JohnnyReggae

As a rule of thumb though what do roadies use, and what do mtb'ers use ? As mentioned the length of crank is paramount to how you ride a unicycle, and coincidently a discussion thread came up on the Uni forum about crank length. One of the guys posted a spreadsheet detailing how various crank lengths dictate a certain riding style based on the size of the wheel in terms of gain ratios. I remember seeing the spreadsheet a while back, but was good to see it again. I've posted it here as a reference. The list starts with a 20", 24", 26", 29", 36" (Geared 24"), 39" (Geared 26"), 43.5 (Geared 29"), and 54" (Geared 36"). The largest actual wheel size is a 36". Geared is using a Schlumpf Geared Hub which has 2 gears, 1:1 and 1:1.5 ratios. This will effectively make a 24" a 36" etc... in terms of distance covered per revolution of the cranks. So I ride a 26" with 150mm cranks which puts it slap-bang in the middle for the best gain ratio for Mountain Uni. My 29'er also has 150mm cranks putting it just in the XC style riding with some Mountain Uni. My 20" trials Uni has 125mm cranks, which can and has been used for Mountain Uni ... but it's not the most efficient Mountain Uni

They're been there for a long time already I have a 29'er, but I prefer to ride my 26" .... it's more of a DH machine than the 29'er I used to ride a 24" but the 26" is a better size for me. Incidentally I have the same length cranks on both my 26" and 29", which makes the 29'er a little harder to control on the descents and also harder up hills due to loss of torque, but the larger wheel size does allow me to go faster.

Quite an interesting topic for me at the moment, mostly due to it being a hot discussion item on the Unicycle forum unicyclist.com at the moment. I didn't realise that the crank lengths for bikes is quite limited, 172.5 - 177.5 ... 5mm With unicycles being such simple machines, crank length is paramount to how you ride. We have much larger jumps in sizes depending on a few things including what style of riding you prefer doing, and personal strength/stamina. I started out Mountain Uni with 170mm, but later moved to 150mm. 20mm was a huge difference in loss of torque and control, but I prefer that length to be honest. Generally cranks lengths used in Unicycling range from 170mm - 110mm, some times even as short as 90mm. Longer cranks for more power for hills or technical downhill, shorter cranks for road riding on larger wheels. Longer cranks do give you more pedal-clips though which can be a b*tch when doing some tricky technical stuff. Had a few that sent me flying At the moment I run with dual hole 150/125mm cranks, so I can swap to shorter crank lengths by simply unscrewing a pedal and screwing it into the short hole. I'm sure something like this could be done on a bike, although your crank length will have to change by quite a lot, more so than anyone has been used to.

How difficult would the trail be in terms of physical effort ? I could go for a 15km ride especially if most of it is single track. Although I still love DH

@timM and Veloria - thanks for the info guys Made up my mind to take my Mountain Uni

Bump .... I know there is another Hermanus thread, but I'd like to specifically know about single track...

I'm heading out to Onrus just after easter for a few days, going to chill at the in-laws place. I'd like to ride some single track preferably DownHill I contacted the guys at Euodia Cycles to find out some details about trails around there, and their response was to go into the shop and chat to them. This is great and I'll definitely be doing that. My problem is that I'd like to know what the trails are like so I can work out if it's worth me packing my Mountain Uni and my kit in the car, bearing in mind that it's going to be quite full with baby JR's stuff already, so not much space is available. I'm not into doing distance, probably nothing further than about 10km's. Riding distance on a Uni is not how I get my kicks. I'm looking to max out on some downhill single track, but am not averse to heading uphill to start. I know you have to go up to come back down again

Your link has a typo ...

Would you consider some DH Mountain Unicyclists ? Some of the guys I ride with are almost fearless with some of the stuff they do.

