Interesting that you say you don’t go much faster on a 36 compared to 29. I average about 8-9 mph on-road (7 for XC) on my 29er. I’ve been considering grabbing a cheap 36er just to see how fast I can do it (Got my eye on a UDC trainer 36er on eBay!) but now I’m not too sure. I run 125 cranks on my 29er, and that UDC comes with 150 something (I guess 152 or whatever the closest number is to that), but I don’t really know what constitutes ‘short cranks’ on a 36er. 125’s are about my limit for the 29er, with all the hills/XC riding I do, but I’d just use the 36er for roads (which are still pretty hilly…).
Look, I don’t ride a unicycle for speed. As has been said before, I would ride a bike or drive a car if I cared that much about going a bit faster.
I do care about comfort and fun on a unicycle. For me the 36 is more comfortable and fun on rides more than a mile or so than any other size (on the road that is).
I don’t have a bike computer on my 36, my bike or any other unis. I’d rather concentrate on the road, the scenery, the people, and the fun. I am not training for anything. Some people like to know how fast they are going and care. That’s great for them. But it’s not me. I’m not training for anything, and I just don’t care how fast I am going.
I’m sure I go a bit faster on my 36 than I would on a 29, but what, it’s like a few MPH difference? How does that really affect me? Especially when commuting. The red-lights even it all out quite a bit. I actually don’t get anywhere that much quicker on my bike because both my bike and my uni go exactly 0 MPH at the numerous lights I encounter during my commute. On a 14 mile commute round trip I save about 20 mins on my bike. That’s not much considering I can go a lot faster on my bike with a lot much less effort than the 36.
Is my bike more comfortable? Yes of course. I can coast. I don’t have to think about balance. Is the uni more fun? It depends on my mood. If I want to get to work without much thought, if I don’t want the attention, if I’m tired, if I care about saving an extra 20 mins both ways then I take my bike. If I feel like being macho on my 36 then I take that.
What’s short on a 36? Again that’s perspective. People commonly ride on 110s. I might try that some time, but I doubt I’d like it much. The 127s seen perfect for me given the several steep hills I encounter on my commute. With practice you can get up almost any hill on a 36 with 127s as long as the hill is relatively short. There’s momentum with that big wheel.
I saw in a bike forum the other day, a comment that was something like “pick something, and just ride the crap out of it”. I think that’s good advice. I am usually changing up things anyway. But you don’t know enough to change up things until you get used to a given configuration, which takes some time.
My advice is don’t worry about speed, think about comfort and fun. But also experiment. Life is short. Get a uni in every size. If your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband bothers you about the space, tell them it’s a better hobby than cheating.
I wouldn’t consider my situation the norm. In most things I do I seem to go along at a slower pace than others, so it actually doesn’t surprise me that much that I ride on the slower side. There is a huge difference in the way a 36 feels as compared to a smaller wheel, I didn’t realize how much until I took a ride on my 29er again, then the next day hopped back on my 36.
Yesterday I put 125’s on my 36, was a bit nervous to hop on but was very surprised again at how it felt, I just rode away no problem. It was’t a proper ride, I just was checking that I could do it and that my seat was at an ok height. I might get out today or tomorrow for another real ride.
To me it seems most riders get a good speed increase when they move from 29 to 36. But like @Kahunacohen says, you just gotta ride and not worry so much about it.
What a beautiful sentiment, I love it 
What you’ve said about not riding a uni to go fast rings true for me too, actually. I’ve got a road bike that is more than fast enough to get anywhere I need in under an hour. This is the main reason I’ve so far not bothered with grabbing a 36er - I’m not 100% sure it fits into my life, apart from being a bike replacement for when I don’t feel like riding the road bike
Maybe I’ll rethink the 36er decision, dunno yet. Reading these threads about them just makes me want one more and more though, even if I have no idea why!
As far as speed goes, this thread is interesting:
I think it’s a function of the rider more than anything else. I cruise along at about 7 or 8 miles per hour. Not exactly blazing speed, but it gets me there. I tend to go pretty much the same speed on the 36 and my 32 (I don’t have a 29r, but I think it’s similar to the 32). Shifting into overdrive on the 32 definitely will go faster, but it also requires more effort. So there’s no free lunch, when it comes to speed.
