and certain tendons can sometimes be aggravated by repetitive motions (e.g., pulling up/pushing down on the saddle handle). The wrist guards might add some extra structural support in addition to reducing the risk of fractures and sprains during falls. This is just my experience. It may or may not be helpful, or maybe you’re already using them!
Either way, I’m jealous you can hop/stop at stoplights. I’m still paranoid of falling in front of a car while hopping and then watching the car run over my precious and favorite mode of transportation.
Try SIF hopping. That way your wrist will only get half as much stress, and from a very different angle. SIF is also a lot of fun and will help you jump higher. It’s a gateway to lots of other tricks- seat in back, seat drag, unispins, leg wraps, etc.
SIF riding is also a good way to give your crotch a rest on longer rides if you don’t have time to stop. I do that on a 29, but haven’t tried it on a 36. On shorter rides, SIF can also be a nice way to warm yourself up if the weather is cold.
An unexplained long-term pain in my right wrist was the reason I learned seat-in hopping with my left hand on the seat. I thought I had hurt my wrist by doing handstands, but then after about a year I did some more handstands anyway, and suddenly was cured. You almost certainly don’t have the same wrist problem I had, but my point is just that wrists are complicated things and can mysteriously get better or worse for no good reason.
Yeah I even got the one specific for it. TFCC injury. I probably will need surgery I’m thinking, which is not happening anytime soon. It’s from repetitive motion, a lot of rolling hops. A LOT.
Yeah it’s a 36er too, took me awhile to hop around on that heavy thing, killed my wrist and knees at first but I think it’s gotten stronger. Love going up hills. I can idle but it’s murderous with short cranks and the roll weight and slopping roads, just impractical. I don’t know if you guys remember or not but many months back I kept asking for 36 commuting methods and was baffled at how to stand still at lights and so forth, well now I know
And the video about the unicyclist in Manhattan weaving through the crowd and obstacles so smoothly that left me in awe, I know how to do it now too
I don’t know how your streets are but at the end of most blocks, there’s a red zone at the curb and cars don’t park there. That’s where the light is as well, I usually hop there so I’m out of the cars’ way. I never hop between two cars, that’s way too risky. I sometimes also partially go on the crosswalk when there’s barely pedestrians.
That paranoia is also why I try to keep my speed down when there’s cars. Imagine hitting a bump, falling to the side and getting run over? Scary lol. There was also a few times where there’s a piece of large branch in the bike path. The other thing as well is the problem of the unicycling. It’s great that it’s unique but I would imagine if something bad would happen, everyone near you would know who it’s about:
“Did you hear about what happened to that bicyclist?”
“Which one?”
as oppose to
“Did you hear what happened to that unicyclist?”
“Ah definitely know that one”
@ Song
I was in the midst of practicing for it more, but got bored. Great thing about having three different wheel size unicycles is that each wheel feels a bit different and I can do different things in each. So there was a period where I was learning all those tricks on my 20" (lighter and easier on the wrist) and then I got tired of trying to learn tricks and instead just wanted to cruise around and now I’m stuck on my 36". I’ll get back to that when I can though. I really want to get to a point where I can SIF up 4-5ft walls. The wrist thing also caused some issues if I start practicing a lot. I can barely SIF hop (I’m also afraid of heights haha…too many epic fail videos on youtube).
I’ve had a slightly annoying relationship with hopping. I just learnt to do it on my 29er to the point that I’m comfortable doing it on quiet roads, but a few weeks ago I bought a 36er, and now I’m back at square one
Did you think it was a giant monstrosity of a unicycle and wonder how sane you were to purchase it?
I did
I didn’t fully realized it till I opened the giant box and noticed pretty much the whole box WAS the wheel!
Then after assembling it, I just sat back and had second thoughts, must’ve been REALLY drunk that night. Even mounting it felt insane.
The only wheel I haven’t tried is the 29er. Curious as to the handling maybe one day I’ll see. I’m considering a geared unicycle but I have an Oracle so…
Hi Nate gooda see you,
Your Duro was the best tire purchase i made, loved it since day one. SUCH A BLAST!
I was glad to have seen the huge 36er Oracle of yours. My first time seeing a 36er, of which prompted me to get one soon after. So for me it wasnt a big surprise, I somewhat knew what monster i was dealing with. For me, it was way easier to ride then what i had imagined it to be.
Funny huh? Previous to me riding, my entire life i have been deathly fearful of falling backwards on such silly contraption and cracking my head open like a coconut. It was actually my wife that was so fascinated about it…
and, here i am today, going down slopes on my 26/36 in the rain, with ridden infested ground squirrel holes ( diameter as large as a thigh) and risking a sprained ankle with every jump off, with a cant-help-myself stupid smile from ear to ear, not a care in the world to go back to work…and yet, at any moment knowingly, i would have to hop off to take care of business.
This hobby suites me well, though i always liked mountain biking, somehow doing the same thing of rolling my bike into the van and hitting the trails never appealed to me…donno know why…
I’d seen 36ers up cloes a couple of times prior to grabbing my own, so I wasn’t THAT surprised. It was quite funny watching the box come through the door though, me and dad just stood there staring at it for a few minutes before opening it up. Then we spent a few minutes standing and staring at the giant wheel… I knew exactly why I bought it though, I wanted a road machine for the Winter, so no second thoughts
Dude, I’ve been regretting it every since I sold it to you.
I was like “doh, why didn’t at least TRY it?!?!”
