I am new to the world of unicycling. I just got my first used
unicycle off of a truck that was bringing it to the dump. Thankfully,
I saved it from a fate worse than death.
It has a “saddle” type seat. It kinda rides up the front and back.
Is this a typical seat? Or should I just buy a regular bike seat or
are there special unicycle seats?
I saw someone say something about shin gaurds. Sounds serious… do
you recommend I get some?
shin gaurds are useful if you plan to ride off road or on obstacles. The idea is that they can save your shins from stitches if your pedal clobers you. Some people would say knee pads are a must too. I have never once had a fall where the knee pads where useful. Of course if you just rescued a uni that someone thought was maggot wagon meat, it would probably meet it’s demise if ridden on trails. You can probably do without shin guards for a while if you are new to the sport, as you said. Congratulations on your find. You will undoubtedly look back fondly and laugh about serendipitous introduction you’ve had to unicycling. I can’t think of anybody who just like saw one in a bike shop, went and bought it, and learned to ride. I think unicycling sort of sneaks up on you; It never crosses you mind as something to learn, then whack! You own four of them.
-chris
The knee/ shin guards are not really needed for learning to ride.
You can get them, but they are an added safety piece of equipment. You will need them definately for off road. I have gone down several times when riding Muni and was thankful that I had the knee/shin guards (661’s). As Gauss said, they are very useful in protecting the knee when you are hit in the shins with your pinned pedals. These pedals are most commonly found on Muni’s and the pedals on a traditional unicycle, would be free of pins.
Put some money into a helmet and some good wrist guards to start out with. If the bug bites you, then you will upgrade to a uni for tricks, cruisin, trials, or MUni.
If you only buy one piece of safety equipment, buy gloves.
Which is two pieces, I suppose.
As for the seat, a normal bicycle seat is awful on a uni. The typical uni seat is wider at the front than it is in the middle, and higher at each end than the middle. Think about Long John Silver’s crutch, but not, please, his crotch.
Welcome to the world of unicycling. Good job on rescuing the
unicycle’s life. From your description of the saddle it seems to be a
normal unicycle seat. A bike seat is not very suitable for unicycling.
I never used shin guards. I hurt my shins a couple of times but never
very seriously, so I never got around to spend the money - and the
extra fuss of using them.
>Hello All,
>
>I am new to the world of unicycling. I just got my first used
>unicycle off of a truck that was bringing it to the dump. Thankfully,
>I saved it from a fate worse than death.
>
>It has a “saddle” type seat. It kinda rides up the front and back.
>Is this a typical seat? Or should I just buy a regular bike seat or
>are there special unicycle seats?
>
>I saw someone say something about shin gaurds. Sounds serious… do
>you recommend I get some?
>
>Any help or comments are greatly appreciated.
>
>Norm
It looks like the Savage seat. Another question… the crank arms
are not even… is that normal too?
I got on last night and actually balanced very well.
So after I learn on this one… what kind of uni do you all recommend?
Thanks for the help.
Norm
klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl (Klaas Bil) wrote in message news:<3d110967.6446389@newszilla.xs4all.nl>…
> Norm,
>
> Welcome to the world of unicycling. Good job on rescuing the
> unicycle’s life. From your description of the saddle it seems to be a
> normal unicycle seat. A bike seat is not very suitable for unicycling.
>
> I never used shin guards. I hurt my shins a couple of times but never
> very seriously, so I never got around to spend the money - and the
> extra fuss of using them.
>
> Klaas Bil
>
> On 19 Jun 2002 14:06:51 -0700, patterson00269@earthlink.net (Norman
> Patterson) wrote:
>
> >Hello All,
> >
> >I am new to the world of unicycling. I just got my first used
> >unicycle off of a truck that was bringing it to the dump. Thankfully,
> >I saved it from a fate worse than death.
> >
> >It has a “saddle” type seat. It kinda rides up the front and back.
> >Is this a typical seat? Or should I just buy a regular bike seat or
> >are there special unicycle seats?
> >
> >I saw someone say something about shin gaurds. Sounds serious… do
> >you recommend I get some?
> >
> >Any help or comments are greatly appreciated.
> >
> >Norm
norman, u r going to have register and then insert as your title ‘uni-rescuer’
i’ll back the suggestion of the helmet and the wrist guards
as for the uneven cranks, that is rather unusual
probably an old circus uni
ridden by someone who had to go in small circles all the time
replacing them will be worth your while
welcome and enjoy!
The Savage seat might be OK to learn on then it’s back to the dumpster with it. If you keep the uni invest in another saddle. At
you will find a selection of adequate and inexpensive saddles as well as Savage saddles which are too expensive at any price.
