slip said:hey guys, i was thinkin of riding this years la marathon on a uni. whats
your preferred tire widthe and crank length? thanks
The best combination for you will depend on a few factors:
-your fitness
-your experience at long distance riding
-how much money you have to burn
-how much time you have to train
-the course you will be riding on (hilly or flat, nicely paved or lots
of bumps, lots of traffic or nice clear roads etc)
-what you plan to do in the future
I suggest you begin by thinking about what kind of riding you plan to
do in the long term. It is not a great idea to fork out hard earned
cash for a unicycle that you will only need for one ride.
You can do distance riding on a 24" wheel with short cranks BUT it will
take longer to complete a marathon than using a bigger wheel. If you
are fairly fit, you can pull out a 42km ride with little or no
training. On a 24" wheel it will probably take you around 4 hours to
complete it. (Although people have managed sub 2 hours 30 times on a
24" wheel). If this is the only time you are planning on doing a
longish ride then it is possible to stick with the 24" wheel.
If you are planning on doing more long distance riding then it is
probably worth investing in a commuter of some kind. The first
decision is whether to go for a 28 / 29er or a 36 inch wheel. I'll
lump the 28 and 29 inch sizes together as one as they are pretty
similar.
29ers are very versitile and manoueverable unicycles. They work well
for inner city commutes where you have to start and stop a lot.
Depending on components they can be very light weight which is a big
plus if you are going on hilly rides. You can get a good cruising
speed out of them, although a 36 inch wheel ridden by a good rider is
capable of higher speeds. My daily commute to work takes around 50
minutes on a 29er.
36ers roll over just about anything once you get them up to speed but
require a bit more effort to stop, start and turn. Getting up hills is
harder work and they are not great for riding at slower speeds. Once
you are cranking on a 36 though, you can really fly along and they are
ideal for open road riding. Their size does count against them when
travelling with them (they are harder to fit in a car or plane). On
the other hand their size also makes them look more impressive when you
go for a ride. The learning curve on a 36 is also a little steeper,
especially when learning to mount. My daily commute takes around 45
minutes on a 36er.
If you plan on commuting around city areas then a 29er is a good
choice. If you plan on doing more open road riding then it is probably
better to opt for a 36.
Regarding crank lengths, I suggest you start with fairly long cranks
when first getting the hang of a commuter and then fit shorter ones
once you are used to it. The more experienced long distance riders
tend to run shorter cranks than those who are just starting out at
distance riding. This is because shorter cranks make it easier to
sustain higher pedaling cadences (and hence higher speed). Shorter
cranks also make it harder to go up hills and turn, but you can
compensate for that by getting fitter, stronger and more skilled at
riding.
I ride a 29er with 102s but would recommend no shorter than 125s until
you have a few miles under your belt.
I ride a 36er with 125s but would recommend no shorter than 150s until
you have a few miles under your belt.
--
peter.bier
-Peter Bier
------------------------------------------------------------------------
peter.bier's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1506
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/44240
