I’ve been learning to ride a unicycle for a couple of weeks now. I’m using
a beat up old 24" cycle I borrowed from a friend. It’s too small for me,
but can still manage to ride the length of a basketball court when the
planetary alignments are just right. Now I’m feeling cocky and want to get
a unicycle of my very own. I was just wondering if I should get another
24", or if there is any advantage to a smaller wheel size for a new rider
like myself. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, Kag. Welcome to the group. To answer your question, you need to consider several factors. What do you plan to do with your unicycling, how do you plan to ride? Most freestyle riders will roll on a 20" for maneuverability. If you’re planning on some distance riding, maybe a 26" or even a 28" is the way to go. A good intermediate is a 24" although, speaking from experience, the downside is that the 24" tire that you feel fits your needs can be hard to come by. Don’t let it dissuade you from a 24" though as good tires are available, just hard to get at times. Best shot…call the experts at Unicycle.com - 1 (800) UNICYCLE. Be sure to ask about frame width if you plan to ride off-road. Off-roading or MUni is best performed with a wider than standard tire.
Hope it helps,
Bruce
Bruce speaks the truth. I like the 24" wheel because it is moderately maneuverable but still large enough to easily cruise at faster than walking speed. A 20" wheel is great for developing skills or going on a walk with someone who is actually walking but it is tedious for errand distances.
Unlike Bruce, I have had no trouble finding 24" tires locally when I need them. Granted, the selection is nil, but there has always been one when I needed one and for only $10. For 20" tires, however, there is always a selection thanks to our BMX brethren.
Hi Greg,
I suppose I should have been more specific. I agree wholeheartedly that 24" tires are available. I guess I was more focused on my situation; that my body weight tends to reduce the life of the tire quite dramatically. So, I’m in almost constant search for a litany of qualifications in a tire: long wearing, high pressure (to hold me up) tire yet one that allows me to ride in our gymnasium over the winter months, also would like to find these traits in non-marking. I currently ride on the IRC Metro which is quite durable but slippery on the wooden floors of the gym. Maybe I would be best suited to just purchase the el cheapo tires a frequent intervals.
By the way, my best friend in town and I went to engineering school together. He ended up running out of money, never finishing, and works as a machinist today. He is facinated by your epicyclic hub design and is now wondering about the possibilities of a varidrive hub. My friend just purchased his very own lathe and is looking to do something with it. Perhaps a great design-build project for him…
Bruce
GADZOOKS!!! PLEASE SEARCH PAST THREADS.
http://forums.gilby.com/forums/search.php?s=
When ever something like this comes up, please elders, you know better than to keep a thread like this going. Its been done and done again. Just refer them to the search feature.
-David Kaplan
David,
I’m not much on drumming up old irritants so I’ll respond only once on the subject of newbies then leave it alone.
I was once new the sport of unicycling and to the newsgroup. I recall at that time that I was blind as a bat on the subject of unicycling and all that it entails and had no idea of how or what to ask. Nowadays, I thoroughly enjoy talking with newcomers to the newsgroup. Conversation with these inquisitive folks is always a lesson for me in humility and I appreciate their willingness to learn and pursue a passion for our sport. I also very much enjoy personally sharing the knowledge I’ve gained over the years with them. I’m aware of the forum’s search feature but it seems to me to be a bit impersonal especially within the first few posts of a thread to send a newcomer off on a blind run into a search field, somewhat akin perhaps to phone dialing into a series of button pushing to reach a destination. Much more satisfying to talk one on one with a warm body. If a particular thread is of no interest or old news to a reader, there is no reason why the reader can’t ignore the thread and move on. I say all are welcome and look forward to working alongside both newbies and elders alike to share the excitement and value of unicycling.
What was that I saw earlier…I’m supposed to end with
—So let it be written—
Regards,
Bruce
When I came to RSu last May, I began asking questions. A lot of people answered and it really helped. It also gave me a feeling that I had a place to go for advice and I eventually developed some friendships among the newsgroup members.
While going to the search engine for past threads is helpful, it is highly impersonal. I wouldn’t want to start there. I wouldn’t send a newbie there either.
If it wasn’t for the help of people like Jeff Lutkus, John Foss and even Jack Halpern in those early days, I may not have come this far. Right now, I feel like part of a community and that is sometimes hard to come by in the hectic lives that some of us lead these days.
I think it’s important to make newcomers welcome and give them all of the help they can get. God, knows they will need it. There are plenty of experienced riders out there who can give advice.
Everyone has a choice on whether to respond or not. Choose not to if you don’t want to help. The newbie post titles are always easy to preread. That would give anyone an indication of what the thread was about, thus allowing one to make his/her choice whether to read it or not.
There are soooo many threads that come through the newsgroup in a day. One or two beginner threads aren’t going to slow it down. The newbies need to see that there are other beginners out there going through the same things they are.
… c’mon
Work the maze.
Newbies and Tire sizes
While it is obvious that the newsgroup’s search feature is a powerful tool, I agree with those that feel that even the Internet can occasionally offer up a personal side.
Bruce, I too ride a 24" IRC Metro. I have it on my Schwinn and it’s like riding a whole new machine. Although it took some time to find and finally get my hands on, trading the Metro for the Schwinn’s stock tire was like giving up a hammer in favor of a scalpel.
ah,checks in the mail,thanx Unidak,wait you dont need me,sorry your friend Jagur
Re: Newbies and Tire sizes
Great discription! The IRC Metro is a fantastic tire for a unicycle and works very well on pavement. It was slippery in the gym but now that spring and summer are here or on the way, we should be doing more and more riding outdoors.
