Thinking about getting a giraffe

gkmac said:

*They say they are easier to ride, is that true? *

They are easier to *balance*. It takes longer to fall off, so you can be
a lot sloppier in your riding and not fall off. But there is also the
mental factor of getting comfortable up there. So when you first start
out, a giraffe is *not* easier. Most people get used to it very quickly
though. Your feet are only about a meter off the ground anyway.

The UK is full of unicyclists. Surely you can hook up with someone who
has a giraffe and give it a try?

--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com

"if you can do balloon animals,you can lace your own wheel." -- Jagur
------------------------------------------------------------------------
johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

Our club has two giraffes and I love playing with them. John is right
and I concur about a giraffe being “easier.” They are fun to play with.
I like to hop on one and just play and relax after a hard practice.
The giraffes in our club serve many roles in our stable. They are
something that many of the kids aspire to ride and keep their interest
level high through the frustrating early stages of learning to ride.
The kids that have learned are proud to strut their stuff in what seems
like a near impossible feat to the learning riders. Obviously, the
giraffes are the real attention getters at demonstrations and parades.
A rider on a 20” can be wheel-walking down the parade route but the
crowd will gasp at the giraffe.

Tommy

--
Tmornstar - Grandmaster 2T

Tommy Thompson
[email hidden] (No PMs. please)
Memphis Unicycle Club
Please vist our web site:
http://www.memphisunicycleclub.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tmornstar's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/658
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

I also have a giraffe. Its not a real good one but it is 5'. I am
starting to be able to ride backwards on it but I get kinda scared. It
feels different but you will get use to it. I have free mounted it only
a couple of times but thats not very good because its only 5' and not
6'. Overall its fun to ride on.

--
juggle508 - Unicycling Fanatic

My goal is for people to start to see unicycling as an extreme sport and
forget about the circus.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
juggle508's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6701
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

I have a Torker Unistar TX 5' giraffe. It has been huge fun. I can
ride it forward, backward, hop, one foot idle, freemount and one foot
ride.
Strangely the trick that most people are impressed with is just riding
the thing. They're not interested in the other tricks.

My giraffe was cheap but has held up really well. The biggest drop I
have done on it is only about one foot but it is a giraffe not a trials
uni.

My only regret is that soon after I bought it, my 24" unicycle died and
it took a long time to cover the 2 mile ride to school in the morning on
the giraffe. It feels much slower.

I was like you and went for the giraffe and it has been fun.
Just remember that the trill of a giraffe wears off much faster than a
trials or muni because there is less you can do on it. You have less
control and strength.

--
RangerForrest - Isolated Unicyclist

Dreaming of a KH Trials
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RangerForrest's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5539
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

johnfoss said:

*The UK is full of unicyclists. Surely you can hook up with someone
who has a giraffe and give it a try? *

I could... if I knew anybody locally who had one! Nobody in my club has
one...

Despite that, those replies definitely shape my mind into a "yes, my
second unicycle will be a giraffe". Has anyone here have experience with
'DM giraffes' (http://www.unicycle.co.uk/giraffes.htm) in particular?
The twin chains somehow make it look nicer.

Quoted message said:

--
*You have less control and strength. *

Less strength? Is a giraffe really heavy to ride, and would that cause
any problems?

--
gkmac - Level 1 + idle
------------------------------------------------------------------------
gkmac's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4577
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

By less strength I mean that it is generally a bad idea to do jumps and
drops on a giraffe. Strength is referring to the frame on the unicycle.
Simply leverage. Sorry about the confusion.

--
RangerForrest - Isolated Unicyclist

Dreaming of a KH Trials
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RangerForrest's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5539
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

i despise girrafe unicycles,

my views on girrafe unicycles are mostly unprintable.
but why should i worry if i cause offence to the kind of people who
dress up as clowns and ride unicycles? or to a leaast extent, the kind
of people who do juggling shows where the most dificult thing they do is
juggle 3 fire clubs on a girrafe, and talk about monney for the entire
show)

i would advise you to look into the cynical part of your heart and think
about alll that is dark and evil about girrafes before spending your
monney.

as for dm girrafes, they are the best you can get as far as i know.
go for a 5-8 convertible. that way youve got a big high girrafe to
impress the ignorant public, and a girrafe small enough that you can
freemount it to practice juggling without the assistance of the 5
strongest men in the audience.

n.b. i did a show at the edinburgh fringe festival last year parrodying
the use of girrafe unicycles by street performers.

including such amazing feats as getting on a unicycle without the help
of fifteen people!

i can juggle on a girrafe, perhaps i should start doing the same old
street show as everybody else in the world has been doing for 20
years?

err let me think.....

