Tire pressure, drilled rims, and gauges

[uniShark]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

Hey Unishark, I watched Peck's video posted in another thread, saw him climbing up that big curb and thought that it was a good example of what I was trying to convey in words

Notice he does it without hands, so there really isn't any significant pulling up or hopping, you just "rise up with the unicycle" and roll the obstacle.

Yeah, he was amazing in his time and his riding is still pretty contemporary, and look at that tire, talk about skinny. Seriously, you can't really blame the equipment when what we have now is so much better than what he rode.

The fattest tire I've ridden since this past March is a 2.4", took a cue from KH and some of the other long time riders, seems to be working well so far

So I showed that video to my 11yo, then we went outside to give it a try. I've got a 5" curb going to grass, so perfect for practicing this. Within a few minutes we had both done it successfully. A few minutes later my son had it pretty consistent and was trying to teach me. I got it 4 times and know what it feels like to do it correctly; now just need more practice.

[MadFurai]

I'm not saying it can't be done, but doing this over a 5 to 7 inch curb is quite a bit easier than the 12 inch diameter logs quoted in this forum. I'd still like to see video of that personally.

[uniShark]

Originally Posted by MadFurai

I'm not saying it can't be done, but doing this over a 5 to 7 inch curb is quite a bit easier than the 12 inch diameter logs quoted in this forum. I'd still like to see video of that personally.

The curb in the Peck video looks to be at least 9" to me, and probably more. With proper technique, anything up to slightly less than the radius of the wheel should be rollable. Anyhow, yeah no kidding a 5" curb is easier, but gotta start somewhere, eh?

Today I went for a fairly easy trail ride with my son. During the ride, I picked out avoidable rocks and small logs along the trail and intentionally went over them. I really focused on my technique (as opposed to just trying to survive bumps). When I got home, I did the curb 7 times in a row on my 29er, and also did it a few times on my Coker. The Coker with 152 cranks was actually a bit more difficult than my 29er with 165's, despite the larger radius - probably due to the extra weight, shorter cranks, being tired already, and the fact that I haven't been riding the 36er much lately.

This is the most significant technique/skill improvement jump that I've had in quite a while, so I'm psyched! Thanks Ben and Mr. Peck!

[Nurse Ben]

When I got home, I did the curb 7 times in a row on my 29er, and also did it a few times on my Coker. The Coker with 152 cranks was actually a bit more difficult than my 29er with 165's, despite the larger radius - probably due to the extra weight, shorter cranks, being tired already, and the fact that I haven't been riding the 36er much lately.

It's probably a combination of confidence and torque. I have been riding my 36er off road quite a bit, so I'm comfortable going over logs and rocks. It bridges obstacles very well, better than a 29er, but I worry about damaging the wheel or flatting, so I'm more cautious than I'd be if I was riding my 29er.

I find myself looking for places to ride my 36er off road

I'm not saying it can't be done, but doing this over a 5 to 7 inch curb is quite a bit easier than the 12 inch diameter logs quoted in this forum.

Clay, it's all about practice, which takes time. When I was only a year into my unicycling, I couldn't imagine riding over logs on a 29er, now I do it on a 36er.

[knoxuni]

Ben rides over stuff on his 36er i cant ride over on my 26