Tire Cross-Section

system · August 21, 1994, 7:06pm

I’d like to know what kinds of tires everyone is using on their unicycles and
if they have noticed any difference in handling among different ones they
have tried.

I am particularly interested in the cross-section of the tire–is it more of a
round cross section or is it flatter on the bottom than on the sides? Tread
pattern? How do you like it?

I’ve tried two different tires so far: a Kenda tire with a tread pattern
consisting of parallel ribs in the plane of the wheel and a flattish
cross-section, and a Panaracer Unicycle HP tire with a round cross-section and a
crosshatch tread pattern.

I found that when the original Kenda tire wore out and I replaced it with the
Panaracer, suddenly I couldn’t do spins. Inflated to the max recommended
pressure of 45 psi, it is so easy to twist that I had to almost relearn riding
in a straight line. I tamed it down a little by running it about 5 psi below max
for a wider contact patch. It’s about ready to wear out now and I have a new
Kenda tire identical to the original to put on.

I dreamed about riding one-footed last week so I began practicing out here in
the waking world. I think remembering the feeling of doing it in the dream state
gave me the confidence to try it. I have managed several times to get three
wheel revolutions before falling off, so it is coming along.

I thought it would be a natural progression from one-footed idling to one-
footed riding but trying to go from idling to riding takes a really big push to
get the foot “over the top”–most times I lift myself right off the seat. I am
concentrating on switching from two-footed to one-footed riding on the fly. The
biggest problem is my frame has a sloping fork which doesn’t give me much to
hang my #10s from. Many times my shoe drags on the tire and causes problems.