Long distance uni

I guess a rake can make it an interesting mount, especially if you don’t land it correctly (serious) :smiley:

A scythe could also lead to interesting situations…
When I was cycling I kinda felt like a knight with a lance, on his horse. :horse: :person_fencing:

pictures?

I learned on a 36er after 23 years. It can be done.

I learned on a 20 last year and made the jump straight to a 36 last week! I found it took me literally less than a couple minutes to get up unassisted and riding. Only took an hour of practice to be comfortable enough to ride around town!! You’ll be fine!

The biggest challenge for me was going BACK to a 20 & 24 inch wheel. after a few days I’m still trying to get the hang of getting up on it as it’s so much more sensitive to imbalance I feel, but maybe I’m just an odd duck.

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how do you mount your 36-er? Static mount or rolling mount? Next time I will try wheel grab again. I always felt like it would pull myself over the uni instead of on.

I’m sure that when @SirCranky first read this he found it hard to understand. :thinking:

Eventually he regained his composure to answer :laughing:

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well if you’re in the right cadence, the 20" will also just eat the distance. I would prolly take the 24 instead, as it is just as easy to mount.
My boss is on holiday this week and I’ve already finished all my tasks, but now it’s raining, so I can’t go out and ride. I hate going outside in the rain.

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:thinking: Didn’t you just say you would not do 100km+ on a bike?

Even when I say that, it doesn’t mean I stop thinking about it…

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Yes, it could be a bad idea.
Is a 36er possible to learn? Yes, absolutely.
Is a 36er easy to ride? Not really.
Is a 36er fun to ride? It depends; it’s very personal.
Is a 36er good for distance riding? Yes, but…
Are there other options for distance? Yes, and I encourage you to consider them.

The but above: you may want to ask yourself more questions about your “some long distance”. How long is your “long”? How often do you ride your “long”? What is your typical (or projected) ride on your new distance unicycle? What is the terrain? Do you plan to ride it in traffic or on city streets? How athletic are you now? What is your budget? Does your distance uni need to fit in your parent’s car? Add more specific questions here.

Depending on your answers, a 36er might be either a good choice or a “bad idea”.
@Bug72 hinted at a good (very good) alternative: a 29er (700c) or a 26er with short cranks. Give us more specific information about your ride, and we can give you more targeted feedback.

A real-world example for you: my kid unicycles to school daily (2.5-3 miles one way). He usually rides a cheap basic UDC Trainer (700C wheel marketed as a 29er) with short cranks and an upgraded seat and tire, and he’s already logged 3500 miles on this setup. If he wants to have some street fun after classes, he takes a 24” uni with a plus tire. But guess what? He’s never taken the 36er to school. A 36er is not cool, it’s not very fast (comparable to a 29er in a city environment), it’s not as safe to ride, and it’s not safe to park at school too, etc.

I’ll add, having to mount a 36er repeatedly can be exhausting :face_exhaling: Especially in an environment where there’s a lot of stop and go (think intersections, stop lights, etc.), a smaller wheel that’s easier to mount is probably better than a 36er. My consistency with mounting the 36er has gotten better, though still not nearly as effortless as mounting something smaller.

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That was what I was thinking last month after not having ridden so much in the past years. Like maybe stick to the 26 for a few weeks and even though I rode various sizes, I mostly took the 26”. Mounting has become really easy on it and it is very comfy.
Last week I decided to ride the 36 again of which the hardest thing is the free mounting. Personally I need to have made a few rotations with it and be warmed up, before I have a decent mount success rate.
There is this other guy in town who primarily rides his 36 everywhere and he doesnt feel insecure on busy streets. He is fully one with his uni.
So I think with enough time, the 36” can be just as well the goto unicycle. Consistency only comes by riding the uni often.

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Your questions definitely make sence and really should be answered individually and don’t take my answers too serious for your decisions. Reading the posts above makes me think that the 36" killer is to possess any size between 26" and 29". My 28" has been stolen, I have 16"-24" and 36".
Once you decided that 36" is your only choice… my answers are this way:
How long is your “long”? 7m from and to my car.
How often do you ride your “long”? Whenever I drive my car.
What is your typical (or projected) ride on your new distance unicycle? 7m street and all I would use a bicycle for.
What is the terrain? Street, pavement and don’t blame it not to be suitable as a Muni, 36" roll everywhere. Just do it if you want/need to.
Do you plan to ride it in traffic or on city streets? Definitely yes.
How athletic are you now? Once mounted (hardest task), it feels like riding a bicycle (once you overcame the primal fear of extra height, but therefore gained additional time to plan your UPDs), how athletic are bicycle riders?
What is your budget? It is basically a one time buy.
Does your distance uni need to fit in your parent’s car? Fortunately not, it could scratch something. It fits on the rear seat or into the trunc when the rear seats are collapsed. Or into the trunc with saddle dismounted.
So my stupid advice could be to learn riding 26"-29" and then sell these 36" killer unicycles, although they definitely have their strong advantages.
Always wear full safety equipment when you ride faster than you can always run, in my case >18km/h or 2nd gear. Learn to use something like a T-bar for having less UPDs.