[QUOTE=Feisty;1567583]
…just mount it…and enjoy the speed and smoothness… /QUOTE]
Yeah! go for it. Just mount and enjoy the speed and smoothness… 
You’ll have to step higher to get on her and apply some extra force to start moving. After that you’ll want to keep on going.
This was my first time on a 36 after several years on my 26er.
Yes. The 29’er is the only uni I ride in the winter. Mainly because I ride on snow and can get a studded tyre for it. In traffic and among pedestrians in the city or if I ride with joggers, I prefer the 29’er. Other than that, it is either the 36’er or the 26’er (for MUni).
I love my 26 for muni and sold my 24 because its to small for muni and to big for trials and the 26-29 is a good diffrence but bens 36 is a pure monster and fun to ride
I own 20, 24, 26, 28, 29 and 36 inch unis.
The 20 gets very occasional use, mainly in a performing context. At the moment, it’s out on loan and I’m not missing it. Years ago, I used to ride a 20" on easy cross country, and I once did a 20 mile road ride on one. As I’m not interested in trials or freestyle, the 20" uni is pretty much a relic of my earlier riding years, and a bit of a toy.
The 24 gets used for what I think of as difficult Muni. I last used it a few days ago in the snow. When I got onto tarmac, I found it incredibly slow, to the point of tedium. However, last summer, it was the ideal thing to take on a holiday to Wales and I did some real mountain unicycling for a change.
The 26 is seldom used. It is a heavy old thing, with a road biased tyre. I wouldn’t miss it I lost it. However, I had a lot of fun on it years ago.
The 28 is a “special” with a custom made skinny wheel. It gets an occasional airing when I want to remind myself that unicycling on the flat used to require complete concentration.
The 29 is my default cross country/light Muni machine and is good for local bike paths, canal towpaths, footpaths and so on. A big advantage is I can take it into a pub and discretely prop it up in a corner. I doubt I could do that with the 36. The 29 is also the safer option on the sort of narrow streets where you may have to bail out to avoid other traffic.
The 36 is now used mainly for longish road rides, bridle paths and light Muni. At the moment, it is my preferred uni. However, I sold my previous 36 becuase I had more or less stopped riding it. Then I started to miss it.
If you have a 29 and a 36, you will almost certainly go through phases of riding one more than the other.
Posters…thanx VERY much for replying to my impromptu survey of multi-uni owners–very helpful info as always! Glad I saw your replies before putting the 29er up for sale… :). Tomorrow I’m doing my last commute on the 29er for awhile, then on Friday I’m taking the Big Wheel to the office so my buddies can check it out and so I can start learning in the garage. I’m gonna try to casually stroll past the building receptionist toting the 36er under one arm. This has worked great with the 29er so far (our building doesn’t allow bikes inside), but it’ll be interesting to see if I can get away with schlepping this juggernaut into the elevator…heehee! 
I followed the same script
Mikefule, I just got a used kh36 a few weeks back.
The first week was change the damaged tube with a Foss. What a nightmare changing a Nightrider tire. Let’s just say I have all the tools to do the job now.
After that, it was just like you…
- Go to an empty parking lot and look at the thing in awe wondering “How the hell?”
- Mounted it against my car… the first attempt to roll the beast resulted in an quick dismount.
- The next attempt I successfully rode around the parking lot and was amazed at the size, the smoothness, and the awesomeness of it… Till I thought about how high I was. I was afraid to venture too far from the car lest I need to mount again.
- Then I thought… shoot… probably won’t happen today but I’m going to need to learn to freemount this beast. My first attempt was a static mount. Not even close. Tried it again, nopers, aint happening today.
- Then I tried the rolling mount (I call it a 3-stepper). Seemed like a possibility. I counted… it took me 13 attempts and got it on #14. It’s like the mass of the wheel lifts you off the ground and throws you in the saddle.
After a few outings I’m not an expert; this thing owns me. As long as noone is around watching… and I’m not pointing uphill… And there are no cars/pedestrains around… I know I can get on the thing in a few tries or more.
It really is a special feeling riding a 36er. Going downhill means “put on the brakes” bc it can go fast quickly. My speed is a little faster than what I do on my 29, but not by much. There’s a mental barrier that needs to be smashed before truly going to the next level. All that will come with time in the saddle.
OK, here are a couple of snaps of the new uni and also the fancy pedals on the 29er which work really nice with my size 14 Frankenstein feet–guess I’ll move 'em over to the 36er, or just get some more.