I agree totally. I initially bought a 29'er mountain uni thinking that it was the next best thing and that I was going to rock it. Truth was that I found it a fair amount harder to ride for starters. Using the same crank length as on my 24" (at the time) made uphill *hard* and downhill *scary*. The lower profile/narrower tyre on the 29'er is so much twitcher than the 24" or 26" which made taking drops and hitting roots much harder to control. In the end I was not having as much fun on the 29'er as I was on my 24" and 26". So now I ride my 26" almost all the time, and the 29'er gathers dust. Thankfully for me my high-end 29'er only cost me a portion of what a decent entry level MTB costs Having said that though a riding buddy of mine rocks the 29'er down all the serious DH tracks in Tokai, taking huge drops and doing more with the 29'er than I am doing with my 26". But then again he also rode his 36" down most of the single track in Tokai.

Is this not true in general though ? Some people spend copious amounts of cash on a bike but are simple weekend warriors... not that being a weekend warrior is a bad thing ... it's just the amount of cash spent vs the actual gain.

I'm sure ... that's why it helps to have a range of sizes one can play with. Currently I have a 20", 26", and 29". I had a 24" but found the 26" to be better.

It's not about how big it is, but rather what you do with it .... I'm talking about the bikes of course

Amen brother ..... Not sure why people get so worked up by the different sizes. The point at the end of the day is that you are riding, and it could be a tricycle for that matter ... or a unicycle

I have a 29'er mountain uni which I enjoy riding, but just not as much as my 26'er. Whether the 29'er will work is down to riding style and what you like doing. The 29'er doesn't hold up to the downhill riding I like doing as much as my 26, but it does go faster which is partly why I'm not so keen on Downhill with it ... quite simply it sometimes scares the cr*p out of me, especially since it's much twitcher than my 26.... but I'm rambling here

All this 29'er hate ..... a tinge of jealousy perhaps ... just asking

This was posted to a Unicycle forum I am on.... Quite an interesting concept. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/amazing-forkless-phantom-bike-by-olli-erkkila-video-photos.php

hahahahahaha that was funny

Lol no running for these guys. Their uni's have Magura hydrolic brakes fitted which are used as a drag brake to help take pressure off the knees and control the descent. The brakes are not strictly required but they do make riding a little easier on the descents. I will say that using the brake takes some getting used to. I have one fitted to my 26" mountain uni and I still won't use it with anything technical, but only use it on the jeep tracks.

4 Unicyclists took part in this year's Argus, 3 on 36" Uni's, 1 on a 24" Uni. Of the 36" Uni's one had a geared hub. Congratulations to Dylan who crossed the finish line in 5h15 (ungeared), followed closely by Johnny in a time of 5h25 (geared). David made 3rd place in 6h20 (ungeared). Bonifasi, on his 24", made it to Kommetjie in 8h30 before being picked up by the sweepers. In my opinion a herculean effort by all 4.I am blown away by the finishing time which was faster than a larger portion of the bike riders. I am immensely impressed with Bonifasi as he has only been riding a unicycle for 3 months Well done guys !!! :clap: :clap: Dylan crossing the line in 1st place Johnny crossing in 2nd

Awesome skills man nice.... enjoyed watching that. Some nice lines, and some large gaps as well. Particularly liked the rolling endo, and the transitions from front wheel to back.

I'm glad that WOFT has saved the thread from the direction it was heading. Imhotep ... dude ... there have been a few unicyclists on TheHub for a while now. We've been courteous to the bikers on the forum as it is predominantly a bike cycling forum. It's a bit offsides to post inflammatory comments given how fringe unicycling is. We've also made a huge effort to be friendly and open when riding on the trails in an effort get people to dispel the circus stigma and see unicycling for what it is. Tumbleweed... great to the the youngsters riding a uni. Perhaps you should give it a go as well

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi1348704793/ "A documentary film that details the sport of extreme unicycling and addresses factors that make this unique sport so enjoyable and socially misunderstood." A very good documentary film which I enjoyed watching. Gives some insight into extreme unicycling and typical cliches associated with unicycling.

Exactly Less maintenance.... just keep riding

Never wash my uni. No need to really. It's a Mountain Uni ... it's supposed to be dirty.