I just got my first unicycle less than a month ago but, as you can see from the date of my registration on this site, my interest in unis goes much farther back than that. While learning to ride the 20" unicycle, I’ve imagined, eventually, having a 29er with handlebars. I’d like to get one now, in fact. Is anyone commercially producing a V-frame that’s meant to have handlebars? Is there any info source dedicated to unicycles with handlebars? I don’t know anyone who has a uni with handlebars but I am very interested in this type of uni for riding on pavement and even suitable for touring. Thanks.
Various standard handlebar kits are available. Both KH and Nimbus versions are readily available, each with pros and cons. I have used both. Look at UDC website.
To be honest, on a 29, I no longer bother with a handlebar. At most, I sometimes have a simple KH T handle.
I find bars are much more useful for long fast cruising on the road, especially on a 36. A simple T handle can be useful for easy cross country.
As soon as the going gets tough, I tend to go for the normal seat handle because that puts all of my points of contact and force in more or less a straight line.
All definitions of easy and tough are calibrated according to the individual rider!
I have seen video of people riding V frames fast off road. Impressive, but not something I’d choose for myself.
I find handlebars a must for my “all mountain” muni riding. (leaning more towards cross country)
Absolute control with two hands on the wheel.
But a 29" for touring?.. sound slow.
Yes, although back in the day, people crossed continents on 24s, because it was either that or a 20! Many years ago, I was out on my 36 with a guy called Joe Marshall who used to post here. On his 29, he left me for dead.:o
A lot of people say that the 36er is best for speed on the road. But I keep in mind that many people live in areas that are without any real hills to speak of. I live in the Shenandoah Valley, the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where hills can be quite long, arduous climbs. They’re difficult enough on my 29er 18-gear touring bicycle. So it makes more sense for me to go with the uni wheel smaller than the 36er so that I can have a ‘low gear’ for climbs and a higher gear via Schlumpf for the times when I can go fast.
Thanks for the suggestion of the home-made bars thread. I hadn’t known of that before starting this thread. I mainly want to see all my options before making a purchase.
I ride almost every day on a G36 wheel with a custom V-frame. It is the result of several years of training, but with motivation, anything is possible. I think there are many advantages.
You can see somes pictures here.
If you are interest by a V-frame you can ask Jakob Flansberry (Flansberrium). And in the meantime, you must first train with a classic handlebar (KH T-bar for example).
G29 or G32 can indeed be a good choice if you have differences in altitude. The current road racing world champion, Martin Charrier, rode for a long time on a G29, for him it was the best unicycle, before switching to G36.