Congrats. She’s pretty.
I rode a 36 last month for the first time. It only took me a few times to mount it, then I was mounting away. I had to do a rolling mount though, and couldn’t really idle very well.
I found the difference between a 24 and a 29 more difficlut than 29-36, oddly enough.
I feel a 36er at some point 
WHOOHOOO IT’S FINALLY FRIDAY:D:p
I’m debating getting a 36er (cool, fast, awsome on roads) or a 29er (awsome on trails, bit less fast, easier to store, expensive with disc) soon.
heres mine! keep 26 great at everyting or 36 for rolling muni
yeah…I brought the 36er to the office today, successfully sneaking it past the receptionist, but OMG, I don’t know if I’ll be able ti ride it later because of something I hadn’t anticipated: insufficient ceiling clearance! 
I’ll give it a try after work today, but I think I only had a couple inches clearance while doing my garage workouts on the 29er, so…we’ll see.
Right now, the 36er is sitting in my office, and people are laughing at it, rolling it around and generally freaking out. My boss called it a “clown wheel,” so I guess that’s its new name.
It’s funny…I know I have to learn the clown wheel, but damnit I’m having fun on the t-handled 29er! Yesterday I rode the 14-mile commute in record time, and on the way home (a train-shortened 4-mile jaunt) at 11:00 pm over dark streets and in a torrential downpour, I enjoyed my first real RAIN RIDE! It was a blast! Riding a uni in the rain is WAY funner than riding a regular bike under similar conditions IMHO. Whatever happens with the 36, I’m definitely hanging on to the “little” 29er! 
Oh…my…GHAWD!!! 
I just finished my first session on the 36er, and I was utterly unprepared for what I experienced! I still have no clue how to mount the beast, so my starts were all push-offs from the car, but I don’t care, because from the second attempt, I was not only riding, but riding faster, smoother, and with greater control than I ever achieved on the 29er…THIS THING ROX! After my experience transitioning from a starter 24" to the 29er months ago, I was expecting to have to spend weeks figuring out to tame the 36" whale–nope! This thing fits me like I always imagined a unicycle should! Gone are the twitchiness, the hamster-in-a-wheel hyper-cadence, the constant fear of impending UPDs…would someone please tell me how it’s possible that I’m actually turning sharper on the Big Wheel than I can on my 29er?!?!?! This beauty is soooo forgiving!
In the brief 30-minute parking garage session, I went for tight turns, lazy straightaways, speed runs, and…HILLS! I can’t believe that moderate hills are actually easier on this thing than on the 29er. I’m gonna slap the t-handle on her and start freemount practice in earnest, because as soon as I can climb onto this baby, WE ARE GONE!
This night has opened my eyes. My feet have been set upon a path. I will not look back. 
Two Thumbs Up!! Keep the updates coming. What size cranks and could you elaborate on the length and elevation gain for the hills you were referring to.
Thanks
Great news. Won’t be long and you’ll be pounding the miles enjoying the view.
This was the multi-level parking garage under my office…six levels with moderate-grade ramps between floors. It’s the place I first learned to ride last summer, and where I took this crude footage with my GoPro a little while back:
My usual workout is to do 40 levels, spiraling up six floors, then back down six floors and repeating till I get my 40. It’s a good uni workout since it’s all turns and hills. And even though these indoor hills aren’t all that steep, the important point is that they felt no more difficult than they do on the 29er, in fact, the inherent stability of the larger wheel actually makes them easier! Can’t wait to get free mounting down! Oh…I’m on the 150mm cranks. Eventually I’d like to move to the other hole (127mm?), but I’m in no rush.
Thanks for the encouragment from the posters on this thread–really helped! :o
Sounds like you had a blast! I know am having so much fun on my 36 that I haven’t picked up my 26er since getting it - but I will.
I was thinking today (after riding every day for a week) that I want to try the 127mm hole on the Spirit cranks soon too. I haven’t been riding any big hills so the extra leverage isn’t required at the moment and smoother spinning sounds like it would help.
Have you tried a rolling mount? That’s my go-to mount and it translates to the big wheel perfectly.
At one point tonight, I used my phone camera to take a minute of video. The quality is crap, but I can make better videos later. This is a seriously fun wheel!
4umfreak: I’ve never pulled off a rolling mount, but I can see where it would come in handy for the 36. I’m gonna start learning it tomorrow! Thanks!