29" Discussion thread

[skilewis74]

Originally Posted by legtod2

My kenda klaw is starting to look bare at 450km's.

Guess I can squeak another 50 - 75 km, but that will be it (Done by dec).

What type of tire life are others getting ?

Road, dirt or mix (% of each) ?

[legtod2]

Still working on my new years resolution of idling on my 29"

I'm practicing in my basement.

With my 20" I can easily idle 60 times using right foot down and 20 times with left foot down.

Also practicing riding backwards (5 strokes till I run out of room in basement).

Now I can idle 5 - 6 back and forth motions on 29" but thats it.

The larger wheel diameter is really throwing my off...

Any recommendations?

[gkmac]

Originally Posted by legtod2

Still working on my new years resolution of idling on my 29"

Now I can idle 5 - 6 back and forth motions on 29" but thats it.

The larger wheel diameter is really throwing my off...

Any recommendations?

A few things I can remember about idling a 29er. In my favour I learnt to idle a 20", and then a 24", before trying it on a 29er.

The wheel will obviously travel back-and-forth a greater distance, which will place a greater demand on balancing yourself. Trying to reduce the back-and-forth idling distance to be the same as a 20" wheel will result in the cranks not being horizontal when it's time to change direction, so you don't have as much control.

Remember to try and keep your head and torso relatively still and let your legs (and arms if necessary) do all the work, as if the wheel was the pendulum of a clock. This applies to idling a wheel of any size, although it's a bit more difficult to do when the idle distance is greater.

The other main thing to remember is that the bigger the wheel becomes, the less control you have over the timing of the idle, in other words how many times a minute the wheel goes back-and-forth. I find I can idle at a variety of back-and-forth speeds of my 20", but with the 29er I have to idle at a certain speed otherwise I lose it.

[isaac steiner]

2 days ago I 180 unispinned my 29er

isaac

[Marijn@Belgium]

I got a 29" uni for distance(I'm starting with distance )
I just build it today.

M@B

[augustdreamt]

I've only really been able to ride a unicycle for a month or so now, and I'm in no way a prodigy. I can freemount my 20" Sun about 50% of the time and can ride until my thighs start burning too much. Endurance, pacing, and cadence are definitely things I need to work on.

Last week I ambitiously I ordered a 29" Nimbus. When I saw how HUGE the wheel was (it just arrived yesterday) I was concerned that I might be getting in over my head, but after fooling with it for about ten minutes in the house last night, I feel like I definitely made the right choice! I managed to do a couple of stillstands (no longer than a second) and even successfully freemounted and pedaled a half-revolution (the furthest I could go without hitting the coffee table) a handful of times. I am in love! It's like balancing atop a very tiny and friendly elephant!

I tower over my husband on it (he's 6') and it's a wonderfully exhilerating feeling. I can't wait to take it out for a real spin this afternoon.

[legtod2]

Welcome to the 29 augustdreamt.

After years of riding the 20", I went to a 29" and never looked back.

Its a blast, its fast and man is it fun!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!!!!!!!

can you attach a picture of your new uni ?

[semach.the.monkey]

Originally Posted by augustdreamt

It's like balancing atop a very tiny and friendly elephant!

I love that line. It's put a nice smile on my face ( see!) If I was the sort of person to put quotes in my sig, then that would certainly be in there!

STM

[augustdreamt]

I'll definitely put some pictures up soon! I took it for a spin yesterday and didn't do as well as I'd hoped. I can do a static mount okay, but I'm finding it difficult to get enough momentum to get the wheel rolling. Fortunately, I anticipated this and prepared by ordering 150mm cranks along with the uni.

Unfortunately, I have a slight problem. I removed the 125mm cranks that came with the unicycle, and after installing the 150mm cranks I realized that the cranks are uneven - one is noticeably closer to the wheel than the other, by a few millimeters at least. The one crank refuses to move any further no matter how tightly I screw the bolt. I tried gently hammering the crank on (with a wood block between the hammer and the crank of course!)), but to no avail. Now I'm worried that I may have been a bit too gung-ho with the bolt, but I don't know for sure.

Any idea what could have caused this and what I might be able to do to fix it? Is my unicycle safe to ride in this condition? It's only been a few days and I really hope I haven't screwed it up and made it unridable.

P.S. The cranks I removed are the Quax One square-tapered cranks. The new ones are the cheap $12 cranks from UDC. I'm not sure if that makes any difference.

[semach.the.monkey]

Originally Posted by augustdreamt

Any idea what could have caused this and what I might be able to do to fix it? Is my unicycle safe to ride in this condition? It's only been a few days and I really hope I haven't screwed it up and made it unridable.

P.S. The cranks I removed are the Quax One square-tapered cranks. The new ones are the cheap $12 cranks from UDC. I'm not sure if that makes any difference.

It sounds to me like it's just a manufacturing tollerance issue with the new cranks. $6 each is'm going to pay for the finest machinests in the world working with cutting edge technology.

Try taking off the crank that's sticking out further and making sure the inner and outer faces of the taper are perfectly clean, then smear a bit of grease on there and refit.

You could also take the wheel off and turn it around in the frame, then fit the cranks to the opposite side. That'll show up if it is the crank or the axle that is uneven.

At the end of the day though, as long as the bolts are tight and there is no movement at all between the crank and the axle, then it'll be safe enough to ride.

STM

[Chrashing]

Originally Posted by augustdreamt

It's like balancing atop a very tiny and friendly elephant!

Have to also say that I love that line.

[augustdreamt]

Thanks so much Semach, I'm going to take your advice and see what I can do with it tonight. In the meantime, I'm also going to order cranks that don't suck from UDC.

As for the elephant line, I really can't help but think of my Nimbus like that. I've been referring to it as The Elephant. Perhaps I should name it Babar or something. It just seems to fit.

[augustdreamt]

Originally Posted by legtod2

Welcome to the 29 augustdreamt.

After years of riding the 20", I went to a 29" and never looked back.

Its a blast, its fast and man is it fun!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!!!!!!!

can you attach a picture of your new uni ?

[Chrashing]

augustdream, Looks like you could not be happier!

[1-wheeled-grape]

hi im thinking about getting a big wheel for commuting and id like to get into longer distance riding but im not sure between a 29 or a 36. im only 5'2'' so i dont think i could manage a 36.
what would be the best set up, t7, seat, tyre accesories.
and also what cranks would be best, i would like a kh29 or n36, so im thinking the shorter dual hole kh cranks?
what do you think because i dont know what to choose
(what ever i choose i cant get it untill next year)