Regular Peg Unicycle vs. Suspension Peg Unicycle 8-7-2015

Videos
1
2

Very nice! It looks like you were getting good controlled rides on both of them. Do you prefer one over the other?

I enjoyed the stick-in-footpeg camera mount shots.

3

Do you find it much different from riding a BC wheel? I met a guy who could ride S.W.A.T’s (Single Wheel Attack Team) coaster uni back in '04 I think at a muni meet, and if I recall he said that it was like riding a BC wheel 'cause he had to stand on the pedals to keep his balance…

4

It was fairly easy terrain on a gradual decline so wasn’t particularly challenging. The suspension version took a little getting used to. I normally jump up and land on the pegs but that results in too much bounce for that. I also found (riding on bumpier terrain) that I needed to grip the pegs whereas I normally can just stand on them. As with most type of unicycling unicycle preference depends on terrain. If I had a mostly vacant place with skatepark features the regular peg unicycle would be the better choice. However, since my practice will be mainly on bumpy off road trails without a lot of foot or cycle traffic I plan to ride the suspension peg unicycle most of the time. One extra benefit is that it has a drum brake vs. the disc brake on my regular peg unicycle. The disc brake gets misaligned when the unicycle crashes really hard to the ground or on a tree. The drum brake shouldn’t have this problem although I’m hoping it has enough stopping power.

I’m glad you enjoyed that camera angle! I’m not sure that it really illustrates any difference between the two wheels but I thought it was an interesting perspective.

I had a BC wheel before (and still have the plates) but didn’t spend much time with it. Four things I found difficult/annoying with the BC wheel are:
[LIST=1]

  • difficult to get started
  • challenging to keep the tire from rubbing your leg
  • cumbersome to carry
  • difficult to mount a brake [/LIST] The peg unicycle solves all four of these. I find it easier to ride and it lets you have your feet in a more natural place (rather than dropped below the axle). SWATs coaster uni is what I call a freewheel unicycle. My first one was similar to theirs although I replaced the plastic bushings with bearings I could use with a regular unicycle frame. It's more similar to a peg unicycle than a BC wheel. I find the peg unicycle to be significantly more stable than a freewheel unicycle.
    • 5

    You also have the advantage of a brake, which SWAT’s was missing… or maybe it had a coaster brake… been a long time…