Stupid Question - Which Giraffe is best to ride gently !

[blackmoj@ferndown.ate.slb.com]

Hi there,

Thought I'd risk asking a contentious question !

I have had a Pashley 20" UMX for about 2 years now, and have had no trouble at
all with it (contrary to what I've read on this list :-). I tighten (well check
really) the cotter pins and pedals often, and I don't ride it that hard (ie no
bunny hops, but I go down kerbs and ride a fair distance).

Anyway, thats not what I'm asking, I'd really like a 5/6ft Giraffe ! But I live
in the UK and am a little restricted in choice (and funds!).

What do people recommend in this area, I'm basically after the cheapest 5/6ft
giraffe I can get that won't fall apart on me !

I live about 10 minutes drive from DM in christchurch, but I've heard that their
giraffes are 300 quid plus (and sometimes plus plus plus!), and 6 weeks waiting.

I was really looking for something around (under?) 200 UK pounds !

Any suggestions/horror stories on models and suppliers (MBTM,
Butterfingers etc) ?

Also how long can I expect to take to free mount and ride the Giraffe, obviously
not exactly but am I looking at a couple of evenings, or 6 months hard work ?

James.

[Tim Sheppard]

>
>Also how long can I expect to take to free mount and ride the Giraffe,
>obviously not exactly but am I looking at a couple of evenings, or 6 months
>hard work ?
>
>
>James.

A couple of evenings should get you up on a five-footer - not reliably perhaps,
but once every few tries. A six-footer may take a little more work, but won't
take more than a few days to get into the basic swing of it. Getting the free
mount really solid will take longer of course. Riding is easy. It won't take you
more than a few minutes to adjust. If the wheel is a different size to your
other uni that may throw you for a short while. But when you lose your balance
on a giraffe it takes longer to fall over, so you have longer to recover.

========================================================
Tim Sheppard tim@lilliput-p.win-uk.net Lilliput Press - Publisher of fine books
in miniature
========================================================

[Daniel Dick]

On Thu, 9 Mar 1995, Tim Sheppard wrote:

> ... Riding is easy. It won't take you more than a few minutes to adjust. If
> the wheel is a different size to your other uni that may throw you for a short
> while. But when you lose your balance on a giraffe it takes longer to fall
> over, so you have longer to recover.
>

Funny thing, but riding my friend's giraffe was no problem. Getting off and back
onto my short unicycle that I had ridden for years was. I had to walk around for
awhile before I could get back into the swing.

(What did you mean by having longer to recover??? I know when I hit the sidewalk
a few times, it took me a little lonnger to recover than when I fell off the
short uni :-) or :-( or a little of each...