Learning Journal

[tstessney]

One week and I'm still waiting for comfirmation of shipping of a seatpost from Coker. Can't ride much longer on a shorty. Emailed them once - where's my seatpost?????? Changed out the mountain tire for a street tire on my N26 Muni and been having lots of fun on that, but want to do some flying on the 36"!

[NotSoYoungOne]

Originally Posted by tstessney

Changed out the mountain tire for a street tire on my N26 Muni and been having lots of fun on that, but want to do some flying on the 36"!

I like the slick tire on the 26" too - lots of fun riding so smooth compared to the nobby. But it is kind of a pain to wrestle such big tires on and off that thing!

Just got back from my longest ride yet - 11 miles! Woohoo. My previous longest was 6 miles the day I shot the video a couple weeks ago. Bert (UPD in Utah) and I met and rode along the Jordan River trail (where I shot the snow ride video). Had a couple really nice UPD's where I went flying OFF the 36"!!!! But I was able to run out each UPD (never took a tumble) and ended up having a nice ride. Still fighting the torso twist, but it will eventually go away. Guess there are inevitably going to be some challenges when you are learning to ride, especially as a NSYO

It is really fun having a riding partner. This is our third ride together, first one on the big wheel, and I have learned a lot by riding with him. And I am really enjoying the 36er. We were going as fast as 10mph a few times, but it was surprising that 7mph was pretty easy to maintain on flat terrain. The course we were on had lots of little hills, some of them pretty steep so it was fun learning to climb. For now I will keep the 170mm cranks on it until I get much smoother, then go to the 150's.

Though I said it was easy, that is not completely true . I am pretty spent, so it is time to run over to the gym for some therapy in the steam sauna and jacuzzi Ahhhhhh

G'night everyone.

[missingawheel]

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone! I'm feeling great, but can't risk injury for a while yet.

Last night I had a dream I was riding one wheel again... cruel, but better than nothing

Nice new ride PAX, can't wait to ride with you again. Yes let me know when you're out this way NSYO! Would love to ride with all of you, what a great bunch of folks I've found here!

[tstessney]

NSYO: Do you have the Hookworm 26 X 2.5 on your N26? If you do, what pressure do you ride it at and does it seem squirrely on a road that has some cambre? I just got one and at 35psi it was terrible to control, so I bumped it up to 50psi and is better, but still a little squirrely. Love the tire and is great for tooling around the neighborhood.

[NotSoYoungOne]

Hey TS: I have had the Duro nobby on it for a while and when I had the Hookworm on it I was still really squirrely on any surface so I can't make a good response. I am going to go for a good long ride tomorrow and I have made some nice improvement (though I am still pretty UN-smooth, if you know what I mean ). I was just trying to decide whether to go out on the 36er on a paved trail or the N26 on a dirt road. Maybe I can put the Hookworm back on it and try to ride on the asphalt, including some cambered roadsides, and get a feel. I will take your lead and put fairly high pressure in it and will let you know what I learn. What length crank arms do you have? I have the KH dual hole 137/165 and will ride it tomorrow in the 137's. The shorter cranks should result in increased speed and a smoother ride but we'll see

BTW, did you look at the "Choose Your Weapon or Collect Them All?" thread? It is a good question the guy poses. I have never enjoyed MT Biking but I really love riding the N26. I find that the 20" is really good for working on skills. And the smoothness, speed, and challenge of the 36er is too much to leave alone. Nevertheless, I think I like the 26" the best at this point. So it will be good to get back on it with the smooth tire for a couple rides. I think I am still going to ride all of them though, so I guess I must be a "Collect Them All" (and try to ride them all) kinda guy. Jack of all sizes, master of none?

How about everyone else? What is your favorite ride?

Back at'cha tomorrow TS. G'night.

[tstessney]

I have 150s on the N26. I mostly ride the N26, then the Coker and I'm almost never on the 20" anymore. Since I started riding the Coker, I can handle the 26" like I could handle the 20" when the 26" was the "big one". Come spring, I'll have to either split-up my time between uni and MTN biking, or give up some sleep.

[tstessney]

NSYO: I have a Maxxis Minion 2.7 DH for the N26 that I like better than the stock Duro only because it is over a pound lighter (with a regular MTN tube - the stock tube is REALLY heavy). It has great traction, high volume and a 2-ply sidewall. What tire do you have on your 36"? I have the "off road" Coker tire which does surprisingly well in the dirt. It is only rated for 32psi, which is where I keep it, so the ride is soft and it is not squirrely on the road.

