Ultimate Wheel Questions

Ok, I have one and I ride it sometimes, so I will do my best to answer
your questions to the best of my knowledge.

What is the "range" of an Ultimate Wheel?

I am not quite sure what the range of an avid ultimate wheeler is, but
my range is as of now usually about 50 feet before my shinpads mess up
the wheels rotation or the wheel hurts me.

How much better is a true Ultimate Wheel?

Extremely better. Having the pedals right near the wheel allows the
wheel to stay close to your legs and offers more stability. Hve you ever
tried a seat drag on your unicycle. Terrbly hard. So ultimate wheel is
the way to go over cranks and wheel.

How hard is it to idle?

It is not too difficult to idle, provided you have the proper leg
protection and lubrication. The wheel is basically resting on one of
your legs while you idle.

What size should I purchase?

Can't help you much here, but I have a 24 inch one. According to
unicycle.com, the larger ones are easier to ride.

Is there an ultimate wheel sold that has no vertical spokes?

I do not know the answer to this one. Most ultimate wheels are solid,
spoked, or like the Nimbus's on unicycle.com.

How durable are they?
Mine seems very durable. It is very light weight, but I have fallen over
and actually stepped on the metal reletivly hard, and nothing has
happened. Homebuilt ones like the one i tried to build arent too
durable.

Does anyone have one they want to sell?
I wouldn't sell mine. They are nice to have just for fun and to show to
other people and unicyclists. Having other unicyclists try them is fun
to watch.

Other Information

First of all, learning an ultimate wheel is very painful on the legs.
Proper shin guards are very important. I have scars on each leg in the
exact same place, where the wheel rubs. Silicone spray also relieves
some of the friction.

I do not know how well the ultimate wheel would hold up in the extreme
condidtions you speak of, but they are fun to ride, so I reccomend
getting one.

Your back will be sore from chasing the wheel, bending over and getting
it, and restarting the process.

I hope that helped.

--
thejuggler24 - Learning one scar at a time
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I'll qualify what I have to say by admitting that I don't yet ride the
ultimate wheel.

I have, however, built one and own two. I've watched four of my kids
learn how to ride it. One of them is riding off of drops higher than
12" and hopping up curbs, etc.

He can ride in stretches up to 1/4 mile perhaps between rests. I don't
doubt that with practice, one could go much farther than that.

Ours are both 24" models. The one I built is a disc of 3/4" plywood.
The other is steel, with a central "spoke" of box-section steel about 1
1/2" x 1/2", and two other thinner spokes(it looks like six spokes).
This one was constructed by Morgan Hansen, and gifted to us at Moab this
year. My son likes it because he can grab the wheel easily with a full
grip for jumping, rather than needing to pinch it for grip. Both wheels
have a plain street tire with smooth sidewalls, which have been further
sanded so that friction on the calves is kept to a minimum. Silicon
spray further asists in this effort. Both were made to accept standard
9/16" pedals instead of the 1/2" variety(which is what you'll find at
unicyle dot com). Neither of ours will break easily, but falls where
you land on the wheel can put tremendous stresses on the pedals, and
I've seen and heard about pedals bent in this manner.

As for the other questions. Easy to idle. A true ultimate wheel is
exponentially better than a frameless unicyle wheel and cranks. 24" is
best to start, I think, though they can be done in any size, including
Coker.

You can build one. All you really need is sufficient desire!

--
elmer - uniimpaired

"At 40 life begins...to show."
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Jerry Gruss (goes by jerryg here on the forums) has ridden an ultimate
wheel for an entire parade. That wasn't without stops. George Peck
rode a cranky muni UW for a parade. Beau Hoover rode a 20" UW to school
at least once (that includes hills).

Doing long rides on an UW is not easy. Especially when you have to deal
with hills and other unevenness. An UW is much easier when it's all
perfectly flat. I sometimes try to ride a short loop that goes through
the parking lot, down to the sidewalk, along the sidewalk, and then back
up to the parking lot. It's about a 1/4 loop or less. I have never
made it the entire way. My legs completely give out. Going uphill
(even a slight hill) is not easy on an ultimate wheel.

Riding an ultimate wheel is a leg workout. As you get better and
smoother it will become easier on the legs. I'm still a bit sloppy so I
don't know how easy it can get. I do hope it gets easier on the legs
otherwise I'm not going to be able to get far with the thing.

A true UW is easier to ride than a cranky UW. A cranky UW is a unicycle
wheel with the cranks and pedals. There is much less wheel flop with a
true UW. I can ride a regular UW a bit, but I can't get anywhere trying
to ride a muni wheel as an ultimate wheel. It's totally different. But
George Peck says that the wider Q-factor of the cranky muni UW gives him
more control. I'm a long ways away from being able to ride the thing
and finding out if that is true. I'm probably just going to stick to
the standard UW.

