First I wanted to thank everyone who responded to my first post, I
learned a lot.
My question is about wheel size. Because my first unicycle will probably be with
me for a long time I want to choose carefully. On the unicycle page I read that
a 20" wheel is good for learning. Since I want to cover distance maybe a bigger
wheel will be better? Is a bigger wheel a lot harder to learn on? Should I get
the smaller wheel and learn how to stay up before I think about distance? I’m 6
feet 1 inch and 210 pounds if that makes a difference.
In a message dated 10/26/98 12:51:42 AM Pacific Standard Time, chris@bitstream.net writes:
<< My question is about wheel size. Because my first unicycle will probably be
with me for a long time I want to choose carefully. On the unicycle page I read
that a 20" wheel is good for learning. Since I want to cover distance maybe a
bigger wheel will be better? Is a bigger wheel a lot harder to learn on? Should
I get the smaller wheel and learn how to stay up before I think about distance?
I’m 6 feet 1 inch and 210 pounds if that makes a difference. >>
If you’re going for distance, you may as well get a 26 incher. I learned on a
20 inch, and I think that was best – I bought a cheap one just to find out
if I could do it, and then upgraded. But then when I looked, the price
difference between 24 and 26 wasn’t much – and I figured I might as well
spring for the extra two inches. I’ve never ridden 24, so I can’t say for
sure, but I think that if distance is really what you want, and if you don’t
want to get a huge wheel and look like a novelty show, go 26. (I have a
SemCycle Pro – damn sturdy).
Dan Fingerman wrote:
> >My question is about wheel size. Because my first unicycle will probably be > >with me for a long time I want to choose carefully. On the unicycle page I > >read that a 20" wheel is good for learning. Since I want to cover distance > >maybe a bigger wheel will be better? Is a bigger wheel a lot harder to learn > >on? Should I get the smaller wheel and learn how to stay up before I think > >about distance? I’m 6 feet 1 inch and 210 pounds if that makes a difference. > > I started out in June with a 24" wheel, and I didn’t have much trouble > learning on it. If you’re going to be riding significant distances, 24" is > probably a better way to go. I have 10-15 minute rides to classes every > day, and I’ve tried it on a 20". It’s doable, but it’s easier with the > bigger wheel. > > Dan Fingerman daniel.fingerman@nospam.yale.edu Remove ‘nospam’ from my address > if you want to email me.
> Hi all. > > First I wanted to thank everyone who responded to my first post, I > learned a lot. > > My question is about wheel size. Because my first unicycle will probably be > with me for a long time I want to choose carefully. On the unicycle page I > read that a 20" wheel is good for learning. Since I want to cover distance > maybe a bigger wheel will be better? Is a bigger wheel a lot harder to learn > on? Should I get the smaller wheel and learn how to stay up before I think > about distance? I’m 6 feet 1 inch and 210 pounds if that makes a difference.
A 20" wheel is easier for learning, but you will have no problem learning on a
24" unicycle, and as you know, you will cover more distance. I don’t think you
want to learn on a bigger wheel, though, which may be a problem if you aspire to
a 26" or 28" uni. I have a 28" and I know it wouldn’t be good for learning,
because the crank-to-wheel ratio is less than a 24", which makes recovery
harder. It isn’t a problem for someone who can ride, but it would make things
overly difficult if you are starting from scratch.
I would recommend a 24" unicycle. At your height your off-the-shelf unicycle may
not have a seat post that is long enough, so make sure you get one that gives
you leg extension. With your heel on the pedal your leg should be slightly bent.
You will, of course, ride with the ball of your foot on the pedal.
I’ve ridden up to 20 miles on a 24" unicycle, so you should be OK with one. I
feel that if anyone is going to own 1 unicycle it should be a 24" model, unless
they are too small for it. The wheel is big enough that you can cover distance
without tedium, but small enough that you can still do lots of tricks.