Only because of this forum I see U W.
I wonder if I can manage to learn at 65?
I love 2 build things, thinking 27" rim from
Old road bike, wood disk center and calf supports as seen in this photo to stop rim, tire friction.
Seems smallest q factor aids balance?
Therefore thin rim and tire?
What wheel diameter is best to learn please?
I start to source bearings for thru attachment, anyone built one and can
Provide info?
Again older guy here but still mtb, muni though not hard core, crash a lot, comfortable on 6´ giraffe, wondering best “crank length” meaning for example 27" 140 cm, 70 cm from center.
I have wstched utube vids but struggle to understand very first steps!
It seems very demanding both for balance AND strength!!!
THX, merci!
uk
unicycle.com offers the 20", 24" and 28". The 28" is said to be easiest to learn, possibly also because it helps to have the wheel pressed against your leg while at the bottom position. That way you can gain your balance again and make another rotation. Terry Unigeezer has made several custom UW’s, also some 36", which I would love to get my hands on, but with my 2 left hands, I couldn’t make it myself.
So the bigger the better. Important to place the pedals directly on the wheel. Otherwise it would be like seat dragging with a normal uni. That is harder than UW, because the cranks push your feet away from the centre, so it becomes more wobbly.
Calf supports are just genius, I haven’t seen them before. UW is very exhausting, cutting your training sessions to one third of normal training time maybe.
Self building seems feasible. Take screws instead of spokes to fix the rim on the disc. Then screw 2 old cranks directly on the disk to hold the pedals. I would machine the pedal holders so that they don’t touch the ankles. Right/left pedal thread cutters are not too expensive.
you should look on youtube. Terry uploaded many videos of his 36" UWs:
This is one of the examples.
I agree that riding UW is exhausting, but lately I noticed that while improving the technique, it becomes less tiring. I found a spot in town along a metal fence on a bike path, where I originally learned riding. At the end of the fence, I can now keep on rolling for about 80 metres and do this multiple times per session. The first time it was so heavy on the legs, I would have no energy left.
I ride UW with moderate slow speed because it is wobbly and the movement has to be somewhat precise. But with calf support, why are they all riding like in slow motion?
The Lunicycle wheel is oval, and according to @slamdance this smooths out staggered movement from pedaling (half-rev to half-rev kinda stuff).
Either they go slow because they just learnt it (which is supposed to be much easier), because the oval wheel makes it awkward to go fast or simply because it makes the video look more relaxed and smooth (marketing purposes).
I gave it a nice personal touch on the left coloumn due to swapping out upper and lower part which have slightly different lenghts. On the right coloumn I showed that I can do it straight if I really want to.
So Ulkig once you finish your 36" UW and you feel it works well, can I be so bold to ask you to build one for me too? just name your price. You’re in Germany right, that’s right next door from me.
That was my bold “Really?” question above in the first place. A 36" UW doesn’t make sence for someone not riding his 20" UW for 34 years. I definitely will ride it for some hours after finishing it, then let’s pm.
Wow you ride it so smoothly. Today I had another session with my 28”. Im in DK this week and there is a huge parking lot here, though on a hill. Turns are very difficult, but I can get further and further, which is cool. My legs just need a lot of training still
He wrote 34 years, but that must have intense practice if you can just hop on the 36” and ride a few rotations like that. Ive had weeks and weeks of training and still im not where I want to be
