So far the 24" crowd is ahead by 1, because I put Klaas under that
category. If I stuck him under the 20" because he said it might be easier
to learn on one, the 20" would be ahead by one. Interesting stuff. It
seems that a common concensus is that it also depends on rider size, and
longer-legged riders would probably do fine learning on a 24".
Let’s see what the next round brings…
>
> Everyone,
> I’m curious to find out what size wheel unicycle people learned
> on.
> What did you all learn on, and what do you all feel is a good wheel
> size?
> I’m thinking that it also may depend on the person, some would do
> better on a smaller wheel and some might find a slightly larger wheel
> works better for learning. Let me know.
>
> John
>
>
> So far the 24" crowd is ahead by 1, because I put Klaas under that
>category. If I stuck him under the 20" because he said it might be easier
>to learn on one, the 20" would be ahead by one. Interesting stuff. It
>seems that a common concensus is that it also depends on rider size, and
>longer-legged riders would probably do fine learning on a 24".
> Let’s see what the next round brings…
>
>John
>
>
>
>Johnny B <centromachetestakethisout@takethisoutyahoo.com> wrote in
>news:Xns91C818472125Dcentromachetesyahooc@63.240.76.16:
>
>>
>> Everyone,
>> I’m curious to find out what size wheel unicycle people learned
>> on.
>> What did you all learn on, and what do you all feel is a good wheel
>> size?
>> I’m thinking that it also may depend on the person, some would do
>> better on a smaller wheel and some might find a slightly larger wheel
>> works better for learning. Let me know.
>>
>> John
>>
>
–
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“Koresh, blackjack, HRT”
I’m just guessing here, but it’s probably because we’re a slave to the
bicycle industry. Supply and demand has dictated that 20" and 24" wheels
will keep things rolling, but a 22" would deflate the industry. Maybe the
tooling required to make 22" tubes and tires didn’t quite come out right
due to some mathematical fluke and they didn’t end up round, or something.
This gets more and more interesting. It seems to be split down the middle
with 20" and 24" unis as learners… Go figure.
22" does exist, I do not know where but it is one of the standard sizes
available on frames. My guess is that it is a Chinese size and if so will
be availably only with “standard Chinese tyres” which appear to be 1.5" wide
and have a road tread on them.
Roger
The UK’s Unicycle Source
----- Original Message -----
From: “Klaas Bil” <klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl>
Newsgroups: rec.sport.unicycling
To: <rsu@unicycling.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 11:10 PM
Subject: Re: STATS Re: What size wheel to learn on?
> Maybe 22" would be ideal then?
> We have 16", 18" (though rare), 20", 24" , 26", 28". Why is there no
> 22"?
>
> Just wondering,
> Klaas Bil
>
> On Wed, 06 Mar 2002 07:32:59 GMT, Johnny B
> <centromachetestakethisout@takethisoutyahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > So far the 24" crowd is ahead by 1, because I put Klaas under that
> >category. If I stuck him under the 20" because he said it might be
easier
> >to learn on one, the 20" would be ahead by one. Interesting stuff. It
> >seems that a common concensus is that it also depends on rider size, and
> >longer-legged riders would probably do fine learning on a 24".
> > Let’s see what the next round brings…
> >
> >John
> >
> >
> >
> >Johnny B <centromachetestakethisout@takethisoutyahoo.com> wrote in
> >news:Xns91C818472125Dcentromachetesyahooc@63.240.76.16:
> >[color=darkred]
> >>
> >> Everyone,
> >> I’m curious to find out what size wheel unicycle people learned
> >> on.
> >> What did you all learn on, and what do you all feel is a good wheel
> >> size?
> >> I’m thinking that it also may depend on the person, some would do
> >> better on a smaller wheel and some might find a slightly larger wheel
> >> works better for learning. Let me know.
> >>
> >> John
> >>
> >
>
> –
> “To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked[/color]
automagically from a database:”
> “Koresh, blackjack, HRT”
>
You can get a 22" rim, it’s just not very common and the selection of
tires is next to zero (that would be 1!).
I think there is one at www.bikepartsusa.com. I would like to see a 22"
trials wheel, similar to the monty.
Jeff
On Wed, 06 Mar 2002 23:10:48 GMT klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl (Klaas Bil) writes:
> Maybe 22" would be ideal then?
> We have 16", 18" (though rare), 20", 24" , 26", 28". Why is there
> no
> 22"?
