I used a pipe cutter and a file to smooth it down. Future proof in case you change crank length by not cutting too short. Measure twice, cut once.
Do not cut that Shadow Handlebar! Longer is better there. Just don’t butt it up against the inside as I and several others (see pictures in other thread) had our Shadow break right at the weld. My Impulse was one of the first off the assembly line and I do believe they have been reinforced since then. My welding fix is not pretty but it seems to be holding up fine.
I thought that same thing but was too scared (non-mechanical) to remove the brake cable so I my handle took a beating when I was learning. I guess you could cut off a short piece of the spare straight handle and mount your lever there. I told Josh UDC should throw in another short handlebar for just that purpose. In the end, I am glad I learned with the Shadow in place. My left hand has not left it since. Now if I could just get my right hand to sit there instead of flailing about but that will come with shorter cranks.
Intermediate handle:
I had to do something similar with my new 36" Schlumpf. It has the Shadow handle, and a brake on there. I entered a mountain bike race, and didn’t want to trash my pretty, powdercoated handle, but needed a place to hang the brake lever (essential on that course). So I went to the bike shop and found a BMX post to fit in there, and cut it down so it held the brake lever, and a bicycle handlebar grip. That was my dirt handle, and it worked nicely.
Started riding ‘the beast’, but I love her (she is still to be named). Finding the free mount a bit tricky but its only been one day. Went for a 2 mile try out, one thing I’ve noticed is no more idling at traffic lights. Also found that the wheel hits my right leg sometimes, but that’s probably down to being new to it, nerves and not holding the seat tight enough between my thighs. Speaking of nerves, after the first time i got on and rode for 15 mins i was sweating like a trooper! Must have been seriously stressing out.
DavidHood . . . thanks for the tip, have now adjusted handle so it’s not butt up against the end. Also gonna wait a good long while before I start cutting the handle down.
jhonfoss . . . after trying some free mounts (and failing) with full shadow handle, am having the same thoughts as you about my powder coating. might go with your intermediate solution - - - thanks.
Question . . . what’s the best angle for my knee to be when the far pedal is at 260 degrees (9 o’clock)? At the moment when pedals are at 6 o’clock my leg is almost at full lenthgh, but not locked. I’m thinking that my leg should have then knee bent at 90 degrees when pedal is at 260 giving optimal output force!
The old rules of seat height for unicycles are, uh, old. They were fine for riding on flat ground, which was pretty much all people did then. But riding a road unicycle means hitting bumps. Having your seat height maxed out leaves you vulnerable if you hit a big bump with your pedals vertical. So I run mine a little lower than the “slight bend at bottom” standard.
For offroad riding, my rule is “a lot lower” than that slight bend standard. But how much is a lot? I don’t have a formula there. For rides that start with a lot of climbing, I will start with a higher seat; almost as high as I run for road riding. Then when I get to the technical stuff, it goes down at least a couple of centimeters.
But I think it all sill boils down to amount of bend with pedal at the bottom. Everything else follows from that, as that is set based on keeping your feet on the pedals. I may be wrong there, but getting into knee angles would be a new area for unicycling. If it’s going to happen, road riders will be the ones to figure this out…
Johnfoss . . . Optimal knee angle for force delivery. Now that’s a challenge that I can’t refuse. I’ll be taking to a chiropractor friend off mine about this one.
jojoxie . . . That’s exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, thank you.
Question . . . Do you (jojoxie) or anyone else out there know what kind of pedals are available for the MKS XP-EZY Removable Pedals system, and how reliabale / robust they are?
Wiggle stock three or four types… the best looking and most expensive are http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mks-compact-ezy-removable-pedals/ I notice that Wiggle sells the adaptors separatly. I have never used them but imagine that axle strength would be compromised to some degree. You could probably adapt the axle mechanism to a pedal body of your choice? I also imagine the spare adaptors might catch your ankle/foot if you ride close to the crank.
A pedal spanner or allen key would be a lot cheaper and probably safer. From my experience life expectancy of pedals on unicycles seems to be significantly lower than on bikes, so this could be an expensive route.
Personally I wouldn’t use them but that is because I’d be too worried about getting my foot caught on the spare fitting. It could be fairly unpleasent if using the inner set and the foot rides up and over the outer fitting at the top of the pedal rotation
Of course there are ways to minimise this risk if your very brave:
keg . . . I agree with your analysis. Having the pedal attachment sticking out of the cranks would almost certainly lead to increased UPD’s. I’ll save my money and put it toward a 29" with a Schlumpf Geared Hub.
I’m interested the different kind of frame failures (including seat posts and brackets) that occur in unicycle frames. I have been thinking about unicycle frame design wondering if it is based mostly on dealing with compression and torsion forces loading the structure.
Question . . . does anyone have any thoughts on whether catastrophic failures in frames and seat posts are caused by extreme compression, tension or lateral forces being exerted? I would imagine they will mostly be a combination of two of the previous.
stephenpatriots . . . I’m still new to long distance riding but ’ reduced pain ’ seems appropriate. In my experience riding a 24" for more than 25 miles is a pain (even with short cranks). My understanding is that conditioning is the key, short breaks and also having a handlebar to take some of the weight off of your posterior.
Also taking appropriate precautions depending on your age / problems with joints, like knee supports ( and in extreme situations where not finishing is not an option, having topical ibuprofen!).
There are some pretty step descents on the London to Brighton route, so I was thinking about a drag brake. I was wondering if one can use a 5 speed cable shift that actuates a a secondary reservoir that’s tied into the primary braking system, without impeding the performance of the touch braking system?
