I spent another forty minutes on my geared giraffe tonight at the 37.5" equivalent wheel size (where it will remain for a little while). Most of that time was spent attempting freemounts and killing my knees. I had a lot harder time freemounting tonight… I think mostly because I was wearing loose pants that kept getting caught on the seat… or at least it seemed that way. maybe I was just off. The riding part was really cool, though. I’m starting to feel more comfortable on this thing. The tendency for the wheel to shoot out from under you is exacerbated dramatically from being on top of a pole… it’s like a huge lever, but it is a real interesting ride! Turns are really weird… almost like an entirely different technique. Being known (at least in my local club - NYUC) for hanging turns on my Coker and leaning it over quite a bit (see last Coker pics to get an idea, if interested), I’ve already started experimenting with leaning the giraffe over in turns, as well. I could not do that on a standard giraffe to any major degree because I could never get enough speed to hold me through the turn with the 20" wheel, but now that I have an effective 37.5" wheel, it’s a totally different story! 
I’ve already managed to lean the geared giraffe over a bit in turns and I’ll be practicing to get the bank steeper and steeper! Hopefully I won’t need reconstructive knee surgery by the time I get this maneuver down.
Anyone know of a giraffe frame that could fit a 26" wheel?
I was just thinking that my banking might be limited (or at least made more difficult) by the light weight and small size of the 20" wheel… how nice it would be to have a geared giraffe with a 26", 28" (or possibly even a 29" or 30") wheel! Does anyone know of a giraffe frame that will fit at least a 26" wheel?
Re: Anyone know of a giraffe frame that could fit a 26" wheel?
Schwinn. See Giraffe Wheel from 20" to 26".
Re: Anyone know of a giraffe frame that could fit a 26" wheel?
I remember reading a thread about someone who was building a Giroker, or a giraffe with a 36 inch wheel. Or maybe he was just talking about building it…
Re: More Geared Giraffe Time - starting to lean it over in turns!
“HardcoreCokerRider”
<HardcoreCokerRider@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> wrote in
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news:HardcoreCokerRider.1girdq@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com…
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> I was just thinking that my banking might be limited (or at least made
> more difficult) by the light weight and small size of the 20" wheel…
I think the Physics would suggest that the wheel size will not make this any
more difficult, you should still have the same sideways force from friction
regardless of wheel size. The height of the giraffe ( ground to c of g
shouls make some difference and will probably affect the amount of lean for
a given speed, but only by a fraction.
Small wheels no problem: remember when Issigoni put 10" wheels on a
car…the mini …that went very well around the corners.
Nao
Re: Re: More Geared Giraffe Time - starting to lean it over in turns!
The wheel size will affect his top speed, which will affect how much linear momentum he can convert. So to me a larger giraffe wheel would allow him to lean over further.
“I think the Physics would suggest that the wheel size will not make this any more difficult, you should still have the same sideways force from friction regardless of wheel size. The height of the giraffe (ground to c of g should make some difference and will probably affect the amount of lean for a given speed, but only by a fraction).”
Namoi, I agree that the sideways force from friction may be the same regardless of wheel size… but I still believe that a larger, heavier wheel will make the geared giraffe feel more stable in the turn, probably mostly due to the increased flywheel effect giving it more gyroscopic stability… and thus easier to manage.
“The wheel size will affect his top speed, which will affect how much linear momentum he can convert. So to me a larger giraffe wheel would allow him to lean over further.”
Dave, since the giraffe is geared… I’m not too concerned about wheel size for top speed purposes, but only for stability. It is currently set to the 37.5" equivalent wheel size gearing.