Multi-Wheels

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I have started unicycling again after about a 25 year hiatus. I bought a
20’ Semcycle with the thought of making it into a 3 wheeler. ( I do miss
my Schwinn that Mom sold in a garage sale)
http://mypage.ihost.com/unicyclesource.com//SemXL3whl.jpg

I think I would avoid the 2 wheel version. It sounds like it would take
some getting use to since you pedal backwards to go forwards.

Does anyone have experience with these? I have no problem on my regular
uni. Really enjoying it again after such a long time away. The 3 wheeler
just looks like so much fun. I plan on riding it in a few parades. Any
comments or advice would be appreciated!!

Thanks

2

A 3-wheeler is pretty much the same as riding a giraffe, except there is a little more friction.

As far as the semcycle multi-wheeler goes, every single one that I’ve tried has had the problem of the wheels slipping when trying to do anything on it. This is because the wheels are not pressed together enough to have enough grip with each other and there is no way to adjust the distance between axles. However, this can be fixed by getting fatter tires.

3

Greetings

In message “Re: Multi-Wheels”, Gilby wrote…
>
>
>A 3-wheeler is pretty much the same as riding a giraffe, except there is
>a little more friction.
>
>As far as the semcycle multi-wheeler goes, every single one that I’ve
>tried has had the problem of the wheels slipping when trying to do
>anything on it. This is because the wheels are not pressed together
>enough to have enough grip with each other and there is no way to
>adjust the distance between axles. However, this can be fixed by
>getting fatter tires.

I have ridden from a zero-wheeler all the way up to a 13 wheeler, and
rarely had problems with slipping wheels except in the beginning. Once the
wheels are squeezed together and filled up with enough air, they are
pretty stable. I used mostly standard 20" wheels.

>
>Andrew wrote:
> > Does anyone have experience with these?
>
>
>–
>Posted via the Unicyclist Community - http://unicyclist.com/forums
>

Regards, Jack Halpern President, The CJK Dictionary Institute, Inc.
http://www.cjk.org Phone: +81-48e$B!]e(B473e$B!]e(B3508

4

The problem with the Semcycle multiwheelers is that you can’t squeeze the wheels together, only inflate the tires more and with the typical tire size, 20" x 1.75", you can’t get enough pressure between the wheels to prevent it from slipping. When they slip, I can’t even mount one normally and any slight change in movement of the wheel causes them to slip. It’s not all that much of a problem for just riding straight, but to do anything, like idling, it slips. That’s why, on the Semcycle multiwheeler, you need to use bigger tires such as 20"x1.85".

5

I tend to think upgrading my Schwinn would not necessarily be worth it…
I’ve got a 20+ year old 24" I found on e-bay… The S-7 rim will not let
me simply replace the tire… realistically, I’d end up getting a whole
new wheel.

So, if I’m going for a totally new uni, I’d probably want to go for one
that I can easily upgrade the tire, or even wheel.

Can I realistically compare a 24x3 tire to a 26x2.6, or does the change in
diameter make this totally different? If I were to go with the pashley,
would I be disappointed later on if I wanted to upgrade to a wider tire?

Too bad I can’t just go to my local cycle shop and try a few out.

good day, jeff lutkus

— John Hooten <jhooten@rcsis.com>
> wrote:
> Jeff,
>
>The least expensive starting point would be to get a Kenda 24 X 2.6 tire
>for your Schwinn. It is fairly fat and inexpensive. You can get one from
>Unicyclesource. This option has a quite a few disadvantages, but it will
>get you started while you decide where you would like to go with this.
>
>I would like to remind you that the most important thing is the rider.
>The best unicycle in the world won’t make me Kris Holm; and Kris could
>ride circles around most riders on a 24" Schwinn with a Kenda tire (not
>that he would ride one). In UNiVERsE it sure looks like Dan Heaton is
>riding a plain, old, heavy Pashley Muni on the North Shore, and riding it
>quite well. That said, a good machine will help you to become a better
>rider. And, I agree with Chris Reeder that the important thing is the
>wheel. The Power Pashley from Unicyclesource http://www.unicyclesource.c-
>om/Pashley_Cycles_of_England_(4_models)21323.html comes with a Kovachi
>wheel with a Suzue Hub and a Sun Mammoth 26 x 2.0 double-walled alloy
>rim. At $390 it isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s a pretty good machine.
>
>John Hooten
>
>P.S. I don’t work for Unicycle source, or profit in any way from any
> sales made by the Unicyclesource. JH
>
>Jeff Lutkus wrote:
>
>> All right, spring is approaching, I know it. (It barely even snowed
>> yesterday here in Rochester.)
>>
>> I know I’m going to be wanting to find some trails to ride on again
>> soon. Last year, I played in the woods on my 24" schwinn. That was fun,
>> but I think I could go for something a little better now… so, what
>> have people to say about the choices?
>>
>> Based on my experience, I definintely need a 24" or larger wheel to
>> be happy. Everyone talks about the fat tires these days. How fat
>> should I go?
>>
>> Being that I have little experience in muni riding now, would it be
>> reasonable for me to get something with a decent frame, but less
>> expensive wheel, then later upgrading the wheel once I realize what
>> I’ve been missing? (I might be able to justify spending something in
>> the $500 range, but it’ll be a while before I can rationalize spending
>> over a grand on a single unicycle)
>>
>> Oh yes, looking at Wilder, can people tell me, are there advantages to
>> Aluminum besides weight?
>>
>> thanks, jeff lutkus
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________
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