RE: Miyata Giraffe
My Miyata SkyCycle is about 5 years old. The ones owned by the TCUC are
about 8 years old. The 8 year old ones do not have as strong a frame. My
frame has not bent.
I am very hard on unicycles and my giraffe is no exception. I do a running
mount, hop, a 180 uni-spin (jump up off the seat, spin the uni 180 degrees, and
land back on - see http://www.calweb.com/~unifoss/nuc/nuc96.htm ), and hop over
objects. I weigh about 195 clothed (which is how I usually ride:>)
I "taco"ed my wheel trying to hop on wheel. I have replaced the wheel twice,
most recently with a high quality Sun alloy which appears to be really strong.
My wheel only has 28 spokes. I understand that MiyataUSA SkyCycles use alloy
rims with 36 spokes which should be far superior.
The seat post extension has bent (broke one). I have recently eliminated it and
had a custom made fat long cro-mo seatpost made. Hopefully, its additional
strength will not cause the frame to bend.
My crank arms are hopelessly bent. I use a monster-sized wrench to bend them
back. I am told the new Miyatas have stronger cranks.
I like the Miyata. Its the right height for me. Any taller hurts my knees when I
fall or dismount. The light weight is much more responsive. TUF are way too
heavy. Sem makes 2 models. Their deluxe chrome model is excellent but too tall
for me. I would investigate their XL model before buying a Miyata.
Bill Gilbertson, Twin City Unicycle Club, Shoreview, Minnesota
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From: Andy Cotter[SMTP:cotter@skypoint.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 1998
1:34 PM To: rec.sport.unicycling Subject: Re: Miyata Giraffe
On Tue, 2 Jun 1998, Dirk Iwema wrote:
> John Foss writes about Miyata giraffes:
>
> > The lighter weight makes it more responsive, but may take
away from it
> > in the strength department. I don’t have any experience with
frame
> > strength on the Miyata, but the A-frame shape and shorter
length are
> > advantages in the design. Any comments from Miyata giraffe
owners? If
> > you plan to do running mounts or other frame-stressing
tricks, you might
> > want to get one that’s built for adults (the Japanese
unicycle market is
> > probably 90% elementary to middle school-aged kids).
> >
> I’ve had mine for about 5 or 6 years now. I don’t use it alot
so
> it’s still in great shape. Bill Gilbertson also has a Miyata
giraffe.
> I think that he has bent his frame (doing running mounts.) He will
> have his own thoughts and opinions.
While I don't personally own a Miyata 'SkyCycle', our club owns three of
them. They tend to work fine as long they are not too heavily abused
(running mounts put a lot of stress on a frame). But, the ones that the
club owns were bought many years ago. The Miyata SkyCycles have been
somewhat redisgned and look much stronger. I would be curious to know if
they are indeed stronger. Anybody have a chance to compare?
cotter@skypoint.com Twin City Unicycle Club - President Andy Cotter
Unicycling Society of America - Vice President USA home page
<a href="http://www.unicycling.org/usa/">http://www.unicycling.org/usa/</a>