Well a 29’er with a Big Apple isn’t a Coker but I sure like to use it for long distance riding. In fact I am currently working on getting a handle made for my “Midnight Express” with the intention of up’ing the mileage that I can ride on this speedy one wheeled vehicle.
I love riding and riding on the 29’er. I often seek out the ‘long way home’ just so I can ride for longer on my one wheeler. And then when I do approach my destination I have an overwhelming urge to pass right by and just keep on riding.
Why?
It simply feels so good! I don’t want to stop. I want to ride and ride. I love how it feels ride a unicyle. It is a simple as that!
Yeah true, it is easy on the knees, cheap, an uncomplicated machine, good exercise…for sure, but most of all… it just feels soooooo good!
So far, the rides I have done on my Coker have been purely for fun. Exercise it is an added bonus.
I would also use my coker to ride to school every once in awhile, but it’s not safe to ride since it is all countryish roads with no shoulder.
I love the fast speed of the coker compared to other smaller unis, and at the same time I love the slowness compared to bicycles.
Cruising over all types of terrain, enjoying nature, rocking out with my headphones, trying to lip-read bikers/walkers/hikers as they question me riding by, the feeling when I finish a nice refreshing ride-- that is what a love about riding a Coker long distance.
> I was once going to send an e-mail to Sheldon Brown who runs a very
well
> known and respected bike site
Thanks!
> which has a lot of stuff on single
> gear/fixed gear bikes and send him some links to decent distance
> uni/muni stuff;
Please do so when you find the time!
> I wondered if the fixed/single gear community knew about
> the rise in unicycling and how they thought it related to what they
did
> (I never got round to sending the e-mail though).
I’ve seen a little bit on this, but not too much. Never mastered the
skil myself…I don’t have very good front-back balance, can’t skate,
ski or sailboard either…
Sheldon “Unicycle With A Training Wheel” Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
±-----------------------------------------------+
| According to the latest official figures, |
| 43% of all statistics are totally worthless. |
±-----------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.comhttp://sheldonbrown.com
I was going to say ‘Wow’, but I’ve been beaten to it
Still, a big surprise that you’ve stumbled across this thread.
I’d like to say thanks for the bike site; it really is an excellent source of info- I’ve don’t actually ride my bikes that much but I recently made good use of your ‘wheel building’ page when building my new 26" wheel muni.
Also appreciate the fact that you’ve got your priorities right on the design- keeping it simple and accessible with no unnecesary scripting junk on it (one of my pate hates on the net is unnecessary javascript/activeX and other gimmicks that cause security risks and slow loading pages).
I guess there’s no need to send an e-mail now as you’ve found one of the best unicycle resources on the net.
The main things I was wondering is whether the single speed/fixed gear community were aware of the massive growth in unicycling, particularly the big wheel/distance stuff; and what they thought about it.
Do they see it as a bit of a joke (I think a lot of people do when they first see it), or do they recognise that it’s a serious thing and that the new unicycling has a lot in common with fixed gear biking?
The things I see as being in common are: -
simplicity- mechanically a fixed gear bike is simpler than a geared one, and a unicycle is even more so
a different mindset where performance is concerned- on other bike forums I’ve seen people making fun of those who ride fixed gear bikes on the grounds that they’re less efficient (no coasting); but fixed gear bikers are happy to sacrifice that because they appreciate the other benefits (eg ‘connection’ with the road).
Similarly, in comparison to bikes, unicyclists lose out on several things- they can’t go fast, coast and take a lot more energy to ride; however, none of those things are a problem because they’re very aware of the positives (eg simplicity, unique feel, upright posture etc).
Obviously there’s a lot more than that, and it would be intersting to hear whether any fixed gear bikers have got into unicycling (or unicyclists into fixed gear biking) and how they feel about the connection between the two.
It’s less practical in some ways than a bike, in the same way as a bike is less practical than a motorbike or car. However, you totally don’t get the same thing riding a bike slow, or riding a fixy. Riding a unicycle long distances is really very different. As far as the pedalling goes, it’s like going from a normal bike to a fixed gear, but the same difference again. Also steering is more direct. You’ve got loads of momentum and a big tyre, so you can really sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s hard to explain, just like trying to explain fixed gears to normal bikers, if you don’t try it, you’re unlikely to understand it.
I think one thing here is you’re confusing distance riding with camping and touring. I think most people are talking riding just riding a long distance, eg. doing 60 to a 100 miles in a day, not rides where you need to take a tent.
If you’ve got loads of luggage is one thing. Personally, if i travel on a uni, I travel very light. Either staying over at places (b+b’s / hostels / people’s houses), or bivvying. If you’re not camping, you can put a change of clothes and tools etc. in a large camelbak.
It isn’t that good for multi-day camping tours unless you have a rack or something. Personally, when I camp and ride, I usually camp one place and then ride loops round it each day, which saves carrying tons of kit.
A uni is useful for small amounts of shopping as you can usually get away with pushing it round the shops, so you don’t have to lock it up. With big shops, I usually take a small rucsac, and a fill up a couple of carrier bags. I manage to get home fine.
The amount of focus you need to stay on a road uni isn’t that different to a bike, especially with a big wheel and good riding skills.
I see your enjoying nature doesn’t stretch to birdsong, the bleating of new born lambs, the babbling of a brook, or for that matter the sound of a car about to mow you down - ditch the phones and comune with nature in a fuller sense. I would never forgive myself if my riding partner called out “Let’s stop at the next pub, famous throughout the land for the quality of it’s real ale cellar !” and I just sailed on because I couldn’t hear.
Oops. I guess I translated to Tomish. A long distance on my coker is 15-20 miles. I usually end up where I started from. And I dont carry more than a camelback.
If we’re talking 100 miles in a day…I’m taking something with an internal combustion engine.
I ride average of 25 miles a week on my unicycle unil lately(weater) but there is no feeling like a long distance ride. This is all on my 20 inch Torker
