I heard, that going from a 20 to 29 takes a while to adjust, but when i got my 29 a few days ago, I hopped on it and started pedalling, I had no problems at all, except that i found I was putting a bit more weight on the pedals, but that went away fast. I actually found it strange riding the 20 after just riding the 29, I kept falling forward a bit because of the speed difference, I felt I should have been going faster.
Another thing is that I had no problem at all learning how to free mount it. I think people have a hard time mounting bigger wheels because they used the static mount, which is tough on bigger wheels, but if you get good at doing a roll-back mount on a 20, when you get a bigger wheel, its really easy to mount them.
And I know that all this depends on your learning speed, but actually I am pretty slow when it comes to unicycling, like it took me a week of constant pratice before I could go 5 feet.
I was the very same way, i freemounted on my first try and rode away instantly, i didnt find it very hard at all, but when i got back on a 20 after riding a 28 for several monthes, i had my arms all flaily and weird looking, so i guess the same story.
On a big wheel (28 or Coker) I use a sort of push-stop mount. I push the uni forwards so that the back pedal rises, then as I put my weight on that pedal, it stops and I can use it as a step up. It’s sort of somewhere between a static mount and a very half-hearted running mount.
Big wheels are generally a little bit harder to mount and steer, but much much easier to ride than small wheels. A 28 is more like a big 24 than a small Coker.
A 20 and a 28 would be a versatile pair if you could only keep two unis.
That’s the technique I use (0n my 29-er)- that little push really does make the static mount much easier; it’s also very effective when mounting on an uphill slope.
The first mount I learned on my 20" was a roll back, but I realised after joining this forum that my seat was far too low, so then I raised it and could ride easier but not rollback mount anymore! I then learned the step over mount (side mount?) and use this all the time.
So, when I got my 29" I used the step over mount. It works, but doesn’t seem quite right, so I’ve just started trying the standard mount (which I’ve never used on my 20") and it seems as though it’ll do the trick.
Mikefule suggested a 20" and 29" was a good combination of unis to own. I’m beginning to wonder about a 20" and a 26" though, as controlling the 29" downhill is a tad hairy at times!
Opinions may vary, but for me, the 26 is an inbetweeny size that is neither fish nor fowl.
A 16 is too small for anything except people of small stature, or for novelty value.
A 20 is ideal for trials or freestyle.
A 24 is a bit more general purpose, but still nimble.
A 24 with a very fat tyre is virtually a 26 anyway.
A26…?
A 28 is a nice road uni - and has a certain “credibility” with bicyclists because the wheel size is instantly recognisable as a road bike size.
A 29 is a fat-tyred 28, and is good for barnstorming.
A Coker is a bomber.
So where’s the 26 in that? It’s heavier and less nimble than a 24, less of a road machine than the 28, less of a barnstormer than the 29.
Better to approach the problem with fine tuning: choose appropriate cranks, a good handle, good pedals, good shoes, and develop technique.
I ride the 28 on 110 mm cranksand find it is surprisingly good on hills as long as I don’t go too fast. It’s the difference between keeping control, and not losing control.
The biggest thing you can do to fine tune is change the tyre. The 26" has the widest range of tyres, from fat ones that make it have loads of roll over and boingyness like a 24" but be slightly faster due to the significantly larger tyre, to 2.1" XC muni tyres which are more nimble on singletrack than a heavy 24x3, although less good at hops and drops, to narrow road tyres if you really like that sort of thing.
Set up one way, there’s very little difference between a 26 and a 29, set up the other way it’s similar to a 24, but with the 26 you have a choice of all the setups in between too, whereas on the 24 and 29 you’re really limited in tyre choice.
I’d agree with mike that the most important thing is just to get used to the uni and get strength + control sorted. You can ride pretty much any road downhill on a coker with 110s if you practice enough.
If I could only keep 2 unis they’d have to be the 26 and the coker. Muni of all kinds and big wheeled road riding. What more could you want.
doing the same thing except that, at one moment, I briefly grab the tyre to stop it going backwards when I step on the pedal. Moreover this helps me to be in a more forward position since those wheels tend to have inertia to overcome.
I may be I should get rid of this tyre-grab and go on top with a more static position? (and little hops to secure the way I seat?).
Precision : I only use long cranks (170 on Coker, 150 on 28)
I constanly UPDs with shorter cranks.
Thats a funny set up, though I’ll probably try it. I remember after my first coker ride at a friends house. They lent me a 24 to ride home since I had been droppen off at his house. It took me four tries to free mount it after having ridden a coker .
At one time, small travelling companies of actors and entertainers would travel in rural districts, putting on performances in barns. These would attract the local rural population, and be the most exciting thing to happen in the area from one year to the next. This type of performance was known as “barnstorming”, with “storming” coming from the military word for a sudden attack on a building. (Storming a fortress, for example.)
In the early days of aviation, some aviators used to fly around the United States, putting on displays of wing walking and simple aerobatics. This was in small canvas and timber biplanes. As part of their pre-show publicity, they would tend to do things like flying low over ranches, startling the inhabitants, and creating interest. (Remember, the first powered flight was only 102 years ago. Until the 1st World War (1914-18) aeroplanes were very rare indeed.)
This activity of buzzing low over ranches and barns, then putting on a display became known as barnstorming.
Barnstorming is now used as an adjective to describe any rabble rousing and exciting performance - often an end of conference speech by a political leader.
I used barnstorming to describe Coker riding as an extension of the idea of an aviator blasting past an unsuspecting populace, causing great excitement.
Makes for fun times!
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