I just started unicycling 5 days ago. I bought a 24" P.O.S. from Taiwan
(didn’t know better, but it hasn’t been bad). I’ve been practicing about
an hour each night, and now I can go about 30 to 50 yards, before my legs
give up. I love this stuff.
I am 6’2", and I have the seat where it needs to be (leg almost straight
with the pedal in the 6 o’clock). But when I start going, I feel like it
takes me a lot of energy and a lot of pedalling to get the unicycle to go,
and at that point it makes my legs very, very tired. Seems like I would be
more comfortable with less pedalling, but more speed, and this would be
more efficient. I plan to use it for short commutes (to the local gym and
back). Should I consider getting the next size uniccyle (28"?)
Also, what do you guys recommend on the tire pressure?
I imagine if a person has been riding for awhile, the lack of leg strength
and pain is a faded memory. I’ve been riding since my 40th birthday in
January of this year and the first time I ventured out in public, I could
barely make it around the block before my legs were jelly. More
experienced riders kept telling me that it would get better and it
definitely has. My boys and I now ride several miles at a stretch before
my legs say stop. The boys of course seem to be able to go on forever. The
persistent symptom I’ve experienced is kneecap pain. I have a 24" uni with
6" cranks. My 5" cranks arrived in the mail today (thanks, John) and I
look forward to trying them out and experiencing reduced knee pain. Our
northern Illinois terrain is fairly flat so I think the 5" cranks will
work very well.
Carlos Curti wrote: > > I just started unicycling 5 days ago. I bought a 24" P.O.S. from Taiwan > (didn’t know better, but it hasn’t been bad). I’ve been practicing about > an hour each night, and now I can go about 30 to 50 yards, before my > legs give up. I love this stuff. > > I am 6’2", and I have the seat where it needs to be (leg almost > straight with the pedal in the 6 o’clock). But when I start going, I > feel like it takes me a lot of energy and a lot of pedalling to get the > unicycle to go, and at that point it makes my legs very, very tired. > Seems like I would be more comfortable with less pedalling, but more > speed, and this would be more efficient. I plan to use it for short > commutes (to the local gym and back). Should I consider getting the > next size uniccyle (28"?) > > Also, what do you guys recommend on the tire pressure? > > Thanks a lot. > > Carlos Orlando, FL
You don’t say if you’re built like a bean pole, average or Santa Claus. If
your tire is being squished down a lot due to your weight it’ll give you
lots of friction with the riding surface. For off-road that’s great, but
on pavement the added drag makes riding a little harder. For your height,
estimating (wild ass guess) your weight to be 180 lb I’d say you could try
around 80 to 90 psi for pavement riding. If you are light weight, like 130
lbs then maybe 60 psi is good enough for pavement riding. The higher the
tire pressure the harsher the ride. Every bump will hurt. The lower the
pressure the softer the ride but you have increased surface friction.
I’m also assuming you have 5.5" crank arms, which are pretty standard.
Your 24" is fine to start. Once you learn to ride then you can decide if
the larger sizes are better. A Coker unicycle is 32", which is great for
commuting.
Apart from the tire pressure, all you need is to ride more and become more
efficient. All that arm flapping you’re probably doing after 5 days of
riding is wasted energy and you’ll feel tired. Ride straight and smooth.
When you turn be efficient, lean into and and arc your turns instead of
simply twisting your body. And relax. If you tense all your muscles while
riding you’re also wasting energy. And sit on the seat and relax your bum
muscles. Float like a butterfly, not like a T-Rex. Once you get more
experienced, riding will be like sleepwalking and will be pretty
effortless.
Once you’ve learned to conserve your energy, then start hopping up steps
and other crazy things. At least your efforts will be well spent.
> I just started unicycling 5 days ago. I bought a 24" P.O.S. from Taiwan > (didn’t know better, but it hasn’t been bad). I’ve been practicing about > an hour each night, and now I can go about 30 to 50 yards, before my > legs give up. I love this stuff. > > I am 6’2", and I have the seat where it needs to be (leg almost > straight with the pedal in the 6 o’clock). But when I start going, I > feel like it takes me a lot of energy and a lot of pedalling to get the > unicycle to go, and at that point it makes my legs very, very tired. > Seems like I would be more comfortable with less pedalling, but more > speed, and this would be more efficient. I plan to use it for short > commutes (to the local gym and back). Should I consider getting the > next size uniccyle (28"?) > > Also, what do you guys recommend on the tire pressure? > > Thanks a lot. > > Carlos Orlando, FL
I am also 6’-2" and weigh 215 pounds so I can sympathize with your tire
question. When I rode on street tires, I was riding with about eighty
pounds of pressure. Frequently this was in a tire that was rated for fifty
or sixty pounds and I never blew one out.
Now I ride an offroad unicyle with a huge tire that only needs 25 pounds
to support me
don’t worry about the sore legs, they will get stronger. For sore knees
take some MSM