Bruce
ah,checks in the mail,thanx Unidak,wait you dont need me,sorry your friend Jagur
Re: New Rider - 20" or 24"
On Wed, 24 Apr 2002 21:31:48 -0500, yoopers
<yoopers.3n9gz@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>By the way, my best friend in town and I went to engineering school
>together. He ended up running out of money, never finishing, and works
>as a machinist today. He is facinated by your epicyclic hub design and
>is now wondering about the possibilities of a varidrive hub. My friend
>just purchased his very own lathe and is looking to do something with
>it. Perhaps a great design-build project for him…
Bruce,
Does your friend consider that the rider should be able to change the
varidrive ratio on the fly? If so, how should the rider’s desire be
transmitted to the varidrive?
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“rita, Hillary, Glock 26”
Re: New Rider - 20" or 24"
On Wed, 24 Apr 2002 17:39:28 -0700, “kag” <kagaroo@hotmail.com> wrote:
>I’ve been learning to ride a unicycle for a couple of weeks now. I’m using
>a beat up old 24" cycle I borrowed from a friend. It’s too small for me,
>but can still manage to ride the length of a basketball court when the
>planetary alignments are just right. Now I’m feeling cocky and want to get
>a unicycle of my very own. I was just wondering if I should get another
>24", or if there is any advantage to a smaller wheel size for a new rider
>like myself. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
In addition to what has been said already: it also depends on your
height. Kids IMHO are generally better off with 20". 20" is also very
suitable for adults. Learning skills is certainly doable on 24" but it
is easier on 20". Also, 20" is the most common size for performances
on stages. But 24" is seen as a compromise size: good enough for
skills development, good enough for moderate distance riding.
Oh and on the planetary alignment issue: it has never been better.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all on one line now.
Make use of it while it lasts!
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“rita, Hillary, Glock 26”
all said before?
if einstein agreed that it’s all been said before…
last months ‘newbie’ is a much more experienced rider today
he/she may have a unique way of explaining ‘the same old thing’ that may resonate with the person asking the question
if the ‘old hands’ know this site so well, surely they know how not to read threads and posts that they might find boring or repetitive?
strikes me as a rather arrogant attitude tho
once u believe u can no longer learn, it comes true real quick
i’m attracted to uni’ing, juggling, rock-climbing and radio because of the fact that they all feature a never-ending learning curve
by sending someone to the search function, i’m not only depriving him/her, but also depriving myself
‘to teach is to learn twice’
Re: New Rider - 20" or 24"
Thanks for all the helpful responses and thanks for the pointer to the
search feature. I guess I should have mentioned that my ultimate goal is to
be able to juggle and unicycle at the same time. I’ve already mastered
walking and chewing gum, so how hard can it be? Sounds like the 20" might
be the better choice for my purpose. On the other hand, there’s no law that
says I can’t have TWO unicycles, is there?
-kag
Re: Re: New Rider - 20" or 24"
Kag,
Actually the law states that no one may have only one unicycle.
Bruce
Only two? Don’t hold back, kag.
And this walking and gum chewing … how do I get the gum out of my hair after I try that?
Kag,
YOu will find that you really do need more than one unicycle. It becomes apparent as your skills and interests grow. Go with the 20" to start.
Work the maze.
Re: New Rider - 20" or 24"
In a message dated 26/04/2002 23:20:12 GMT Daylight Time, kagaroo@hotmail.com
writes:
> my ultimate goal is to
> be able to juggle and unicycle at the same time. I’ve already mastered
> walking and chewing gum, so how hard can it be? Sounds like the 20" might
> be the better choice for my purpose. On the other hand, there’s no law that
> says I can’t have TWO unicycles, is there?
I’ve ridden a 20 inch UMX for about 15 years. This year I finally succumbed
to the temptation and bought a 26 inch for off roading, and a new 20 inch for
performing with the Morris dancers.
On Thursday, one of my mates turned up at Morris practice with a new
24 incher. I had never ridden a 24 incher before. I found it was an ideal
compromise between the ease of mounting and manoeuvreability of the 20, and
the more relaxed feel of the 26. (Mounting the 26 is a 50/50 proposition
except on a perfect surface. The steering is ‘heavier’, but once you get the
hang of it, slow movements and idling are relaxed.) I fell in love with the
24 incher and want one.
Idling will be essential for juggling, and I found the 24 inch easier
to idle. It would certainly be a better general purpose machine than a 20
incher. Either way, you will almost certainly end up with one of each size,
and saving for a giraffe.
none whatsoever
good luck with the juggling and uni’ing
i’m capable of doing about 9 throws with three balls, clubs or rings at the moment
then i reach the other side of the gym and have to turn
riding and juggling is one thing
turning and juggling is something else
my idle is almost stable enuf to keep a pattern going
i tried five balls on the uni recently
the rest of the club enjoyed it!
'-)
something else i tried on thursdau nite was to swing poi while on the uni
pretty weird as your arms can only move in their prescribed arcs and suddenly u have to use that for balance (as and when u need it) as opposed to being able to swing your arms as and where u need to swing them
try it
i solved the 20" /24" dilemma by buying one of each
glad to c i’m not alone