>
> Just wondering,
> Klaas Bil
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
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Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.
I own a bike with 22" wheels and tyres on it. Almost all of the old-style
bikes at work are 22". Must have been a thing of the past, cause getting
tyres and tubes these days is damn near impossible.
Maybe we are leaving out a critical question when considering what size is best to learn on. The question is: How old were you when you learned to ride? It seems to me that if you were pretty young when you learned, you did so on a 20" and a 24" if you were older. If you were really young you probably learned on a 20" because a) you were too small for a 24" b) your parents thought you were too small for a 24"
Tell me what you think of my theory. By the way, I learned on a 20" because at the time I was too small to use my father’s old 24"
-David Kaplan
Re: Re: Re: STATS Re: What size wheel to learn on?
David-
I was 11 years old when I learned how to ride on a 20" wheel. That was the only used unicycle in town that I new of in 1963. My neighbor was the same age when he learned on a 24" wheel. It took him much longer to learn (2 weeks rather than 3 days) but he got his in the winter in Kansas so conditions were far from optimal. Overall I would say he was more agile and co-ordinated than I was.
>Maybe we are leaving out a critical question when considering what size
>is best to learn on. The question is: How old were you when you learned
>to ride? It seems to me that if you were pretty young when you learned,
>you did so on a 20" and a 24" if you were older. If you were really
>young you probably learned on a 20" because a) you were too small for a
>24" b) your parents thought you were too small for a 24"
I think it’s rare if youngsters learn on 24", but adults results are
mixed. Most seem to favour 20" though, it seems.
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“SGI, Croatian, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil”
>Maybe we are leaving out a critical question when considering what size
>is best to learn on. The question is: How old were you when you learned
>to ride? It seems to me that if you were pretty young when you learned,
>you did so on a 20" and a 24" if you were older. If you were really
>young you probably learned on a 20" because a) you were too small for a
>24" b) your parents thought you were too small for a 24"
I think it’s rare if youngsters learn on 24", but adults results are
mixed. Most seem to favour 20" though, it seems.
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“SGI, Croatian, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil”
>I recall some one posting about a 22" wheel, not too long back- rare
>Schwinn, was it not? Anybody?
I, too, seem to remember it was discussed. I guess my question should
read: Isn’t it a pity that 22" unicycles are so rare, as it might be
the ideal learner size?
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked automagically from a database:”
“SGI, Croatian, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil”
Very true. I personally know a 10-year old kid who learned on a 24", and
after 3 months in the saddle was riding down stairs and doing 2-foot drops.
He’s very agile and fearless, though. It can be done, but is probably not
as common as an older person getting on a 24". If anyone was on a 20" due
to size constraints, I hope they will mention that in the reply.
One thing I wanted to find out from this is what the general opinions and
experiences are out there with adults learning or teaching others to learn,
and what they found worked best. It’s sounding like most people feel that
20" wheels are easier to learn on, but 24" wheels aren’t out of the
question for a first ride. I would venture to guess that a lot of it is
determination. I saw a 24" for sale on ebay last fall and I talked to the
girl selling it. She said she fell down hard a few times on her butt and
was giving up. I hated to see her not see it through, so I suggested she
look for a 20" and try that. Has anyone seen a person have problems with a
bigger wheel and have better luck with a smaller one? Has anyone seen a
person who just absolutely could not do it, for whatever reason? I think
if a person really wants to, and don’t have any physically limiting
factors, that person will learn one way or another. I wonder how much of
it is psychological, and if a person will work themselves up (or down?) to
the point that they won’t make much progress at all.
I do appreciate everyone’s input on this, you’ve all been very
informative.
>
> Johnny B wrote:
>> *This gets more and more interesting. It seems to be split down the
>> middle with 20" and 24" unis as learners… Go figure. *
> Maybe we are leaving out a critical question when considering what size
> is best to learn on. The question is: How old were you when you learned
> to ride? It seems to me that if you were pretty young when you learned,
> you did so on a 20" and a 24" if you were older. If you were really
> young you probably learned on a 20" because a) you were too small for a
> 24" b) your parents thought you were too small for a 24"
>
> Tell me what you think of my theory. By the way, I learned on a 20"
> because at the time I was too small to use my father’s old 24"
> -David Kaplan
>
>
> –
> UniDak - David Kaplan
>
> I’m a b3/4/v5 c+ r d m+ w++! q k e++ t s g- f juggler. To make sense of
> these letters, look at www.lpbk.net/jc/
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> UniDak’s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/311
> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/16761
>
I own a bike with 22" wheels and tyres on it. Almost all of the old-style
bikes at work are 22". Must have been a thing of the past, cause getting
tyres and tubes these days is damn near impossible.