I would like it back… joking…sorta…
But I’m glad you’re using as it’s intended. I mostly do streets so it would have been a waste. Not to mention I want it back.
The feeling of face planting at any second due to a large crack or pebble and the attention is my reason. Yeah, I admit it, I like the attention. I got a giant green unicycle, if that doesn’t ask for attention, I don’t know what is? I try to be modest like “eh, nothing to see here folks” but when I get home I’m all smiles. Don’t tell my neighbors… it would kill my “cool dude” act.
Hahaha
@Piece Maker
I bet the look on your dad’s face and my dad’s face was completely different. Unless your dad’s face was twisted in horror, wanting to scream but keep his manliness at the same time.
The deliveryman knew what my package was since I ride a unicycle. He had the look that clearly said “another one? This guy is crazy!”
I’ve never seen a 36 prior other than youtube. I was pretty confident when I first started unicycling on my 24" that I would never be one of those crazy people riding around on a giant unicycle. Geez was I wrong. My neighbor sometimes yells as I ride past him saying “what next, a 40++” wheel?" and I yell at him back “don’t you dare give me more ideas, shut up, I didn’t hear you!”
Hey Nate. My name’s Nathan too and today I’m ordering my 3rd unicycle: I started with a 24" which now has an outboard disc for Downhill. Last spring I also bought a 36 Oracle and have been commuting about 2x per week for my 15k2x commute. About a month ago I finally got good enough and have been riding it offroad. Such a blast!! see here http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1640905#post1640905
I had also only glanced at maybe two 36ers live before I bought one. I think the high sitting position so far from the ground got me the most at the beginning. Now I’m used to ducking when going under bike underpasses and signs.
My progression on the 36 sounds close to yours although my idiling is not so strong. see here http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115796&highlight=36+muni. I typically only have one dismount per 30km to+home not counting like today when a semi turned in front of me and I dismounted. I try to time the lights and sometimes just hang on to a post.
I’m gotten pretty used to the constant staring. But yeah, so much fun sitting up so high! I just wish there were other 36ers to ride with, espcially off-road (I have a few friends who ride 24/26 offroad, but no bg wheels)
I sprained my ankle slightly on a dismount on a muni trail with the 36 where I jumped off and the ground was completely covered by leaves and thus concealed the big roots below. I’ve still got it taped but it’s better now. No long lasting problem. Good luck with the wrist. I had one from a bike fall about 10 years ago that took over a year to heal, every few months reinjuring and again with a brace. That was a pain.
When I first got my Oracle I was a bit concerned about the green. My first thought about it was that it was ugly. Seriously what I thought. Now I just love it. Easy for cars to see you and it’s not dull.
So we’re both Nathans, both started with a 24", both have 36 oracles. Haha…that’s sorta spooky.
A game that I made (or rather an objective) is to never dismount no matter what. Last week I had one of those crazy lights that took forever to change unless a car was there. Major cramp, couldn’t handle it haha.
I started with a 24, got a 26, sold the 24, got a 36, then got a 20". I learned most of my stuff on the 26. I can jump as high if not higher on my 26 than the 20.
I’m trying to increase my distance. I can’t handle staying in the saddle for long, I get this anxiety issue not to mention the unbearable friction heat down there, I just gotta get off after like 15 miles or so. The interesting part is going up and down hills. I just like cruising around down, something that I never really cared for when I had a bicycle.
Too bad you live far far far away. Would be great to ride with you along with many people here. Someone needs to invent the teleportation device soon.
Yeah, on a bike, going somewhere is half the fun, but on a unicycle it’s about three-quarters of the fun, and I often go places for no other reason than just to ride. I would never do that on a bike.
The furthest I’ve ever gone without dismounting was 13km or so on my 29, though I slowed down at several different points to ride SIF and let my crotch recover. Your brain can also get tired from unicycling a long way. Being aware of every little bump in the pavement is OK when you’ve just started your ride, but after an hour or two, it gets tiring. Keeping a hand on the saddle horn is often enough of a precaution to survive any bump without a UPD, though.
I have a few ‘default routes’ that I do every day, just to get out there and stretch my legs. THey’re all somewhere between 5 and 15 miles. People ask me if I get bored just doing the same 3-4 routes every day (It’s Winter time, so I’m literally just riding to ride, because I’m scared that when Summer comes round and I want to actually go somewhere interesting I’ll be out of shape)!
Some people just don’t get that a unicycle can be the difference between a boring plod to the shop, and an awesome fun ride where halfway through you buy a new pair of jeans
I think most of my rides are about 5-10 miles before I get off, I try to build up my stamina which is not that great, but my main objective is just to cruise around and have fun.
With unicycling, I’ve gone to places I’ve never been before and I just like looking at the scenery. The only time when I did go for awhile it’s mostly around the block many times since dealing with hills and traffic lights really kills me.
Without unicycling, I wouldn’t get ANY work out. Have always been shy and indoors kind of person, not too healthy, gym teacher hated me, so this has been a great find for me.
Jogging - tried, got bored. Stopped trying to run after 15 minutes.
Biking - just didn’t care enough to get any decent exercise from it
Weight training - worked great at first, then just didn’t care.
Depression and lack of enthusiasm made it hard to find an interest. Unicycling has been by far the longest hobby I’ve kept. I come in exhausted, drenched in sweat, and best of all, had a great time. At this point in time, I think the only thing that’s working out in my life is unicycling that’s why I get really excited when I’m out riding it. It cheers me up and I get exercise
I knew exactly why I bought it though, I wanted a road machine for the Winter, so no second thoughts 