[NotSoYoungOne]

After wrestling to get the Duro nobby off the rim for several minutes I gave up and just left it on there. Sorry TS, I will have to put the Hookworm on there another day when I am more ambitious about removing the Duro!

After pumping the nobby up to max PSI of 35 I warmed up for about a mile on pavement then headed down the dirt road I rode on several weeks ago in the mud and snow. This time it was pretty soft but not particularly muddy except in a few spots. Some folks had been riding horses on it so there were tons of bumps from the hoofprints. After about 1/2 mile I was really fighting the upper torso twist when I had an epiphany. I am right handed, but left foot dominant. And I just today realized how pronounced that dominance is.

Key Learnings:
1. My left foot must be pushing much harder on the pedal than my right
2. This is why my upper torso twists so often and so severely to the right
3. This is also why all my freemounts twist to the left
4. By focusing on mashing the right pedal I can really improve both the mounts and the straight-and-level riding.

Did I solve the whole problem in a day? No. But I made big progress. And it was really cool to finally figure out the root cause of both the torso-twist and left-going freemounts.

Some of you may laugh at how obvious this seems, and that I should have figured it out much earlier. But oh well. I am still pumped to finally figure it out today!!

Originally Posted by tstessney

Come spring, I'll have to either split-up my time between uni and MTN biking, or give up some sleep.

I will have to either give up road biking, or adjust my uni learning goals down to more minimal levels. At this point, though I have loved road riding for many years, I am inclined to spend my time on the N26 learning MUni, and on the 36er.

Originally Posted by tstessney

I have a Maxxis Minion 2.7 DH for the N26 that I like better than the stock Duro only because it is over a pound lighter

The Duro has pretty soft rubber so when it wears out I will try out another tire, either the one you mention or one I saw on some other thread recently (but can't seem to find now )

Originally Posted by tstessney

What tire do you have on your 36"? I have the "off road" Coker tire which does surprisingly well in the dirt. It is only rated for 32psi, which is where I keep it, so the ride is soft and it is not squirrely on the road.

I have the Nimbus Night Rider which is what came on it. I think it is rated up to 45 PSI and I put 40 in it. If I try to take it on the dirt I will let some air out. There are 2 things that Coker makes that I really like, and that tire is one of them. If I did a lot of Coker MUni I would definitely get that tire. It looks so cool! I also love the V2 frame. John Foss has one that he is not using and I hope to buy it from him in a couple months. For now I better quit spending money on uni-stuff for a while!

Dang this is a hard sport! I have come so far since I started, but I am still such a noob! Today's ride was great because I finally figured out what to do about my torso-twist problem. But I am not yet very smooth and in control. it takes a lot - in my case it will be measured in years - to get nice and smooth. But I think the mix of Coker and MUni will really balance each other and the cross-training will benefit both a lot. Occasional sessions on the 20" will be good for learning skills like idling, riding backwards, etc.

Whew! Only 6.5 miles (I say only tongue-in-cheek!) and I am pretty spent. But almost half was on soft dirt, gravel, and mud. So I guess that is not too bad!

Hope to hear from some of our other TLJ friends soon! G'night.

Brian

[Alucard]

Hello all,
I've spent the last 4 nights reading this thread from the beginning. I've registered so I can tell you folks how much I've enjoyed this thread. It really is an inspiration, reading how you all are doing and progressing.
I bought my first 'cheap' 20 inch uni last summer. With the help of my better half and a wall I learnt to stay on the uni after a few weeks.
Now how is this for a coincidence...............................
While walking to visit my mum I passed a young chap with a unicycle. I said "excuse me but how do you ride that thing?, I've got one and can't for the life of me ride it". He then told me about a juggling club that meets on a Monday night where there are lots of unicylists of all ages, and to come along and join in. "Where is this club?, I hear you ask, well, it's only five minutes away from my home. Good eh!
We go once a week and have lots of fun. ( and a cuppa at half time :-) With lots of help and encouragement I can now ride about 50 feet and can turn allbeit a bit wobbly and only to the left, but I'm getting there. 2 weeks ago I bought a new 20 inch uni, this has a 2.5 inch tyre and a comfier seat. I find this easier to balance on. I still can't idle or free mount for toffee but I feel it is only a matter of time and I'll crack it.
It has been wild and wooly here the last couple of days so my uni has been sat in the hallway, but come tomorrow night (allbeing well) I'll be practising
my free mounts and trying to idle.
My legs ache a lot, but when I remember and think 'let the seat feel the weight of my bum' I ride better and my legs don't ache as much.
Thank You everyone for a great read.
Alucard

[aarons]

Hi Alucard. That was good luck finding other unicyclists close by. It'll keep you motivated. That's the great secret of unicycling - little by little, day by day, month by month, year by year.

