My problem is the opposite. I’m 175 cm tall and almost half of my height is in my legs. My inseam (depending on the shoes I’m wearing, and ignoring high heels) is 33-34 inches. I wasn’t making any “short” comments, I just wanted to point out that I didn’t really have any “short leg” specific advice.
What I have found, and what might not really help you, is that as I became more comfortable with the size of the coker I gradually raised the seat height. I started out with a short seat post and my feet fairly far forward on the pedals. It was almost like I was trying to “hook” my feet onto the pedals. I now have the longer seat post on and have gradually raised the seat height. At about 9 hours I moved to pedalling with the balls of my feet and I think I’ll probably have about 1 more raise of the seat before it is the right height for me.
As far as freemounting goes, when I first tried to get on to the coker I felt like I was made of lead. Now I usually hop up like I’ve got wings on my feet. Once I’m a bit more stable on the wheel (and you should have no problems with this as you can already ride) I’m going to give the rollback mount a try. Maybe it’s a girl thing but I can usually find a friendly shoulder when I need one
I must mention that, despite laughs and pointing from juggling club members, I always wear my protective stuff. I’d rather have it on and not need it than need it and not have it on. It doesn’t matter with a coker - you can be standing still and manage a bad fall (at least I can, it’s a gift). I have managed to shred my wrist guards in learning to ride. You can actually see where the hard plastic inserts are worn away. They are a set I liberated from my 14YO and are (apparently) designed for rollerbladers. Most of the cycling gloves I have seen look like cycling shorts for hands - no protection other than against chafing.
Also, and I have no PERSONAL experience of this, for your “riding the seat up” dilemma, I always tell the gentlemen about to mount a uni for the first time to imagine that they are in a Michael Jackson video. They look blank until I tell them to do the “OOH” bit BEFORE putting their crotch into the seat
I use inline skate wrist protectors; they’re stretch mesh and Velcro with hard plastic on outside (top and bottom). The bottoms now have many scratches, although one major UPD on a Coker (without prejudice due to the wrist protectors) did shred one a little - I still use it. On hitting pavement, they slide easily instead of stopping, less broken bones that way. The ones I have I got from Dick’s Sporting Goods and have an “X” in a circle for a logo.
Note: The color of your new Coker matches me, as I’m green with jealousy/envy.
I suppose I could try lipstick and mascara, but so far none of the lamp posts, stop signs or trees I’ve been using have complained about my appearance so for the sake of neighborhood aesthetics I’ll just stick with my normal attire.
Hmmm… how to put this? Since I do most of my practice riding in an elementary school parking lot I can’t afford any comparison with Michael Jackson. Wouldn’t want the locals to kick me out.
Using the brake I was able to get the Coker to balance quite nicely. Since the braking hand is forward of the vertical axis the lower pedal needs to be behind the hub to counter the torque about the vertical axis. When I got the angles right the Coker stopped twisting around and became like a giant stilt. Left foot on lower pedal, right hand on commuter handles holding the brake and I could just about still-stand. It was no problem just hauling myself up while hanging onto a wall or pole for balance with my left hand. When I get up I release the brake and do either a roll-back or roll-forward to cranks level, then stand up a bit and get the seat right.
I don’t know if this will eventually turn into a real mount - the more dynamic approaches suggested in this thread seem more promising - but for now it is my preferred way of climbing aboard.
Well, whatever revs your motor. I actually DON’T wear lipstick and/or mascara at any time, let alone when riding the unicycle. Is there anybody out there who feels the need to “put on their face” before going out unicycling?
Whatever works for you is fine! There’s only one thing you need to do to get the other mounts sorted out - practice! I’d suggest we race to see who gets freemounting the coker down first but you’d probably win.
That’s a beautiful 36 there Cyber. I like the color, it seems to be almost the same color as my muni. Very nice components and with Dave setting it up you know you are off to a great start.
I am glad to see you really staying with this one wheel endeavor. Congrats on the equipment and the progress. How is your knee?
That’s good to hear. I am 5 1/2 months out and riding again. Feels 100% except when I push it too hard as I did a few days ago with a lot of climbing and one crash… on my knee. But it is fine today. Doctor was thrilled with my recovery. Thanks again for the advice you gave me.
Hey, take it easy! You’ve got a component with 5 1/2 months of wear and no maintenance! It’s just beginning to have the ability to repair itself. It will take another couple of months to get back to post-operation strength, and another year before it even begins to aproach 50% of it’s original strength.
My surgical nurse told me about one guy (a mountain biker) who kept getting cocky after 6 months and ripped up his repairs 3 TIMES!! Each time the repair is less optimal, so the best the doc was hoping for was that his knee would bend in aproximately the right direction. The doc wasn’t hopeful about that and was already planning for a complete knee replacement.
I guess what I’m saying is - chose your crashes wisely. Don’t twist anything on the way down.
And thanks everyone for the complements on my new Coker. I was very particular about everything - I let Dave make all the decisions. Since the only decision I made was to go with the lime green, all the kudos rightfully belong to U-Turn.
Not to knee-jack this thread, but I have done everything to doctors orders and am VERY aware and careful. The doc said at this point my new ACL is at 100% original strength, and in another 6 months will be 120%. Because I have built my legs up over the last several months he said I am no more prone to injury than before the first one. He is a pretty aggresive sports OS, and I think there have been some great advances made in procedures and rehab over the last few years. Believe me, I don’t want to go down again. And remember, I took your advice and had the surgery done right away, which put me way ahead of the curve.
And I am sure U-Turn could never have picked lime green without you.
It’s good to hear this knee stuff because I’m currently out with a torn MCL. No surgery required, but immensely frustrating. I’m walking fairly well now and have done some 9 mile walks but I have to be very careful how I step. I’m hoping that I’ll come back to 100% because I have skills to learn! However, this summer has changed significantly.
As far as decisions, cyber’s cross bar I believe is ingenious and future riders will benefit from his generosity in sharing the modification. It does cost extra from Rick but is worth it. By comparing with my experimental Hunter 36, Rick and I were able to improve the positioning of the Magura double bolt mounts on cyber’s and that improvement too, will find its way to future frames. Rick has to actually cut down the bracket before brazing it on but the additional brake positioning flexibility is worth it.
As far as color, the actual color is more of a nice apple green than lime green. I liked it! And Rick’s powdercoater does a great job; with Rick’s smooth brazing, the finish looks like icing on a cake.
Now we’ll have to get Steve Howard to make apple-green seat bumpers…
Interesting. I was a little amazed that the brakes went back on so easily. All I had to do was align everything to the middle of the range and the shoes were perfectly aligned. I didn’t realize that this was a modified setup.
Agreed that the coating is flawless. Tough too - I nicked it with a wrench by mistake and didn’t even scuff it.
> I’m 175 cm tall and almost half of my
> height is in my legs. My inseam (depending on the shoes I’m wearing,
> and ignoring high heels) is 33-34 inches.
