Yesterday afternoon, I heard the doorbell ring. No one ever rings my
doorbell, so I knew it was UPS. I rushed to the door, and signed for a
large, well decorated plywood crate.
Inside that crate was a 24” unicycle with a funny looking hub (and a bunch
of other miscellaneous stuff). I was in the middle of studying for my last
final (which I would have in a few hours), but I decided this was a good
time for a break.
I installed the seat (great that there was a 400mm post in the box and
everything!) and went to the parking lot. I told myself, “this is a coker,
even if it looks nothing like one” and mounted it as I would mount a
coker. It felt weird, but I managed to get on and go forward. I made a
few loops around the parking lot (turning was really weird for some reason)
before sadly returning to my apartment and resuming my studies.
Time for the final – I know a good way to get there. I took the unicycle.
It was fast, but oddly, didn’t feel all that quick. I guess it’s just
windy enough here that I’m used to the wind in my hair, even if I’m
standing still. I got to class, and checked my watch. I’m pretty sure I
got there about 30 seconds before I left. Sweet.
I took the unicycle inside. Ah, I could have never done that so easily
with a coker. Took the test, and rode home.
The only thing I’d noticed at this point was turning. I think it felt
something like this when I first tried a coker. It seemed to take more
effort, and I couldn’t turn on a dime like usual on a 24” wheel. This
unicycle definitely felt like it had a 24” and not a 36” wheel. Yeah,
there was some play in the gears… it’s a little annoying, but not a
problem. The 6” cranks feel very natural. Maybe part of that is since my
24” muni also has 6” cranks.
Also, I felt I could go slowly more effectively on this than my coker
(maybe that’s because my coker has 5” cranks, I’m not really sure).
Anyway, I had homework to complete, so back to my room. At about 2am I had
finished, and decided to go off to deliver it to my professor’s office.
Back on the unicycle. Nothing new to report on the way there.
I got in the building. It was 2am, and there weren’t exactly many people
around. So, I rode around a bit. Wow, now I was going fast! Much like
skydiving, the closer the non-moving point of reference, the faster you
realize you are going. Also, though I’d never tried riding a coker in this
building, I am sure if I did, my head would just about touch the ceiling.
Another plus for the uni .5.
Since then, I’ve ridden the unicycle around a bit. I haven’t had the time
to put it for a distance road test yet, but I’ve looped around campus a
good couple of times. It definitely gets me to places at coker speeds
(I’ve done no timing comparisons… in fact, all I can really say is it’s way
faster than walking.) Probably the coolest thing about this is I’ve passed
out people on bicycle and roller blades. Yes, I had to consciously make
the effort, but it’s just so cool. Here I am on this little unicycle,
riding past people on stuff that’s supposed to be fast.
I’ve had a few unplanned dismounts. I wasn’t pushing myself to go fast
when any of them happened, but I did find that I was able to successfully
run out of every one. I had to run fast – very fast, but I was able to do
it. I can’t decide if the fact that I was lower to the ground, and had a
smaller wheel under me made this any easier, or if I was just going slower
than I usually do on a coker.
Anyway, my review right now: for all the short little errands, especially
on a campus setting, the uni .5 is the clear winner over the coker. Its
size is what makes all the difference. I can take it wherever I want,
including inside any building without any problems. The coker, on the
other hand, is, uh, big.
With a little luck, the weather will remain nice tomorrow, and I’ll be able
to take it for a ride down the erie canal path.
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