Whats up everyone I am a mountain and long distance unicyclist from Lancaster, PA. This summer I have decided that I am taking off on a around the world unicycle trip on my 27.5" Nimbus Hatchet unicycle this summer. My goal is to cover more ground than any other unicyclist has on one trip. The trip will be over 22,000 miles and take a little over 3 years. I will be starting in Washington D.C. on the C&O trail which I am really excited to do as I twisted both my ankles coming dow the Paw Paw detour and couldnt finish my trip that I started on the Gap. I will then be headed west taking the Great American Rail trail as it connects to the C&O. I am bringing my nephew along on the trip to help me film. Currently I am building him a bikepacking bike as he doesnât ride unicycle. I am selling most of my possessions to help raise money for the trip and also because I will be gone for so longđ. If you want to follow my trip you can check out my page
Alex Unicycles the World. Redirecting...
Excellent, good luck!
As you no doubt know, the official Guinness record for being the first to unicycle round the world is still up for grabs I believe (as Ed Pratt explains in one of his videos). It has some fairly exacting criteria to qualify though.
I hope it goes well with the Hatchet â it makes me feel bad that mine is sitting in a shed just now!
Sweet! Looking forward to following your progress. Curious to see your planned route thru my area
Sounds like this is gonna be a muni oriented trip, should be interesting. Best of luck!
The gaps my home turf. Would love to ride a section of i t with you.
I am very excited for you Alex, wish you the best of times, luck, and weather, and very much look forward to following your progress!
Why a 27.5 Hatchet? It just seems like a rather unusual choice to ride 22,000 miles on.
The reason I like the 27.5x3.8 is that the wide tire allows me to ride roads and trails that are very bumpy or loose. The fat tire works like a shock absorber. Now I have a carbon fiber rim to make the ride even smoother. My average speed with gear on the unicycle is 8-10 mph depending on the trail.
I had the same question, and then saw the backpack he is carrying in the photo on his Facebook page. I thought I was doing great when I could carry 3 liters of water on my back in a hydration pack.
I am looking forward to following the progress. I expect the 27.5 to contribute to slower speeds than a 36â, but am interested to learn what benefits will be provided by the 27.5. Alex has a 36â geared Schlumpf, so it would be interesting to learn his take on the pros and cons of each size.
EDIT: Alex provided a response to Duffâs question while I was typing my response. His reply addressed my interest in learning his views on the benefits that a 27.5 Muni provides vs a 36 geared uni. I am keeping my reply, for now, so future readers donât see âDeletedâ, and wonder what I might have typed. My comment about me feeling good about carrying 3 liters of water on my back, until I saw Alex with his backpacking (Unipacking?) gear while riding his Hatchet, still stands.
Can you post a picture of your fully packed setup?
I wish you every luck you may need on your trip. Travel healthy and safely and have fun!
I typed a response, but then realized that it did not apply.
All the success and power to you. I think as others have commented the 27.5 wheel size surprised me too - but itâs great to see this kind of adventure not defaulting to a 36â.
Itâs great to be different and try a different approach 
That hatchet unicycle looks bomb proof which is going to be key and why Iâd not personally take a schlumpf on such a tour.
As Eric said, would be great to see all the packed up set up including how you load it ok the unicycle.
I admire that fact youâre using a backpack - this makes the feat even more challenging as so far Iâve only ever considered this kind of trip would have weight on the frame.
Hope your prep goes well and stay safe every mile along the way 
Hats off to you for planning your trip and especially on a hatchet.
I am a hatchet owner too which I think is amazing but i wouldnât really have it for distance riding.
I couldnât help notice the way your brake hose is routed, I would route it around the back of the frame and over the flat section so itâs away from the tyre.
This is my setup that I had for my last trip but I am having custom panniers and racks made that will allow me to eliminate the backpack.
Thank you. I just posted some pictures in the comment section. I am getting a new rack and pannier setup that will allow me to eliminate the backpack
Well, a 27.5 with a 3.8" tire ought to be over 30" in diameter, so youâre really only about 17% slower than a 36er would be. I think the single speed makes sense and that if you were to opt for a guni youâd likely have to procure 3 different hubs in order to ensure that youâd always have one in the event of hub failure. On a 22,000 mile trip I wouldnât trust only one backup.
I cut a post mounted rack and then re welded it so that it is level when riding the uni. Works a treat and lowers the center of gravity as well.
The other thing maybe to consider is the rolling resistance. The fat tire will require much more power just to keep in rolling then a higher pressure 36". Looking at bicyclerollingresistance.com and just comparing very low pressure road tires to high pressure fat tires it looks like about twice the power is required for the fat tire. The fat tire will work, just may have to consume more calories to keep it going.
Manâs gonna have the best legs around
Rolling resistance is just so hard to guesstimate though as you donât really know what pressure or tire combo heâs going to eventually settle on. I know that big balloon tires with a slick tread can roll really well at over 40 psi as Iâve been using 2.35 Big Apples on bikes for over a decade now, but a fat tire with an aggressive tread and a low pressure would indeed require a lot more energy to operate.
If it were me, Iâd be looking for a street style tread and running it at max pressure and airing it down for trail riding. Also, I would imagine that on an around the world trip there are going to be thousands of miles ridden on terrible roads where the cushioning effect of a fat tire will be well suited to the terrain.