Riding a unicycle

[Pale Rider]

I spoke to a lad on a unicycle the other day.

He had a mountain bike wheel and reckoned he could cruise at a 'fast jog', maybe 6-8mph.

He was in training for a 10-mile charity ride and was doing four or five miles at a time comfortably.

I was told the unicycle climbs quite well, but very steep declines can be a problem because it tends to run away with the rider.

Any other unicycle stories or experiences?

 

[ianrauk]

I used to see a Unicyclist commuter in Greenwich, London on a regular basis but haven't seen him for a while.

 

[Globalti]

I've seen guys doing Polaris on unicycles; perfect for nipping over stiles on cheeky shortcuts.

 

[mark st1]

I used to be able to ride a unicycle for hours as id never get 2 tyred.

 

[Spinney]

I used to be able to ride a unicycle for hours as id never get 2 tyred.

coat!

 

[mark st1]

 

[annedonnelly]

I've seen unicyclists do the GNBR - about 60 miles. I struggle with two wheels!

 

[adds21]

I ride unicycles quite regularly. I commute by unicycle one day a week (and bike the other 4).

Generally they come in sizes from 20" to 36" (can get smaller, but 20" is the "standard" smaller size). I tend to ride either 24" or 29", and have muni (mountain unicycles) and road unicycles in both sizes (YCNHTMU).

On a 29" I can average nearly 9mph over a few miles (which is a cadence of just over 100). The 24 is obviously slower, but I tend to also ride it on more technical terrain, so it's often slower than the size would suggest, maybe 5 to 7 mph.

I've just built a new unicycle with a 700c/23 tyre, and that's quite light and fast, but quite difficult as it's extremely twitchy. My 24" muni has a 3" tyre, so there's quite a difference.

Furthest I've gone so far is just under 20 miles. I can generally go several miles without dismounting (I think about 5 miles in one go is the furthest I've gone, but it obviously depends a lot of the route).

I've only been unicycling just over a year, and am totally hooked. I'd highly recommend it for core strength and general fun! It's not just about juggling these days (just Google "Kris Holm" if you want to see what some of the experts can do).

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I've seen unicyclists do the GNBR - about 60 miles. I struggle with two wheels!

Yup, saw 3 of them do it 3-4 years ago ... Mad!

 

[Lanzecki]

If you are building your own wheels, how are you doing the pedal to wheel/seat interface?

Can I make that any less understandable?

 

[adds21]

If you are building your own wheels, how are you doing the pedal to wheel/seat interface?

Can I make that any less understandable?

Special hubs with built-in bearings. (Mainly) two standard types for unicycles, 40mm cotterless, and 42mm ISIS (which I think started off as a bike standard way-back-when). In a nutshell, cotterless (square tapered) are not as strong, but mostly fine for road riding. ISIS (which are splined) are strong, so used more for mountain unicycling.

There can be a surprising amount of torque going though the cranks, so it's not unheard of to break or shear a crank (hence ISIS for muni, which is generally much more "torque-y"!).

 

[Ben M]

I have one and I can just about ride in circles on my lawn.