>From: Johnny B <centromachetestakethisout@takethisoutyahoo.com>
>Subject: Re: STATS Re: What size wheel to learn on?
> One thing I wanted to find out from this is what the general opinions
>and
>experiences are out there with adults learning or teaching others to learn,
>and what they found worked best. It’s sounding like most people feel that
>20" wheels are easier to learn on, but 24" wheels aren’t out of the
>question for a first ride. I would venture to guess that a lot of it is
>determination.
I wonder how much of
>it is psychological, and if a person will work themselves up (or down?) to
>the point that they won’t make much progress at all.
>
> I do appreciate everyone’s input on this, you’ve all been very
>informative.
>
>John
>
Hi.
I tell all new learners (older kids and adults) to go with a 20-inch wheel.
Almost everyone I’ve seen rides that most often. Not for distance riding,
of course, in which case you get nowhere slowly on a 20.
I’ve noticed that there’s a huge difference in both kids and adults who get
on for the first time. Some sit firmly on the saddle as suggested, seem to
balance fairly well, and begin wobbling with light support from their
helpers. Others need Hercules on either side of them to stay on for even a
few seconds.
Confidence and determination play a BIG part.
Even among the college kids I find there’s a huge difference in the level of
support they need. (Although they all start out the same way, saying “I
could never do that!” Then they change their minds after a few minutes of
trying it and want to start racing down the dorm hallway.)
I did have one guy tell me he wouldn’t try since he had some sort of
permanent ear condition that affected his balance. That might make it very
difficult to learn. We didn’t encourage him to try, figuring it would be
best to keep the casualty rate as low as possible. On the last round, no
one broke anything, but the furniture in the open study area is a little
worse off. (Don’t tell anybody.)
I say it’s easier to learn on a 20, even if you’re tall (although I’m not
tall so I am only observing this). Just make sure the seat post is long
enough. More control. Easier to learn to mount.
Also, for adults (over 30 or so), I think it’s entirely possible to take
forever to learn something new. Besides being living proof of this myself, I
see other adults who make almost no progress. What happens is, each time
they practice, it takes awhile to re-learn skills and get back into it. So,
they can maybe accomplish that and nothing more. Kids don’t usually have
that problem. Plus, if adults do fall, they become even more cautious and
have more trouble overcoming the fear of falling again.
That’s what I’ve seen. I haven’t taught that many people to ride, but I like
trying to teach both kids and adults.
Steady on.
Carol M.
Minnesota
Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
> I say it’s easier to learn on a 20, even if you’re tall (although I’m
> not tall so I am only observing this). Just make sure the seat post
> is long enough. More control. Easier to learn to mount.
>
> Also, for adults (over 30 or so), I think it’s entirely possible to
> take forever to learn something new. Besides being living proof of
> this myself, I see other adults who make almost no progress. What
> happens is, each time they practice, it takes awhile to re-learn
> skills and get back into it. So, they can maybe accomplish that and
> nothing more. Kids don’t usually have that problem. Plus, if adults
> do fall, they become even more cautious and have more trouble
> overcoming the fear of falling again.
>
> That’s what I’ve seen. I haven’t taught that many people to ride, but
> I like trying to teach both kids and adults.
>
> Steady on.
>
> Carol M.
> Minnesota
Carol,
It seems to be that quite a few feel that a 20" is easier to progress
on. I know my 20" has been very handy when I needed to practice things
like idling and riding backwards that I’m not yet very good at.
My group has 5 riders (including myself) over 30, and one of those 5 is
over 40. The over 40 rider is the most cautious, but I don’t think it’s
necessarily his age, just his nature. He only wants to do a certain
amount, and he’s happy with that. I’m kind of cautious because I’m worried
about bending a rim again. I’ve taken care of that with my newest uni,
though, so once that’s here I can relax a little more on bigger drops. The
other 3 guys will do 2-foot drops, hop up stairs, ride down stairs, ride
along the tops of low walls, all that stuff. I fell on my butt pretty hard
one time when learning to ride backwards, so I’m a little careful about
that lately. I started hurting my hands and knees more by falling on them
when I began to learn new skills, but a set of knee/shin guards and wrist
guards has instilled more confidence in me. They’ve saved me many times.