Muni questions...

General
1

Hello- Well after being frustrated at my first two attempts at muni-ing at the
local state park, I visited the bike shop and picked up a new seat cover and
pedals. The seat cover is a gel kind and it is fairly comfortable compared to
the original crappy seat that came with the uni. Anyways, the pedals I bought
cost $30 and the guy said they were BMX type. They have little pins sticking out
and a rough surface for grip. The box says they are made from heavy duty
aluminum. Well they grip a lot better, but when i ride on pavement and take a
spill or dismount, the pedals hit the concrete and the metal edges are starting
to get torn up. What can I do to prevent this? Is there something i can put on
the side of the pedals to protect them? Also, my uni is just a 24" Cyclepro. It
is starting to get beat up after a couple months of use, but I’m trying to hang
in there until I can splurge on a real Muni (or possible a Coker or giraffe). Is
this wheel size too small? I got a mountain bike tire and it helps, but many
obstacles, hills, and general terrain are still tough and I fall much more than
I think I ought to. I lot of the time it is a mental thing and after many
attemps I finally get over that one obstacle that is stopping me, but other
times it seems that my equipment just isn’t up to par. Is it possible to
successfully Muni with a 24"? Is there anything that I’m still missing that may
help? Well, anyways, thanks for listening, and I appreciate any comments or
suggestions for both of my above problems.

Thanks, Josh Lotz glenhillco@iname.com (The neighbors think I’m crazy.)

P.S. - I’m supposed to go mountain biking at a state park this weekend, and I
hope I’m ready for the challenge on my uni. Wish me luck so I don’t brake a
bone or lose an arm… :slight_smile:

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

2

Re: Muni questions…

Lars Burgstahler <burgstahler@ind.uni-stuttgart.de> wrote:
> I also use (used :wink: a 24" muni. I was at the British Muni Weekend with this
> one and had no problems following the others who often had 26". There was only
> one very steep slope I didn’t do, but not because of my uni. So 24" is o.k.
> When your pedals hit the concrete, it’s just a question of the crank’s length.
> I have 16" cranks and BMX pedals but rarely encounter your problem. So I guess
> it’s more the way you turn and dismount. Try to make your turns more upright
> and keep your muni straight when dismounting. And ride on grass or dirt :wink:
>
> lars

Wow, you must be really good if you can use 16" cranks with a 24" wheel and
rarely have a problem with the pedals hitting the concrete. :slight_smile:

Sundy

Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1

3

RE: Muni questions…

> grip. The box says they are made from heavy duty aluminum. Well they grip a
> lot better, but when I ride on pavement and take a spill or dismount, the
> pedals hit the concrete and the metal edges are starting to get torn up. What
> can I do to prevent this? Is there something I can put on the side of the
> pedals to protect them?

Sounds like cage pedals. The only real way to protect those is to try not to
drop the uni so hard. Uh huh. Going through pedals is a sign of progress. You’re
learning! You might want to try a pair of more solid ones, like these:
http://www.unicyclesource.com/Wellgo33043.html If yours already look like that,
they should hold up to quite a bit of dropping before they need to be replaced.
As with any pedal that has a good grip, try to keep them away from your shins
and calves!

> up to par. Is it possible to successfully Muni with a 24"? Is there anything
> that I’m still missing that may help? Well, anyways, thanks

I didn’t switch to a 26" until last year (that’s almost 19 years). 24" will take
you wherever you want to go. Your equipment can only start being inadequate when
your skills can take you beyond it’s limitations. If your crank arms are too
short, you will have troubles with leverage. If your tire is too skinny, you
might not be able to hop too much, or go sideways up steep slopes because the
tire might fold over. The rest is probably just practice.

To see how it can be done, try watching Kris Holm ride Vancouver’s North Shore:
http://www.unicyclesource.com/Digger_Know_Fear_Enterprises45223.html When I
first watched this tape the other day, it made we want to go out into the woods
and get hurt! This is the easiest-to-get MUni video I know of. Hopefully we will
have a video of this year’s National Unicycle Convention before year’s end…

> P.S. - I’m supposed to go mountain biking at a state park this weekend, and I
> hope I’m ready for the challenge on my uni. Wish me luck so I don’t brake
> a bone or lose an arm… :slight_smile:

Don’t break any bones, or let bears or mountain lions eat any arms, and make
sure you’re only riding on legal trails. We unicyclists are easy to spot out
there, and though one can argue it’s not a bike, I recommend sticking only to
bike-legal trails.

Let us know how it turns out!

Stay on top, John Foss President, Unicycling Society of America Director,
International Unicycling Federation (reply to jfoss@unicycling.com)
http://www.unicycling.com

4

Re: Muni questions…

Hi Josh,

I also use (used :wink: a 24" muni. I was at the British Muni Weekend with this one
and had no problems following the others who often had 26". There was only one
very steep slope I didn’t do, but not because of my uni. So 24" is o.k. When
your pedals hit the concrete, it’s just a question of the crank’s length. I have
16" cranks and BMX pedals but rarely encounter your problem. So I guess it’s
more the way you turn and dismount. Try to make your turns more upright and keep
your muni straight when dismounting. And ride on grass or dirt :wink:

lars

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5

Re: Muniquestions…

glenhillco@my-deja.com wrote:
: the pedals hit the concrete and the metal edges are starting to get torn up.
: What can I do to prevent this? Is there something i can put on the side of
: the pedals to protect them?

You could look at the scratches as added character and personality, no Muni
stays pristine for long, soon the mud will fill the scuffs and eventully they
will round off with more scuffing.

: Also, my uni is just a 24" Cyclepro. It is starting to get beat up after a
: couple months of use, but I’m trying to hang in there until I can splurge
: on a real Muni (or possible a Coker or giraffe). Is this wheel size too
: small? I got a mountain bike tire and it helps,

Muni on a 24 is perfectly fesable, they tend to be lighter too. Take a look at
my trip report from the lake district for a long muni trip done on a 24 inch
wheel. www.vimes.u-net.com

: many obstacles, hills, and general terrain are still tough and I fall much
: more than I think I ought to. I lot of the time it is a mental thing and after
: many attemps I finally get over that one obstacle that is stopping me, but
: other times it seems that my equipment just isn’t up to par. Is it possible to
: successfully Muni with a 24"? Is there anything that I’m still missing that
: may help? Well, anyways, thanks for listening, and I appreciate any comments
: or suggestions for both of my above problems.

Some things are easier to ride over ona bigger wheel, just cos the wheel is
bigger, on the other hand going up hill is easier on a smaller wheel. I guess
if you want to justify buying a 26 then yes, blame the equipment, but if you
have other things you need to spend the money on more keep riding the 24. I’ve
found Muni to be great fun on both sizes of wheel, and I still think one of my
fav desents ever was the first one I did, three years ago on a 24 inch wheel
down a wet muddy stoney farn track at the start of our first Muni trip. barely
in control and skiding as much as we pedeled, real seat of the pants stuff, I
was hooked.

: P.S. - I’m supposed to go mountain biking at a state park this weekend, and I
: hope I’m ready for the challenge on my uni. Wish me luck so I don’t brake
: a bone or lose an arm… :slight_smile:

Good Luck, don’t forget your gloves, gravel rash is more common than broken
bones. Keep on riding and you’ll get better at it.

sarah