I am not a quick learner. Never mind graphs and that, I just know I had
to work hard at idling for several long sessions before I could do it.
Ditto with freemounting, reversing, and even turns in each direction.
It seems so long ago.
I bought my 28 with 110 mm cranks and was able to idle it with
reasonable ease on a smooth gym floor the first time I rode it.
With 102s, I now find it is idleable as long as I show great care.
I have no doubt that with 150s, it would idle almost as easily as the
20.
A 29er is only marginally bigger than a 28 (3% bigger) but it is a bit
heavier. So if I can do that on a 28 with 102s, then you can do that on
a 29 with 125s, with practice.
I don't want to get too heavily involved in the maths, but a simple
comparison of leverage shows that if your 29er has 125mm cranks, that is
in a sense equivalent to a 20 with 86 mm cranks. However, that simple
comparison misses much of the story.
You don't have a 29 to do tricks and stunts on, but to ride. The skills
you need to be a good all round rider are freemount, ride straight, turn
smooothly, turn sharply, stop under control, idle briefly, dismount
neatly. Anything else is a bonus.
The reason that idling a 29 might seem difficult is that it begs you to
ride it far and fast. When you are simply riding far and fast, you are
learning/practising nothing except riding. It takes a certain amount of
self discipline to devote a few minutes of each ride to practising
idling or mounting or reversing.
The trick to idling a big uni is not to think of rocking backwards and
forwards, but to think of moving in a controlled way from one position
to another.
Position A is wheel forward, uni just starting to tip backwards, and
position B is wheel backwards, uni just starting to tip forwards. You
need to "ride" smoothly from one position to the other at low speed,
rather than simply "pumping" like you do on a 20.
Although I blow my own trumpet a lot by writing up my adventures, there
is abundant evidence from many witnesses in this forum that I am not a
particularly talented rider, so if I can idle a 28, I'm 100% sure you
can idle a 29. But it will take time and practice.
Have fun trying. It's a skill that will improve your riding pleasure,
not a duty, or an exam. A bit at a time. Try stopping under control
then starting again. Get better at the idling. Always dismount of the
back. Maybe shorten the cranks on your 20. Learn to idle the 20 one
footed, and idling the 29 two footed will be easier.
Good luck.
--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling
The poor lack much, the greedy, everything.
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