Idling is kind of possible on a UW, but the wheel is going to be rubbing
one of your legs almost the entire time. You'll need to be wearing
something that will allow the wheel to rub your leg like that without
getting hung up or getting uncomfortable. I've done a few idles, never
more. Idling for more than a few cycles would not be easy.

--
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Pedals with good grip help, but bear trap style pedals won't last very
long.
In the beginning I often landed on top of the wheel when I fell. The
metal strips around the pedals where broken after the second practice
session.

--
Borges

"However, I confess that the ultimate wheel lacks the day to day
practicality of the conventional unicycle" -Mikefule
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The UW36 is great...well...'great'...for going distances. I have so far
gone about 3km in one standing.

It's an incredible leg workout, but the large diameter of the wheel
makes it great for control, speed, and bump absorbtion.

TWNR features the UW36, and captures how fun it can be, and opens the
door to alot of possiblities of tricks, etc. that can be figured out
with it.

It's a great toy

--
Brian MacKenzie - LAN Solo

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I did a lap of the track on mine (400 metres) on grass. I couldn' have
ridden any further. Technique makes a big difference, I don't doubt
people can ride much further.

The tyre makes a big difference. Some are stickier than others. The
one I have at the moment makes idling a lot easier. On a good day I can
get three clubs going as well.

I'd say go for a 26". It is easier to ride than a 20 or 24 and there is
a much better tyre choice.

--
nickjb - I've lost a wheel (apparently)
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If my ankles are weak from Muni, is an ultimate wheel something I should
avoid? It intrigues me though.

--
The Munieer - One for the...Off Road

Rod Wylie - For Contact - DO NOT PM
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I just use an old uni minus the frame.It wobbles back and forth beetwen
your legs a lot more.I rode sombodys real UW(i.e. no cranks)at moab,and
for me at first it was very hard to get on,i guess becuase i wasnt used
to the pedals being in so close.but i got the hang of it and I think
that a true UW is much easier,'cept i had trouble mounting.Its also MUCH
easier to idle on.Idling doesnt burn your legs as much as regular
riding,and i was idling for several minutes at a time.(untill i got
bored)Idling is not that hard.In my opion,true UW's are hareder to
rolling mount,jump mount,etc.

THe farthest i've ridden is probally 1/2 mile,with hills,with many
dismounts and rests.It does burn your calves prettty good.THis is on a
24".

I've done about 12" drops aswell

--
forrestunifreak - Team YAMS member

Old school,new school,dont go to school.
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The Munieer said:

*If my ankles are weak from Muni, is an ultimate wheel something I
should avoid? It intrigues me though. *

The ankle forces from riding an ultimate wheel would be similar to
trying to idle a regular unicycle seat out front. If your ankles can
manage the idling seat out front then you should be OK for the actual UW
riding. But then there is the issue of some possibly clumsy dismounts
from the UW while learning. Those clumsy dismounts could possibly
injure an ankle.

While learning the UW I had problems with my ankles rubbing very
uncomfortably against the wheel and the rim. I had to wear ankle guards
(like my 661 ankle biters) while riding. Now that I'm past the beginner
stage I don't need the ankle protection as much.

--
john_childs - Guinness Mojo

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john_childs said:

*But then there is the issue of some possibly clumsy dismounts from
the UW while learning. Those clumsy dismounts could possibly injure
an ankle.*

The clumsy ankle benders happen WAY more than a typical 'clumsy
dismount' (from a normal uni) as I have seen.

I find the ungraceful dismount to be far more common, and at a much
weirder angle.

I can still feel the part of my ankle i sprained from UW'ing over a year
ago

--
Brian MacKenzie - LAN Solo

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Brian MacKenzie said:

*The clumsy ankle benders happen WAY more than a typical 'clumsy
dismount' (from a normal uni) as I have seen.

*

I agree totally. Ultimate wheels look and feel far more dangerous when
you fall off them than when you fall off a normal unicycle.

There is a reasonably high chance your foot will land on the falling
ultimate wheel rather than the ground, resulting in a sprained ankle.

Also the chance of landing on your back, butt or worse is siginicantly
higher. I own an ultimate wheel because the original owner sold it
after falling backwards on to his head and sustaining a concusion.

I would recommend wearing gloves, leg armour and a helmet for learning
to ride an ultimate wheel. The leg armour is the most critical
ingredient. After my first try I had to wait two weeks for my skin to
heal before I could try again.

36" coker ultimate wheels are fun but hard to get going. A rolling
mount seems to work the best on the bigger ultimate wheels.

--
peter.bier - Unicycle trasher

-Peter Bier

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