--
evilewan - death or glory

--
evilewan.

see the rec.sport.unicycling maintainance FAQ @
http://evilewan.unicyclist.com/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
evilewan's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1047
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

Giraffes don't trip my trigger. I wanted one a few years back, but I was
lucky and got to try out a six footer at the St. Louis Juggling
Festival. I could ride it, but doing tricks is not my thing, I likke to
ride distance and trails. I got a 29er with a fat knobby tire on it
instead. I haven't even thought about the giraffe since then.

carjug

--
carjug
------------------------------------------------------------------------
carjug's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1228
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

By the way, where is this DM sixfooter sold? Is it expensive? Is it more
expensive than a Coker? Is it more expensive than a pimped-out Coker?
Have you ever thought about trying a Coker?

Coker, Coker, Coker, Coker...
carjug

--
carjug
------------------------------------------------------------------------
carjug's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1228
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

Quoted message said:

-Originally posted by evilewan-
*I can juggle on a giraffe, perhaps I should start doing the same old
street show as everybody else in the world has been doing for 20
years... ...where the most difficult thing they do is juggle 3 fire
clubs on a giraffe *

I know what you mean by this "typical performance", I see it every time
I walk through Covent Garden (not often).

But the real point here is that as other people in this thread have
said, being on a giraffe is (supposedly) fun for the rider as well as
people watching. And there is something nice about being above everybody
else...

carjug said:

*By the way, where is this DM sixfooter sold? *

As far as I know, directly from Mr DM (David Mariner) himself who I
could phone over the next week just to get some information. But you're
in the USA, and I don't think he can ship all the way to the USA
though.

carjug said:

*Is it more expensive than a Coker? Have you ever thought about trying
a Coker? Coker, Coker, Coker, Coker... *

There's something that tells me that my 2nd unicycle should be a Coker
instead? 😉 Again I don't know anyone who has a Coker, but I once did
battle with an old 28" Pashley which convinced me that "big wheel+short
cranks=easy distances".

It would be nice to own a 29er or Coker, but the fact that I never ride
in public means it would hardly get used, I'd just enjoy the giraffe
more.

--
gkmac - Level 1 + idle
------------------------------------------------------------------------
gkmac's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4577
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

My giraffe is the only one I have seen in my entire life. The only
place I have even seen other unicycles is in a parade many years ago.
Audiences will never cease to be far more entertained by a guy riding
forward on a giraffe than by someone landing a 10 foot drop 1620 unispin
into a one-foot backwards wheel walk. Only unicyclists appreciate the
more advanced skills. If you are going to do any shows a giraffe is
nearly essential. I prefer a freestyle or trials but change to my
giraffe upon occation for a pleasant change. The giraffe is worth it
even just for yourself. I am glad that I bought mine but I am also glad
that I did not spend much money on it.

--
RangerForrest - Isolated Unicyclist

Dreaming of a KH Trials
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RangerForrest's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5539
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

Anybody know how that Nimbus Giraffe with the hookworm tire is? (on
unicycle.com)

--
MuniTune - Falls a Lot.

R.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MuniTune's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6773
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100

I've got the nimbus.
As far as i can tell its just a rebadged torkey, and lots of people sell
them under different names. there's an identical one on ebay quite
often, called a Braun (i think)
overall its quite nice, for little cash, and I haven't broken mine yet,
despit bunny hopping it and riding down stairs.
the only problem i have with it is that it hasd long cranks to blance
out its weight, so its even slower than a normal 20". Also the longer
cranks mean my legs have to bend further, and if your riding for a long
time on grass or any other uneven surface, that can start to get a bit
painful

--
theamazingmolio - A Unicylist, a juggler, and a prat

Luke Duller ([email hidden])
Never trust anything you read on the internet
[image: http://gallery.unicyclist.com/albums/TheAmazingMolio/rolly.gif]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
theamazingmolio's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/5931
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/33100