Learning the 29er

[MP Uni]

Tomarrow I'm getting a 29" nimbus drak Muni. I ordered it with KH double hole (125/150mm) cranks. In your opinion and based on your experience do you think it would be easier to learn with the 125mm holes or the 150mm holes?

[saskatchewanian]

Generally 150 would be easier to learn with but it depends on what you are used to.

[mollyspang]

Originally Posted by saskatchewanian

Generally 150 would be easier to learn with

Yep, I totally agree with you on that!

[Ereksonj]

I jumped from a 24" with 150's to a 29" with 125's. It was weird at first, but I could ride it no problem. Personally, I find it easier to make the transition between unis with the same crank length. I can more easily go from my trials uni with 125's to my 29er with 125's than from my 24" with 150's to my 29er.

[MP Uni]

Wow!!! Thanks for all the answers! I was hoping y'all would answer before it got here, which is today, but not within the hour! Thanks again. One thing though, my trials has 137mm cranks(K1 street) so that's right in between, but I guess I could brush up on riding my learner. It has 125's. I'll probably start with them on the muni.
One other question. Do you think I should invest in a brake right away or wait to see if I really need it?

[jbtilley]

So you already know how to ride and you are just transitioning to the larger wheel? If that's the case 125's shouldn't give you too much trouble.

I got a 29" uni and left the pedals in the 150mm holes until a new seat post that was long enough arrived. I only rode 1 mile on the lower seat but it wasn't that big of a deal with respect to adjusting to the larger size. When the seat post arrived I also switched the cranks to the 125mm holes. I noticed that it was slightly harder to free mount and I felt like I wasn't as in control during the ride, but after logging about 20 miles of riding that feeling went away.

I still find it harder to free mount, especially with weight on my back. I suspect I'll get better with time. The other issue with that is the uni is significantly lighter than my other uni, so the difference in weight makes me stress the free mount a bit and stress never translates to good riding technique.

[MP Uni]

Man! This is absolutely awesome! I spent about an hour just riding. When I started I put the pedals in the 125mm holes. I then went out and freemounted with no problem at all! I was so surprised that I fell off after about twenty feet. The seat was to low so I adjusted it and put the pedals in the 150mm holes. I found that this was not as fast and harder work to pedal but a little easier to free mount so I went back to the 125s. I rode for a while then got my trials and found to my ultimate surprise that I almost COULDN'T ride it. I was like . After a few tries I could do almost all my skills on my trials. I think I will be spending a lot more time on my 29er now.

[Nurse Ben]

I love 29ers, though they can be a lot to handle at times, it is a great all around size for muni. I ride 150's now, worked my way down from 170's. A shorter crank is totally rideable, but at a certain point you'll find that riding down hills will require a brake and climbing will be harder. The longer crank helps with both of these issues.

[scotthue]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

I love 29ers, though they can be a lot to handle at times, it is a great all around size for muni. I ride 150's now, worked my way down from 170's. A shorter crank is totally rideable, but at a certain point you'll find that riding down hills will require a brake and climbing will be harder. The longer crank helps with both of these issues.

Agreed, though I would argue that point isn't until you get down to 100mm cranks.

[onewheeldave]

Originally Posted by scotthue

Agreed, though I would argue that point isn't until you get down to 100mm cranks.

Originally Posted by scotthue

Agreed, though I would argue that point isn't until you get down to 100mm cranks.

That point is dependant on the steepness of the hill and the state of a persons knees

There's plenty of hills that are not practical on 125s and doable on 150s.

Simple fact is that shorter cranks=less leverage and therefore less control- that doesn't just kick in at one particular crank length.

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

I love 29ers, though they can be a lot to handle at times, it is a great all around size for muni. I ride 150's now, worked my way down from 170's. A shorter crank is totally rideable, but at a certain point you'll find that riding down hills will require a brake and climbing will be harder. The longer crank helps with both of these issues.

I agree fully- I find that pretty much any hill I'd want to ride down is fine on 150s, whereas 125s cause too much stress on my (44yr old) knees.

I could install brakes and tackle the hills on short cranks, but, personally, I don't want brakes, much preferring the simplicity of the basic unicycle- using 150's makes that feasible.

[SinisterJay]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

I love 29ers, though they can be a lot to handle at times, it is a great all around size for muni. I ride 150's now, worked my way down from 170's. A shorter crank is totally rideable, but at a certain point you'll find that riding down hills will require a brake and climbing will be harder. The longer crank helps with both of these issues.

I ride (almost) exclusively 29'er now with 145 cranks. started at 24" with 150 cranks. It does appear harder at first, but learn to stand as you ride downhill (pinch the saddle with your thighs) if you don't want to brake and you'll be fine!

Good luck!

[Nurse Ben]

That point is dependant on the steepness of the hill and the state of a persons knees

Yeah, and also your age

100's are pretty short, I doubt that I could manage the hill climbs I do with anything shorter than about a 135; I have tried 125's and it was not even close to useable for what I ride, but for downhill anything works with good brake control.

When I went to 150's from 166-170, there was a huge drop in my climbing ability, some of which I regained with adaptation, but I still can't climb the steeps anywhere near as well as I could with a longer crank; my downhills and flats have improved because I'm smoother.

It's all a compromise because we cannot change gears in order to improve efficiency. I ride 150's now because I wanted to improve my spin on the flats, so I was willing to accept some loss in hill climbing.

[UniMyra]

Originally Posted by SinisterJay

learn to stand as you ride downhill

I haven't thought of that. Tried it today. Works great!

[wobbling bear]

Originally Posted by SinisterJay

It does appear harder at first, but learn to stand as you ride downhill (pinch the saddle with your thighs) if you don't want to brake and you'll be fine!

I have a slightly different technique: yes I pinch the saddle with my thighs, but I do not stand, I just bend my torso forward down with my arms extended further down (I call this the "chimpazee position"), though it is impressive and unnatural (we tend to stand up "against" the slope) it is very efficient for control.