skinny tyre

Unicycles and Equipment
1

I tryed out my new skinny tyre today, werid. A 26 x 1 which as I measured it
will allow me to use the 26 inch rim in a 24 inch race so i don’t have to take
two similar unis to biejing and euro cycle. Can any body confirm this for me,
I’m pretty sure some of the swiss team at euro cycle were racing on 26x1 s does
any body else on the NG do this? The diameter is spot on the 61.8 cm allowed in
the IUF rules, I suspect this is why that diameter is given?

hopeing someone knows, i don’t want to be disqualified on a techniality.

sarah

2

RE: skinny tyre

> it will allow me to use the 26 inch rim in a 24 inch race so i don’t have to
> take two similar unis to biejing and euro cycle. Can any body confirm this for
> me, I’m pretty sure some of the swiss team at euro cycle were racing on 26x1 s
> does any body else on the NG do this? The diameter is spot on the 61.8 cm
> allowed in the IUF rules, I suspect this is why that diameter is given?

Actually, that diameter was arrived at by taking the nominal maximum wheel size,
24", and adding a third of an inch to allow for slightly larger 24" tires, and
fixing the maximum diameter at 24.333 inches, which is 61.8 cm.

Wheel sizes, as measured by rim size or by the size printed on the side of a
tire, are very rough. We realized we needed to set an exact diameter as the
maximum. Then, anything that fits within that maximum would be legal, even if it
started life as a nominal 26" rim.

To work optimally, at UNICON or other large competitions, racing wheels should
be measured to make sure they comply. This is usually not an issue as most
racers are on recognized tires. But any unusual wheel should be measured.

> hopeing someone knows, i don’t want to be disqualified on a techniality.

Give your wheel a good measure, and if it’s within the 61.8 cm, you’re fine.

According to my calculation, a 61.8 cm tire will have a 194.15 cm (76.45")
circumference. So another way to measure tires would be by rollout. Then all you
need is a measuring tape with some marks on it. Does anyone dispute my
circumference number?

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone http://www.unicycling.com

“I’m not into pain. I’m into juggling.” - A grandpa with small child at the
Davis Picnic Day, walking away from the free unicycle lessons toward the free
juggling lessons (and already able to juggle!)

3

RE: skinny tyre

> The 1" (559-25) tyre that I used in Bottrop was inside the limit, it
> accelerated well for 100m but in the 1500 it felt too light and didn’t
> maintain its momentum as well as a big 24" tyre. It probably would work better
> with some thin lead strip wrapped around the rim as at least one other rider
> was using.

It seems ironic to add lead to an ultra-light wheel. There is always that
trade-off in unicycling though. The ligher wheel wobbles more at speed.

For those that are looking into maximizing wheel size, the advantage you gain by
adding a centimeter or two to your wheel size is not equal to the training you
need to take maximum advantage of it.

In other words, as I’ve said for years, in unicycle racing, it’s not the
equipment, it’s the engine that counts. I’ve seen guys ride junk, or tanks (or
combinations of the two) and beat me, even in years when I trained hard. Because
they did too!

Stay on top, John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone http://www.unicycling.com

“I’m not into pain. I’m into juggling.” - A grandpa with small child at the
Davis Picnic Day, walking away from the free unicycle lessons toward the free
juggling lessons (and already able to juggle!)

4

Re: skinny tyre

Sarah Miller wrote:
>
> I tryed out my new skinny tyre today, werid. A 26 x 1 which as I measured it
> will allow me to use the 26 inch rim in a 24 inch race so i don’t have to take
> two similar unis to biejing and euro cycle. Can any body confirm this for me,
> I’m pretty sure some of the swiss team at euro cycle were racing on 26x1 s
> does any body else on the NG do this? The diameter is spot on the 61.8 cm
> allowed in the IUF rules, I suspect this is why that diameter is given?

The Swiss usually use 26" wheels when racing (and they are very fast on any size
wheel), but I don’t think their wheels are legal for IUF competitions. It is
possible that the wheel you have will fit within the legal size, but you’ll have
to measure it to find out. Measure the circumference of the wheel and if it’s
1941 mm (618*pi) or less, then it will be fine.

    ___________ =================================================== ___ /_/
    / / / / Kevin Gilbertson - mail@gilby.com <a href="http://gilby.com/">http://gilby.com</a> / _ '/ / /
    _'\_ / ICQ: 12611076 AIM/AOL: UnicyclingGilby \_ /_/_/,___/ / Free
    Unicyclist.com e-Mail at <a href="http://unicyclist.com/">http://unicyclist.com</a> /\/ /__________/ World
    UNICON X: <a href="http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/unicon10">http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/unicon10</a> \__/
    ========================================================
5

Re: skinny tyre

I rode Leo’s at Bottropp, it was within the regs but it did not feel great -
definitely prefer bigger 24" tyres for track.

Roger

 The UK's Unicycle Source <a href="http://www.unicycle.uk.com/">http://www.unicycle.uk.com/</a>

----- Original Message ----- From: Kevin Gilbertson <mail@gilby.com> To: Sarah
Miller <sarah@vimes.u-net.com>
Cc: <unicycling@winternet.com> Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2000 4:24 AM Subject: Re:
skinny tyre

> Sarah Miller wrote:
> >
> > I tryed out my new skinny tyre today, werid. A 26 x 1 which as I
measured
> > it will allow me to use the 26 inch rim in a 24 inch race so i don’t have to
> > take two similar unis to biejing and euro cycle. Can any body confirm this
> > for me, I’m pretty sure some of the swiss team at euro
cycle
> > were racing on 26x1 s does any body else on the NG do this? The diameter is
> > spot on the 61.8 cm allowed in the IUF rules, I suspect this is why that
> > diameter is given?
>
> The Swiss usually use 26" wheels when racing (and they are very fast on any
> size wheel), but I don’t think their wheels are legal for IUF competitions. It
> is possible that the wheel you have will fit within the legal size, but you’ll
> have to measure it to find out. Measure the circumference of the wheel and if
> it’s 1941 mm (618*pi) or less, then it will be fine.
> –
> ___________ =================================================== ___
> /_/ / / / / Kevin Gilbertson - mail@gilby.com http://gilby.com / _ '/
> / / '_ / ICQ: 12611076 AIM/AOL: UnicyclingGilby _ ///,__/ / Free
> Unicyclist.com e-Mail at http://unicyclist.com // /__________/ World
> UNICON X: http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/unicon10 __/
> ========================================================

6

Re: skinny tyre

The 1" (559-25) tyre that I used in Bottrop was inside the limit, it accelerated
well for 100m but in the 1500 it felt too light and didn’t maintain its momentum
as well as a big 24" tyre. It probably would work better with some thin lead
strip wrapped around the rim as at least one other rider was using.

Leo

unicycleSourceUK <Roger.Davies@octacon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:002701bfad0a$8f9a5e40$2c00a0c0@p333…
> I rode Leo’s at Bottropp, it was within the regs but it did not feel
great -
> definitely prefer bigger 24" tyres for track.