A friend and I just bought two 24" wheeled SemCycle Pros, but they have yet to
arrive. We previously had 24" wheels on some cheap Taiwanese uni’s that
disintegrated into nothing after some hard riding/learning.
The main problem with the old uni’s were that they used cotterpins and that the
axles and wheels were too weak. I buckled my wheel beyond all recognition by
hopping on the peddles, and both my friend and I have both broken the axles. We
are looking forward to receiving our new SemCycles, but forgot to find out if
they used cotterpins which we were forever tightening on the old unis.
Can anyone tell me how durable the SemCycles will be compared to the Taiwanese
models? I am quite heavy at about 87 kg and I like to do stuff like jump gutters
and bounce etc on the uni, something my old uni could not take.
>Can anyone tell me how durable the SemCycles will be compared to the Taiwanese >models? I am quite heavy at about 87 kg and I like to do stuff like jump >gutters and bounce etc on the uni, something my old uni could not take. > >Cheers, Steve. >
Steve I got the Sem XL – This is their bottom of the line cycle. Comparing it
with at other cycles in the club, it appears to be quite substantial.
I am a newbe at this, so I don’t do any of the bouncing. I weigh in at 202 lb.
(don’t tell anybody, it’s embarrassing)
By the way, I have the 24 inch XL which cost $US.130 plus and extra $15 for the
Sem cycle seat. This was what most people in the club recommended. The Semcycle
which is the top of the line would have been $190. I was told that the
difference between them was a matter of strength and durability. and weight.
Unless I was planning to do a lot of tricks, the XL was more than enough.
I have seen Sem and Teresa perform. They get two people on one and do assorted
(and impressive) tricks. I understand that they run their tires at a pressure of
100 lb., because of the weight.
In article 100000@isa, Steve <seb@cs.uq.oz.au> writes: > >Hi, > >A friend and I just bought two 24" wheeled SemCycle Pros, but they have yet to >arrive. We previously had 24" wheels on some cheap Taiwanese uni’s that >disintegrated into nothing after some hard riding/learning. > >The main problem with the old uni’s were that they used cotterpins and that the >axles and wheels were too weak. I buckled my wheel beyond all recognition by >hopping on the peddles, and both my friend and I have both broken the axles. We >are looking forward to receiving our new SemCycles, but forgot to find out if >they used cotterpins which we were forever tightening on the old unis. > >Can anyone tell me how durable the SemCycles will be compared to the Taiwanese >models? I am quite heavy at about 87 kg and I like to do stuff like jump >gutters and bounce etc on the uni, something my old uni could not take. > >Cheers, Steve. >
Semcycles are good, strong unis - mine has survived three years of hard unicycle
hockey - but you can break them. The best way to break any unicycle is not to
maintain it. Most of the cases of severe damage to Sems I have seen has been
through not taking care of them.
Using you uni (especially bunny-hopping) with broken/loose spokes can
destroy the wheel
Riding with loose cranks can cause the axle to shear (very important - keep
those cranks on tight!)
Saddles can also snap if you land too hard on them.
I have seen each of these things happen several times, but if you look after
your spokes and keep your cranks on tight (thread tape is the best solution we
have found to date) your new uni could last for years.
Good luck ;^]
Peter
Peter Philip peterp@foe.co.uk of the LUNIs - London's Unicycle Hockey Team +44
181 341 7587 Coordinator of UNICON VIII - The World Unicycling Convention 1996
> Steve <seb@cs.uq.oz.au> wrote: > > > >Can anyone tell me how durable the SemCycles will be compared to the > >Taiwanese models? I am quite heavy at about 87 kg and I like to do stuff like > >jump gutters and bounce etc on the uni, something my old uni could not take.
Well, the Sems arrived in the post today, and after throwing it together as
quickly as possible I went for my first ride.
The first thing I noticed was the maximum seat height seemed quite low compared
to my old Uni. The second thing I noticed when I tried to idle was that the
cranks are a little shorter too (crash and burn from leaning too far backwards).
I guess I’ll get used to it, but I’m wondering if you can get seat extenders for
these beasts.
I’ve seen the recent discussion about cranks, and using the two different ones
I’m inclined to think I prefer the longer ones, but that is probably because I’m
used to them.