I just got my KH36 today. It is great, so much easier than the 20" or the 26". I was worried I wouldn’t be able to ride this, I am very new. I only have about 10 hours on my 20", it dumped me on my butt several times so fast I didn’t know what happened. I got my KH26 to go further and faster. It is faster, but still pitifully slow, it seemed like it would be faster to walk. I only have about 10 hours on the KH26 also, I never fully got the hang of it to the point where it was effortless to ride. I could go about 1/2 mile at a time, turning is still difficult with 2.7 High Roller. The 26 has never zipped out from under me like the 20 did, either it is less twitchy or I’m getting better. Every hour I rode was work and tiring. Before the 36 arrived today, I rode a couple of miles on the 26, I made good progress, more weight on the saddle and my feet felt much lighter on the pegs.
After about 1/2 hour with the 36 on my uni training ground, I headed for the open road. This is so much easier than the others, it felt wonderful. For the first time everything seemed to work, it wasn’t anywhere near as tiring as the 26, it was really fun. I rode about 4 miles, nice and smooth.
My legs are barely long enough with 150 cranks and the Freeride saddle. I have a Slim also, it is about 1" shorter. The 150’s seem fine, except for when I have to start off holding a pole or fence in the grass on the side of the road. When I moved from 150 to 127 on my KH26, I had the same problem getting moving in the grass.
YouNeeNoob, you won’t have a bit of a problem riding the 36. It does take a little bit of getting used to getting off, I rode from my back yard to the front several times in the grass to dismount, you have to sort of ride it down to ground level.
I was worried that I was getting carried away with the 36 so soon, but it is exactly what I needed. I don’t care about going real fast, I just want to ride along almost effortlessly, and this is the way to do that.
D00d! Thanx for the post. I’m trying my new KH36 tomorrow for the first time…sounds like it’s actually possible to ride one of these scary monsters…cool!
btw: I like the training cage…hahahaha! nice.
The photograph is priceless! I look forward to riding a 36" someday. Not sure if your limited time on the 36" could answer this, but I will ask anyway. Do you find the 36" tire to be less tiring. I know on long hills my quads burn on my 26" Nimbus Oregon. In my mind I think it would be even harder with the larger tire, but maybe I am wrong! Anyway keep up the good work.
I put up the rails when I first got my 20", I used it with the 26" for a little bit too. I think it really helped at first. With the 36", after going back and forth for about 10-15 minutes, I started riding away 200’ to the front yard and dismounted forward. After getting off forward several times in the grass it wasn’t at all scary, I would have been nervous on the pavement w/o knowing how to get off.
How long does it take you to do the 12 mile commute to work? Do you have a shower at your office? I know I’d need one after a 12 mile ride.
I only started riding a 36er this month after a year of riding all teh otehr sizes (mainly 29er) and I also think it is a stable easy ride (and easier to mount in my book as well). It is efortless to cruise along once you get that big wheel spinning.
It is even more awesome offroad Get a “The Todd” tyre for it and hit the trails
…I guess that’s me, since my commute is the 12-miler. Actually, a couple weeks ago, I found a better parking place that increased my distance to 14 miles. I’m still afraid to start from my door, because my place is perched atop a VERY steep hill with a horrible, busy intersection at the bottom. So, I give my uni a ride in the truck for a mile or so, park, then start riding–works great.
Uh, it used to take about an hour and 50 minutes to do the 14 miles on the 29er, but when I put the t-handle on, I found I could lean forward and just spin forever, like I was on one of my regular bikes. With the handle, my commute time went down to an hour and 25 minutes. I’m used to the course, since I’ve been biking it for years, which helped alot when I started uni-ing a couple times a week. No showers, but I find if I take my shower just before leaving, I’m good for the day–at least, no one has said anything yet. :o
Here’s the funny thing: I think I will always remember the first day I rode to work. I remember dreaming about it the night before and thinking “this is madness! …how can anyone ride a unicycle to work through downtown traffic, over bridges, on busy streets?!? Insane!” But you know what? As soon as I started riding, I actually started laughing…it was so fun! And once you do it a couple times, it almost gets routine–like a regular bike commute, except WAY more fun, because cars and trucks are tooting their horns at you, people are giving you the thumbs up, taking pictures–I even had one guy follow me on his bike while shooting a video of me riding…great stuff!
Sorry to blab, but your question made me remember having to get over the initial fear of the open road. Once I did, the sense of freedom was incredible.
I get that when I’m riding sometimes. I often look down at my wheel and go “hang on a sec, how am I doing this again?”. Sometimes if you think too hard you fall more - just relax!
Get a “The Todd” tyre for it and hit the trails
