I was looking at the Unicycle.com site and entered my beginner info (age, height, inseam, etc.)
It of course came back with a 24-inch Torker recommendation, but to order I have to know the post length. I’m a beginner and I wouldn’t know the answer to that. I don’t do trails, distances, etc., because I haven’t gone beyond two pedal revolutions on a borrowed 20". So how would one answer that question?
I’ve looked at a lot of messages on this board and find people talk to beginners in jargon that I don’t understand when they answer questions. I.e. what does “muni” mean?
How would I know how long cranks should be? What’s a crank? Why is length better or worse for some people? Do I determine this later, after I learn to ride? Or do I buy the wrong length now and bitch about it while trying to learn? I’m 66 years old and probably won’t be hopping on/off park benches or riding trails. I will probably only be riding around the neighborhood, which has some short and long hills and everything is paved.
I’ve read a lot of stuff on the web and everyone offers expert advice that makes no sense at all, only to find out that the person is an avid “biker(?)” bragging to the beginner by using terminology the beginner doesn’t understand. A lot of the answers to people are a bit arrogant.
Simple question, then, What length post and why would a longer or shorter post be advantageous to anyone?
Get the longest post and cut it down to your preference. For learning, the seat should be so high that when you have one foot all the way down while sitting straight on the seat, your leg should be almost fully extended (just like a bicycle). It is easiest to arrange that if you get the longest seat-post and just cut pieces off until you have the right length. You can adjust the height of the post just like a bicycle, but the range people need to adjust are larger on a unicycle. Consider that a 10 year old may want to ride the same unicycle you selected. So the frame is relatively shorter, and the seat-post is relatively longer. So buy the longest post and just use a hack-saw to cut increments of an inch off until you find your perfect length.
This thread should be in Rec.Sport.Unicycling, where it would get more views by more unicyclists, some of which may have just the answer(s) you’re looking for.
This forum, Just Conversation, is for chit-chat, not exactly related to unicycling.
A crank is the “arm” that is connected to the axle/hub at one end and has the pedal attached at the other end.
My “expert” recommendation is (based solely on your age) that you should start on a 20-inch wheel with 150mm cranks. Longer cranks give you more control. Shorter cranks give you more speed but less control.
About the seat post, buy a long post and cut it to fit you. During the learning process, you probably don’t want the seat as high as someone suggested earlier. When you get comfortable with riding then raise the seat. When I started learning to ride (5 years ago) I liked having the seat low enough that I could touch the ground with my toes. There is no absolutely correct way to do this. You have to figure out what works for you.
Good luck to you. Try to practice everyday. Practice as long as your legs hold out (15 minutes?) then rest and try again later. The learning process is very hard on the legs but as you get comfortable and learn to relax it does not take much effort to ride on a flat surface. Try practicing on a tennis court. You can hold onto the fence around the court plus the court is flat, level and smooth.
If I have an inseam of 30 inches and let’s say a 24 inch wheel, minus about 1 inch from ground to pedal (for a 150 mm crank) doesn’t leave much room for variation. I wouldn’t think I’d want to adjust it so I couldn’t touch the pedal on the downstroke (remember, I’m a beginner). At my age I’m only going to “grow” in negative numbers. I’ll get a “medium” post.
Speaking of posts, this is the last message from me on this subject matter in this forum. I’m going over to the rec.sport.unicycling forum.
My messages seem to be posted twice. Is this something on my end I’m doing wrong, or is there a setting I’m not aware of?
If I have an inseam of 30 inches and let’s say a 24 inch wheel, minus about 1 inch from ground to pedal (for a 150 mm crank) doesn’t leave much room for variation. I wouldn’t think I’d want to adjust it so I couldn’t touch the pedal on the downstroke (remember, I’m a beginner). At my age I’m only going to “grow” in negative numbers. I’ll get a “medium” post.
Speaking of posts, this is the last message from me on this subject matter in this forum. I’m going over to the rec.sport.unicycling forum.
My messages seem to be posted twice. Is this something on my end I’m doing wrong, or is there a setting I’m not aware of?
Post length for beginners should be around 40 words. Be clear. Use proper grammar and spelling. From there you can adjust your post length as you gain more experience.