What does “uneven” mean here in reference to the cranks? Is one crank shorter than the other? Are they not 180 degrees rotated from each other? Is one closer to the wheel than the other?
I think it is the Savage seat. It’s killing the family jewels.
ahh
Norm
harper <harper.6ikwy@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in message news:<harper.6ikwy@timelimit.unicyclist.com>…
> Norm-
>
> Go to
>
> http://tinyurl.com/fg8
>
> and look around and tell us what kind of saddle you have.
>
> Is there any way you can post a photo of the unicycle? Maybe someone
> will recognize it.
>
>
>
> –
> harper - Gearhead
>
> -Greg Harper
>
> “Seems to me a six-foot drop would break something a little more
> precious (ouch!) than a hub…”
> -sendhair: discussing hub strength
>
> “The main ball bearings on the saddle top are still swollen.”
> -Mikefule: discussing a 20 mile ride
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> harper’s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/426
> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/18814
> Or should I just buy a regular bike seat or
> are there special unicycle seats?
You definitely don’t want a bike seat. What’s wrong with the one you have?
Let me guess. The metal is sticking through the ripped fabric, and the front
is all distorted out of shape. If so, that’s not the greatest unicycle
seat…
> I saw someone say something about shin gaurds. Sounds serious… do
> you recommend I get some?
One of the schools I worked at used shin guards as required equipment for
the kids learning to ride. I would start with kneepads and gloves first,
though. I learned with nothing, and got those later, when I started getting
into racing. Bang around on the Web and you’ll find all sorts of unicycle
information.
“This unicycle is made all from lightweight materials. But it uses a lot of
them.” – Cliff Cordy, describing the very heavy new prototype unicycle he
brought on the Downieville Downhill
> Some people would say knee pads are a must too. I have
> never once had a fall where the knee pads where useful.
Gauss! I gotta know. This means one of two things:
You never fall on your knees
Like me, you never fall on your knees when you’re wearing kneepads
If #1, how do you do it? Hands and knees have always been my primary points
of impact, even today. Though I’d argue that a helmet is more important than
any of these things on a rocky trail, my hands and knees are always what I
land on first. Do you land somewhere else? Or not land? What’s your secret?
> I think it is the Savage seat. It’s killing the family jewels.
Isn’t Savage a great name for those?
The best seat out there is the Miyata brand, available from Unicycle.com.
You get what you pay for (it’s more expensive than the others. Get it as an
air seat, or convert it yourself. The basic Miyata seat is a big improvement
over the Savage type, but it’s still just a piece of foam. Air is the way to
go.
Another nice seat is expected in the coming months from Velo, but we don’t
know exactly when, and your crotch won’t last that long. A good seat makes
worlds of difference in the fun of unicycling.
Thank you for your replies John. I’ll check out the Myata. What do you
mean by “air” seat? And is it worth spending $50 for a 20" unicycle that I
saved from the dump or should I save up to by a decent cycle in time?
> > I think it is the Savage seat. It’s killing the family jewels.
>
> Isn’t Savage a great name for those?
>
> The best seat out there is the Miyata brand, available from Unicycle.com.
> You get what you pay for (it’s more expensive than the others. Get it as
an
> air seat, or convert it yourself. The basic Miyata seat is a big
improvement
> over the Savage type, but it’s still just a piece of foam. Air is the way
to
> go.
>
> Another nice seat is expected in the coming months from Velo, but we don’t
> know exactly when, and your crotch won’t last that long. A good seat makes
> worlds of difference in the fun of unicycling.
>
> JF
The pre-made ones can be expensive. You can also replace the piece of foam
in a stock Miyata seat with a 12" inner tube. Use Google to search for
complete instructions on this.
> And is it worth spending $50 for a 20"
> unicycle that I saved from the dump or should I save up to
> by a decent cycle in time?
Yes and yes. You can always keep the seat if the rest of the unicycle dies.
If/when it does, it will be time to upgrade, if not before!
John,
I got the Miyata seat today. I put the tube in. I think I did it right.
It is much better than the savage seat that’s for sure. Now I’m working on
learning to ride the thing. That should be an adventure.
> > Thank you for your replies John. I’ll check out the Myata. What do
you
> > mean by “air” seat?
>
> http://tinyurl.com/fys
>
> The pre-made ones can be expensive. You can also replace the piece of foam
> in a stock Miyata seat with a 12" inner tube. Use Google to search for
> complete instructions on this.
>
> > And is it worth spending $50 for a 20"
> > unicycle that I saved from the dump or should I save up to
> > by a decent cycle in time?
>
> Yes and yes. You can always keep the seat if the rest of the unicycle
dies.
> If/when it does, it will be time to upgrade, if not before!
>
> jF
>