Looking at the stats from the recent Unicon is pretty amazing. Scott Wilton went 26+ miles at just a hair under 20 mph average, clipped in on a G36. Wow, pretty impressive! The other stats are just as impressive, as are the videos that have been posted. There are some fast riders in the uni world!
Interesting discussion here. I bought my 36er about 3 1/2 months ago, end of April, and have been commuting to work 16km (10 mi) x 2 about 2 to 4 days/week. I’ve only ridden a 29er a few minutes and transitioned from a 24" MUni. (see Transitioning to 36" from 24")
After getting used to the 36er with 150s I changed to 127s and do quite well. Pretty quickly I was making it up the not so steep climbs and have progressively gotten better with climbing (my balance actually). In the one direction I’ve got 2 short climbs of around 10% and in the other direction I’ve got 2 climbs, one relatively long and one really steep around maybe 15-20% or so (i.e. about half of cyclists push their bikes). I’ve been riding all but the really steep one every time for maybe the last month or so. And, just yesterday I finally made it up the really steep climb, kind of with a big weight shifting from one pedal to the other sort of like standing on a bicycle. So I think I could even go with shorter cranks. I have bad days but over time continue to get better: fewer UPDs, faster speeds, making it up more hills (and down always now).
As to the comments about time/speed I agree and disagree: on the one hand I am obviously faster on a bike, so in general I ride the 36 for the experience, challenge, fun and for the health of my back (unicycling has completely eliminated the minor disc problems I have had for about 10 years now). On the other hand I prefer to keep my commute under an hour and would also like to be able to shave off 5-10 minutes by going fast if I decide I want to (presently I sometimes have bad days where I simply cannot make it in under 1 hour). Plus, I have to pick up my daughter a few days a week from the day care and I often decide I have to take the bike to ensure that I will make it in time, so I would like to be faster on the unicylce and/or at least have the capability to speed up if need be, so that I can take the unicycle more often. On the bike I know that I can push hard and make it fast. Presently I cannot do this on the unicycle: on a good day I can’t get under 50 minutes and on a bad day I cannot make it in under an hour no matter how hard I try.
Time on the bike compared to the 36er:
Booking it on my speed bike and crusing over 30km/h I can make it in 32-35 minutes and going at a for me normal quick pace with cruising speed 28-30km/h I need 35-38 minutes. On the 36er I take between 50 and 70 minutes, so roughly 20 minutes longer or 40-100% longer than on the bike.
Speed: These days 16km/h (10mph) is easy, 18km/h is my quick sustainable cruising pace and on a day like today I was sustaining between 19km/h and 21km/h for almost all open parts of the whole ride (my max speeds per ride are usually between 20kmh and 23km/h with 24km/h being my believable max max and maybe 25km/h but not so reliably measured). This makes my averages including the climbs and lights and having to slow down something between 13km/h and 16.5km/h (on the bike my total average is usually a little over 24km/h with a cruising speed of 30km/h).
Note that when I was considering buying the 36er I was optimistically hoping to be able to make the commute in 50 minutes after a long while and a lot of training (see Transitioning to 36" from 24"). Thus, I think my estimate was pretty good, as I have now made it in 50 minutes a few times (even though usually I don’t), and it seems reasonable that in a year I should be able to consistently make 50 minutes if I want to.
The 36er is slower but more fun and better training, especially as all-body workout as the bike only trains the legs and lungs, but the unicycle gets the back, stomach, shoulders, etc.
Yeah, those riders who can push those sorts of speeds are crazy, I’m nowhere near that level 
I like my 29er as a small-ish, maneuverable machine that I can take into shops and climb hills on without much more effort than just riding normally. I just wish it didn’t require such effort to break the 10mph mark In an ideal world I’d probably get a G29 and call the geared-up phase my road machine (though I know Schlumpf’s are never as easy as that). I like the idea of riding a 36" fast enough to not need my bike anymore, but I don’t really like the idea of riding something so massive and (potentially) unweildy. I feel like I’d want relatively long cranks on a wheel that big, which would probably mean I’m not pushing the speed I could. Ahhh, decisions… 
Wise words.
Yeah, and I’m sure it’s a whole lot less costly than having an affair!
