Yesterday my wife asked why I don’t sign up for the Dutch unicycle competitions anymore. I only did the 10K in 2019 with a 32" uni. So I figured I can try the 5K run with a 24" uni in 2027.
I currently own the 2 uni’s on the right in the red squares, and I wonder how much speed I could gain with the E-Sport uni in the bottom left.
I suspect that the sport uni is more twitchy and it still depends on my legs in how quickly I can make the wheel rotate. So I have my doubts in how much speed gain I would have on it. Also I am around 90kg and Im not sure if the wheel can handle my weight.
The E-Sport will have an incredibly light feeling wheel which with practice can be spun very fast. For example the Duro tyre on the 24" muni is 1.5kg, the tyre on the E-Sport is 300g.
Unfortunately don’t have experience with the E-Sport (UDC UK doesn’t stock them) but have spent time with a 700x28c. It requires a different riding style as tyre foldover (even at 100psi) is a thing so you learn to not cold steer. It holds zero momentum but is lighter than a freestyle.
90kg might be OK for the tyre, it might not. I suppose it’s going to depend on the surfaces you plan to ride it on.
I found last year results, which they divided by age range. The group of younger than 30 years all rode in less than 18 minutes, but 30+ took more time. And there is not a 50+ group. I will be so slow.
Aim to just complete it with a stretch goal of not coming last.
The modern world has people wanting to be “the best” and not taking part if they aren’t in contention. If you can do it and find it fun, there’s no reason not to do it…
that was my goal with the 32" and I came in second to last. I don’t intend to train like a mad man. But I don’t want to come in at 40 minutes either, so if my aim is to end somewhere in the middle, I won’t be last either. I’ll do a test run tonight on my 10km run, if it doesn’t rain. Then at least I have an idea.
When trying to do a sprint with the uni, I always end up regaining my balance, which slows down again, so I need to hang back a bit when that happens. Are there any tricks to keep a sorta continuous pressure forwards. I have no problem riding with both hands on the seat.
Wow, your wife giving you a reason to buy another uni
From your comments I always got the impression your family is not overly supportive, but this is gold!
The Quax Profi is already pretty good. Although the E-Sport is optimzed for track, the difference is really not noticeably until you really learn to spin fast. As has been stated above, there is a minimum crank length of 125mm. So one of the high-end optimizations is getting a tire just under the maximum diameter. The E-Sport will have this. As a cheaper alternative, I would try and find a tire for the profi that will be just the right diameter.
Oh: I’m pretty sure the E-Sport should do fine with 90kg. Frame is strong, just need to keep the spokes tuned and tensioned.
Note: I have the E-Sport with the 24" tire (not the track version with the 26" wheel), as a) I’m slow anyway and b) the 26" narrow wheel is not good for much else like wheel walk.
As to the age thing: I find that track shows an such extreme difference that even mid to early 20s riders complain that they can’t spin like they used to. I think it is not a strength issue (which you can maintain pretty well with age through training) but is much more the nerve coordination to actiavte the muscles quickly and move fast, which apparently does significantly decrease with age. That being said, practice also improves your spinning a lot too.
I would add that I’ve done maybe 5-6 track races the last few years and borrowed a 26" race uni for 2 of them. I did fine with the twitchy wheel, but I was still slow, and I don’t think it made much difference for me (I still can’t do 220+rpms). Probably the only real difference is you look a little more serious (but I actually feel more comfortable on the 24" because then I don’t feel so self-conscious when I’m slow).
I personally really wish there were no crank length limit, as i can’t spin fast and it would be fun to ride with with short cranks… I rode 89s on my 29" for the last Unicon in road events, so I think sub-60mm on a 24" could be doable and fun.
I only have such a narrow tire on my UW28. But since an ultimate wheel isn’t at all comfortable to ride, I find it difficult to imagine how it would be with such a uni. I have no experience with Mad4One. I reckon if it lives up to the rulebook, it is allowed. There are no rules around brand.
There are some subtle differences between E-Sport and Mad4one Race (I have both, and I am a bit disappointed by the limitations), but these differences are less obvious and less critical. Both use 26x1 tire anyways.
Basically, you raised a higher-level question: is 26x1 solutions better than 24x2 for you to compete. For you, I would say probably not. You seem to already have a competition-grade 24x2 uni, and it should be fine.
You can read that @OorWullie thread, substituting m41 with e-sport, to get the idea.
If you really want a cool looking 26x1 uni, I can chip in with my thoughts on why m41 might be a better choice (and why it is not).
I think my own capabilities are well below the capabilities of either unicycle. I am not particularly good at getting a high spinning cadence on the unicycle. I always run into the balance problem and need to readjust again and again.
That is a bit of my curse. Now that I have 15 diff unicycles, I like to be able to ride them all, but someone who only has 2, can get really good and professional at riding those.
I just do a bit of distance, a bit of muni and a bit of hopping and some UW riding, but many others are way better than me. So I will just stick to the 24" freestyle I have and not spend another 500 EUR on a racer uni. Yesterday the wind was very strong and I went riding with my boy. On my 24" uni I was way faster than him with a head wind.
Today I did just over 10km within the hour on the freestyle 24”. Several times I had to stop and remount to cross roads walk past big tractors blocking the road, so my 5km are at least below 30 mins. But the aim is to at least be below 25mins.
What would be the best tire pressure for the 24". I had been riding with 32 PSI, but then yesterday I pumped it up some more, and it felt much more agile.
I’d say it’s personal preference really, ‘correct’ tyre pressure is dependant on so many factors. Rider weight, rim width, tyre width, tyre casing, rubber compound, tread pattern, riding surface and so on. As a general rule I go for the lowest pressure I can without risking pinch punctures. If you are comfortable with the higher pressure and like the more agile feeling go for it, if you prefer the lower pressure for comfort and control that’s fine too! Though I probably would go slightly higher for road racing personally, but I’ve only ever done one race so i might not be the best person to comment really
I understand with muni you will want lower pressure to more easily traverse bumpy terrain. My 24" is the freestyle version (top right in the picture of the first message in this thread).
I still have some time before the next NL championships in 2027. Just practice practice practice. And I haven’t found the sweet spot yet in how to spin quickly while staying in balance for a longer stretch.
The quickest person this year did the 5km in 14.26 minutes, which is very fast.
But mostly it is just fun participating… and showing off if someone brings a UW or something.
You would not gain much speed with the E-sport, compared to the Qu-Ax. The wheel being lighter only matters at the start (acceleration), and the wheel being slightly larger results in only 1 or 2% top speed increase. The Muni tyre is probably larger than 618 mm (outside diameter at riding pressure, not loaded) and hence not allowed at the Dutch nationals.
Your best bet to gain speed is not to spend money, but go out and practice. Even if you plan to participate only in 5K, do practice sprints, as it brings your base speed up. That said, if you are going, I recommend that you also register for 100m and 800m, because why not.
5k is not an IUF discipline by the way, the Dutch competition is the only event I know of that offers it.
