As I was Cokorvatin' over the hill I saw Maybelene in a
Coupe De Ville...
But that's another story for another day.
It's been a funny old weekend, with weather varying from
torrential rain and no wind, to too much wind but no rain,
to baking hot sun. Sunday's ride on the MUni was a
disappointment, and Monday's weather was more so... until
mid afternoon.
So, I hit upon a plan to fit the 125mm cranks to the Coker
and take it out for a ride. I've ridden it on 125s before,
but I reverted to 150s because of the extra control and
torque off road. Still, you gotta try these things from
time to time.
I decide to start a few hundred yards away from my usual
place, as I really don't want to fluff my first few mounts
with an audience of 50 bored kids on the park. So, imagine
my chagrin when I get the Coker out of the boot of the car,
only to find that I've attracted quite an audience anyway.
(Strictly speaking, they are spectators, rather than an
audience, as they will be watching (L. spectare) rather than
listening (L. audere) but let's not be pedantic.) Oh, too
late, I have been.
A discussion ensues: Urchin: "Are you going to ride that?"
Me: "We'll see in a minute." Girl: "How do you ride it?"
Mf: "Carefully." Girl (to mother): "How does he sit on it,
that's what I want to know." Mother: "Stupid. It's got
a saddle, look." Me (thinks) "Oh, it's that simple is
it? What a relief."
Fortunately, I freemount first time, although it is a
little scrappy, and I ride the first few metres with my
right heel on the pedal before I get sufficient control to
adjust my position.
Riding a Coker on 125s is easy enough, if you can ride a
Coker at all. However, the problem comes when you hit
topographical irregularities. All too soon, I hit a whole
series thereof, and I slow right down, knowing that the
reduced torque of the shorter cranks will make it harder for
me to make sudden changes of speed to regain my balance. I
totter and sway along the short section of packed mud single
track that leads to the river bank.
Soon, I'm on the packed grit cycle path, and cruising along
smoothly. There are lots of people about, but they're mainly
friendly, and step aside as I pass. As I approach the
sailing club, and the short difficult section of narrow
path, I hear a bicycle behind me and I slow and wave him
past. Another conversation ensues: Him: "See you at the
Mountain Mayhem?"
Mg: "Nope. Not this year." Him: "Done it before?"
Mh: "Nearly. I trained for it then had an accident a week
before and missed it. I know some people who did it on
these, though." Him: "Well, they didn't hold us up too
much." (I think that was intended as a compliment.)
Then the silly bugger stops right on the bend into the
difficult section. I have to swerve and tiptoe my way round
him. With the reduced control of the shorter cranks, I'm
quite pleased with the results. He asks me for directions,
and I shout them over my shoulder and gesticulate in a
general direction. He follows me.
From here, I try to follow my usual route through the Water
Sports Centre, to see how the shorter cranks compare.
There's a definite loss of speed and control on the uphill
zig zag path. It's loads harder on the mown grass slope,
although that could be because the ground is sopping wet
from the morning's rain. I make it over the first hill,
along the saddle, then UPD on the next short steep climb.
To be fair, I'm never certain of making it up that last
section on the 150s, but I can't remember the last time I
failed. I turn and remount down the slope, ride along the
saddle and turn so that I get a good run up. This time, I
make it up the second hill.
The next big obstacle is the steep descent to the lakeside.
This is intimidating because if I lose control I must either
force myself to UPD at high speed, or end up in the lake. So
far, I've not had to swim, but the thought is always there.
I make it down the hill, considerably more slowly than I
would on the longer cranks. I chicken out of the next short
uphill, because that one's never a certainty on the 150s,
and the ground is wet, which makes it more difficult.
The rest of my regular route is quite easy, although there's
a strong diagonal headwind on my way back up the lake, and I
feel the Coker leaning uncomfortably to one side, despite
everything I try. Cycling into the wind is always hard work,
and I honestly think it'd be easier on the longer cranks.
I'd probably even be going a bit faster.
Around the top of the lake, and I try to cut up across the
grassy slope to the path. This is always a challenge,
requiring an astute tactical understanding of the contours
of the slope. On wet muddy grass and short cranks, it proves
impossible and I dismount voluntarily and walk.
Soon, I'm riding back up the river, gritting my teeth a bit
as I fight the headwind. I pass many people, most of whom
are pleasant and polite. I also pass a group of young
scallywags on mountain bikes who laugh derisively - until
one of them chastises the others, saying, "No. Respeck for
that." (He might have said, "Respec'", of course. In fact,
yes, he was so brave, resisting peer pressure, that I'll
credit him with the apostrophe.)
As I ride past the City Ground, home of NFFC, cradle of
despair, I meet a swarm of young men in sports clothing. One
thinks it's hilarious to raise his hands like claws, shout
"Graaaaaaaghh!" and run towards me. My response consists of
one word, and implies he might be well suited to pancake
racing or entering the caber event in the Highland games.
The rest of the ride is fairly uneventful, except that I
pass far more people than I would normally see. Mostly, they
are friendly, and several people cheer me on my way. One
unusual comment, meant nicely: "Do you have a deathwish?"
That's not an easy question to ask nicely, either!
(OK, OK, for those of you who don't speak the English
dialect of the English language, or who still haven't worked
it out, the pancakes and cabers word was "[censored]".)
I make it back to the car after 11.34 miles (18.24 km) and
1:12:26, making an average speed of 9.38 mph (15.1 kmh). And
the top speed? A mere 13 mph (just under 21 kmh).
Provisional conclusions?
The high average speed over such a mixed route suggests that
the cruising speed on the flat is slightly higher with the
125s than with the 150s. The maximum speed is nothing to
write home about, but I never really went for it in a big
way. I was always aware that I had less acceleration in
reserve in the event of an unforeseen loss of equilibrium. I
also found myself leaving a much bigger safety margin in the
difficult sections.
There were some sections which I can only just ride on the
150s which were impossible on the 125s. There were some
sections I can easily ride on the 150s which were
challenging on the 125s. I found myself picking my route to
suite the cranks.
Of course, I might improve with practice, but practice will
never hide the fact that the 150s have about 20% more
torque. It's more than that on hills, because the comparison
should be between the amount of crank on the uphill side of
the contact patch between tyre and ground. So, for example,
if the contact patch moves an inch uphill from the hub axle
(or spindle, I can never remember) then the lever provided
by the 150 (6 inch) crank is about 25% more than that
provided by the 125 (5 inch) crank.
I'm used to riding a 28 on 110s. (30.93% ratio) so the
Coker on 125s
(27.34%) shouldn't be that different. Perhaps it's the
extra weight of the rim and tyre, or the extra height,
or just a confidence thing. Either way, the Coker on
150s is a go anywhere do anything bulldozer of a
unicycle; by comparison, the Coker on 125s is a fast
cruiser on flat tarmac, but a bit of a liability when
the going gets tough.
--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling
Some days you're the fly; some days you're the windscreen. When you're
the fly, you get to eat [censored].
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