For me anyway, I realize I am no longer into the speed (at least not for the moment), or riding on the road, and I realize I’ll never have the chance to commute with it. I’m really wanting to better in muni, so I’ll stick to my muni 26er and ride the hell out of it 
Hi everyone
I think riding a 36er is truly great, regardless of the speed you achieve. I’ve got a 19,20,26 and 36er. I have never ridden a 29er but, from the first day I got the 36er delivered, I instantly loved the feeling of being high up and moving a ‘big wheel’ with each pedal stroke (compared to my 26er). Is it hard?: oh yes, where I live is hilly as hell and I’m mostly using 165s cranks (only go down to 137s if a do a long flat stretch). Because of the hilly terrain my speed is probably quite low but still really enjoyable (very tiring though). In the future I might be able to go down in crank lenght…
I’ve just got installed the T handle bars and, despite being hard to get used to them, I can already see why people like them (it feels good and different when you lean forward and have both hands on it, etc…). Also I was never planning in cycling along the road with traffic but I already do most of my cycling on them and you do feel in control despite the size of the wheel (where I live is pretty rural though - all small towns :)).
I love riding all my other unicycles. I think is great to have different sizes and would love to get a 29er but I’m guessing I probably won’t as I’m quite happy with what I’ve got and don’t want to spend much more money in unicycles (having said that one day I will probably get a giraffe ;))
So yes, I guess you either like it or you don’t but it is just like any other type of unicycle.
first ride with 125’s
Today I did a 4.5 mile ride with 125’s for the first time. It went as I pretty much thought it would, I was a little on the tense side so everything seemed a little harder. I definitely notice on the flat areas that I could spin much faster and do it comfortably. There is a stretch where I’m on a sidewalk, there is a tree hanging down so I really have to duck under it to get by… today I leaned a bit too far forward and went down hard onto my hands and knees (thank goodness I grabbed my gloves at the last minute, almost didn’t). I proceeded to ‘trim’ the tree after I got up (I bet I looked hilarious tearing branches off this little tree). Needless to say that won’t be happening again
If I take out my ‘tree trimming’ episode I managed to knock 3 minutes off my best time on that route. I’m pretty happy with that considering I’m not nearly at ease with the new setup yet.
Thread resurrection!
Alrighty guys, I just had to resurrect this thread. A couple pages back, I was half-half on grabbing a 36er. Well, the Qu-Ax megasale happened, and I couldn’t resist, so I went for it!
Oddly I hardly feel like I’ve been through any ‘learning curve’ at all. I free-mounted first try, and went for a 5-mile or so ride with only a couple of (planned) dismounts as soon as I’d done that. On the first… 2-3 days, I had the all-too-known weird body-twist going on. I had it on my 29er, hell I still sometimes get it on my 29er if I change components such as cranks/tyre. It’s all smoothed out now though, and I can ride my 36er comfortably with both hands on the grab-handle, or slumped to my sides lazily (my favourite cruise position!).
One slight problem though. When I had been riding my 29er for a while, I started feeling like I was… for lack of a better word, out-pedalling it. My feet would routinely jump off the pedals at the top of the stroke, and obviously this led to an extreme lack of control, as well as a very wobbly ride when going at that sort of speed. Well, now the exact same thing is happening on the 36er, and I’m using the same crank length (Exactly the same cranks actually - the Qu-Ax 145’s). I’m starting to think my legs are directly in opposition to this crank length…
Funny that after my conversations a couple pages back on this thread involved me being worried that I wouldn’t be any faster with a 36er as I was on my 29er, as that is a thing with me too. My max speed has gone up a decent bit (Nearly every ride involves me hitting over 15mph at some point), but my average hasn’t gone up at all. I know, I’ve not even had the 36er a week yet, and these things take time…
Considering a premature switch to the short cranks… am I nuts for wanting to shrink them down in my first week? I’d probably just pull the 125’s right off my 29er (pedals and all - I love those beartraps) and put the long ones on the 29er (as my plan with that is to turn it into an all-out MUni as opposed to the weird hybrid it’s become).
Go ahead and switch the cranks. It’s only a 20 minute investment, so what the heck. Since you obviously are one who takes to the 36r easily (I didn’t, took me weeks to freemount the thing) I’m guessing the shorter cranks will suit you just fine. After I finally got used to riding the thing, I much preferred 125 cranks over the 150s it came with. (Except for hill climbing – I can’t do steep hills on the 125s. But I’m pretty sure your legs are stronger than mine, so I’m sure you will do just fine. )
Cheers!