[tstessney]

Welcome Alucard. Here's what I came up with this morning in the garage. It's a old, cheapo, strap-on bike rack with an assortment of MTN bike and Razor scooter parts for the upright support. All I need is some pipe wrap for padding. It fits the 36er as well as the N26 and even the 20".

[NotSoYoungOne]

Originally Posted by Alucard

I've spent the last 4 nights reading this thread from the beginning.

A warm welcome Alucard! If you have the stamina to read this entire thread you certainly will have no problem learning to ride a unicycle We look forward to hearing your adventures, and any learnings along the way. BTW, a regular here on the TLJ is DocDoo. I think he lives just north of you in the Morecambe/Lancaster area. I hope to get over there some time. He and I have had a blast sharing messages from the beginning of this crazy thread, and I am sure you could have a great time riding with him. I have been just across the sea from you in Dublin 3 times on business, but don't get over that way anymore! Wish I did so I could just work in an extra day to hop the ferry and come over for a ride. Who knows, maybe someday...

TS - that is quite the rig! I'll go out on a limb and venture that it might draw a few stares, especially with the Coker on it You have quite a pile of snow! Ours is all pretty much melted except up in the mountains. We finally bought a snow blower this year and my wife was joking that since we bought it we were guaranteed not to get anymore big snowfall's this year! So far she is right. It all went through the midwest with a fury last week, but Utah stayed dry (pun intended).

[tstessney]

The snowpile above the driveway is deceptive. We haven't had too much snow this year - not like last year. Folks to our west (Pittsburgh) and east (Philly) got hammered this year, but we in Central Pa were lucky (so far).
I went out around town on the Coker today for several miles. I really like how smooth the big one is on the street. It's almost like everything is in slow-motion. Then I came home and went for another couple on the N26 with the Hookworm tire. Today I pumped it up to 60psi. I thought this would produce a ride that was way too harsh, but I was surprised that it still had enough "give" to be a comfortable ride. I even did a little urban Muni - jumping up on curbs and riding across crappy, broken sidewalks. It also was even less squirrely than at 50psi. The road crown had almost no effect on the fat tire.
NYSO: I've also noticed a "twist", but to my right - especially when I'm getting tired. Today, I corrected the twist by grabbing the seat nose with my right hand when I start twisting and this seems to work. I'm really working on holding onto the handle while riding as this seems to smooth out the overall ride.
I'm getting in some really good rides for it being winter. I hope Punxsy Phil is right - I wouldn't care if we didn't get anymore snow for the year - I can't wait to hit the trails and ride on sidewalks without snowbanks and ice!

[missingawheel]

My first ride since surgery (23 days ago!) went very well!

I went for a jog, felt good, then decided to try the 20"; my skills seem about the same as a month ago, no problem putting around, turning, up and down hills. Took it easy, want to take it slow and not damage the healing belly... maybe in a week or so I'll be brave enough to get back on the 29". With the seat low the 20" is the perfect rehab uni, can just step off, and it goes slow!

Alucard: welcome!
TS: love that scooter rig! Careful passing the b***ers with the 36'er on the back!
NSYO: congrats on discovering your asymmetry, I found that forcing myself to grab the seat with both hands forces me to pedal and twist symmetrically.
PAX: I'll let you know when I think I'm ready to be challenged by you, hopefully soon!

[NotSoYoungOne]

Originally Posted by missingawheel

My first ride since surgery (23 days ago!) went very well!

Hey Gregg, welcome back. Glad to hear the surgery went well. Pretty amazing to be back in the saddle so soon! I guess the whole 'take it easy' or 'take it slow' thing is relative when it comes to crazy people who ride on one wheel

For what it's worth, don't over do it

Brian