If you are comfortable on your 150s and want more speed, swap 'em out. Like you, when I got my 36er, I was expecting a serious learning curve, and it was not there. (I went straight from 26er to 36er.)
I rode for just a short while before I swapped down to 127s. It didn’t take long to get comfortable on those too.
My one word of warning: I found freemounting to be a lot harder on the 127s than the 150s. I was surprised at the difference. My freemount went to hell in a handbasket. On the 150s, I was nearly automatic downhill, better that 85% on the flats and could consistently hit mounts on gentle uphills. When I went to the 127s, I a 0% chance on uphills, ~50 on the flats and only slightly better than that on the downhills. As soon as I made myself learn the jump mount, all that went away. I’m a happy camper on my 127s now.
Tilting the saddle back can be a big help with free mounting.
OK, switch is made. A few quick spins up the road proved easy enough, but I haven’t tried any of the hills round here yet, I’ll wait 'til after tea for that
I found the feeling to be much like it was when I did it on my 29er. First few freemounts were tougher (Not only because of lack of leverage, but also because I’d raised the seat up, so it’s an even bigger jump!) but once I did it, I could do it again. Corners need a bit more push, but weirdly I can hop much better (I was struggling a lot with hopping on the spot with the 145’s, to the point that I could maybe do 3 hops before hitting the deck!).
Quite glad to have my Beartrap pedals back on too. The plastic/foamy-cushioned ones that came with the 36er are nice and light and they work just fine, but when they got wet I was a bit scared of them, and they’re far too small for my size ‘LOL’ feet.
So… Switch went well, obviously it’s made riding a bit more difficult, but I’ll hope after another week on the 36er I’ll have it sussed. And the hills I’ll be riding the 36er on (It’s a 100% pure road machine, no MUni for me!) aren’t as big as I like to pretend they are, so I’m not too worried there.
After the first few weeks of owning my 36, I switched to the 127mm holes. I didn’t have much trouble free mounting, but had a heck of a time up steep hills.
It took a few days of adjustment, but now I can pretty much make it up any hill on the 127s. Actually in relation to what some people do on their 36ers, 127s are long!
Good to know. I’LL try it. When climbing steep with shorter cranks, i’m assuming you have to apply a lot more foot pressure and raise yourself off the seat?
I get into the standing position when the hill gets steep enough that I can’t comfortably cruise up it sitting on the saddle, it allows me to slow down and actually take my time pushing up the hill. I used to get really out of breath fast in the standing position, since then I’ve figured out different muscles to use (focus on my glutes) and it’s taken my hill climbing to a new level. I am amazed at how hard I pull on the seat handle when the hills get steep, if it ever snaps off… I’m gonna go flying.
Uo
Glad I’m not the only one! My Impact Naomi saddle on the 29er is super thin and flexy, I fear for this every time The Qu-Ax on the 36er seems to be built out of a brick though so that doesn’t worry me too much…
Speaking of which - I’ve just done 6.6 miles on 125mm cranks on the 36er, and I’m absolutely shattered. For the first time ever in my unicycling life, I felt like I’m actually pushing against resistance (Like when you put it in a too-high gear on the bike), which isn’t something I’m used to (At least not without the option to shift down). I averaged over 9mph though, so I’m leaving them on - I’m sure my legs will eventually meat up!
."…Gonna go flyin"…isnt that what we all try to achieve?
I can climb steep, however my technique is different. Im not holding on to the saddle (for some reason im not used to that). I just lean towards uphill with either arm and shoulder, both if i have to, and let my weight carry it up, focusing stroke by stroke, i believe the ankle stength has a big part to do with it too…
I dont get it…how do guys pull up on the saddle when going up? Doesnt that make the angle lean too far back?
You guys gotta get pics the hills you climb, for reference purposes in the relations of steepness.
most hills i actually find it faster and less effort to climb than on my 26er because of the momentum. Though, the 26er i can climb steeper. Which is the genenally true right, smaller wheel does a steeper job? Though, havent practiced much, but my 20" cant climb worth squid, probably i havent the practice…
Also wondering. …does a 24" climb and descend better than a 26" assuming identical crank size and tire.?