Today, Beau rode his Coker to school for the first time. It's no big deal or anything, but the ride is a lot of fun (about 2 miles with quite a few different types of riding, including a long steep hill). At least it shows a normal sized 11 year old at 4' 10" height can ride a Coker comfortably, even carrying a pretty heavy backpack. He is using a KH seat with the seatpost at the lowest position. He uses 152mm cranks for now and was surprised how fast we got there - almost as fast as on bike.
Those shots are, hmmm, what's the word? Oh yeah, totally *awesome!*
Cheers to Beau.
Raphael Lasar Matawan, NJ
-- JJuggle - Last of the Dogmato-Revisionists
Do you love it, do you hate it? There it is the way you made it. WoooOOW! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ JJuggle's Profile: unicyclist.com24Open ↗ View this thread: unicyclist.com29913Open ↗
First he rides an ultimate wheel to school. Now he's Cokering in. Beau is a tough rider. Who's the wimp in yellow trying to draft him in photo #7? Jeez, what a parasite. That guy should learn to do his #own work.
-- harper - Old dog, no tricks
-Greg Harper
B L U E S H I F T
"I hope to be a 90 year old guy who rides his unicycle to the store for whiskey and condoms." -J.D. Miller
"Old people give me money, because I deliver their paper!" - James_Potter
"Who needs fancy words and poetic prose to describe a ride when you have photos?"- JC
What great pics. The old fellow in the backgound of the last picture. a classic.
Harper: How does Beau brake that "parasite" from drafting? Hop off and leave the big ol'Coker wheel laying right where she falls.... 😄 My prediction, the Coker wouldn't be the only thing hitting the pavement. --chirokid--
-- chirokid
..and a butt that smells like chocolate is good? ? ? ? ? 😄 "Get some Palmers Cocoa Butter Lotion from Boots. If you put it on in the evening after a ride, you'll be fine to ride the next day. As an added bonus it smells of chocolate too." JoeMarshall ------------------------------------------------------------------------ chirokid's Profile: unicyclist.com4140Open ↗ View this thread: unicyclist.com29913Open ↗
Hey what's going on?! That little kid is starting to grow up! Stop it, we can't have that...... and starting to ride a Coker now is he!? Unthinkable....whatever is the world coming to???!!!
Cool pictures Nathan. I've saved up enough money so that when I get back from the tour I'll be able to buy that KH24 plus a Coker. If things go well and I also go to the college campus close to here I could be Cokering to school too.
Oddly enough, on that same route there is a mountain bike trail where I always see bikers parking their cars (really the only one even remotely close to where I live). So (like I said) if things go well I'll be not only Cokering to school but Muni-ing that trail too. 🙂
-- zach_jucha - Not here
-Don't ask me why I said it, because I already forgot.-
- Homestar
-I don't care if the astronauts landed on the moon or not. NASA invented Tang, and that's what's really important!-
Great shots....gives this papa something else to look forward to in the next year or so. I think Miles is only a couple inches away from being tall enough, and he's adding those on pretty quickly these days. Since I'm upgrading to a GB/DS 36", I guess I need to get him into the bidding process when I sell my standard Coker. 🙂
So Nathan, does that mean that Beau is ready to put away his 20" and move up to a 24" for the Moab MUniFest? It will make the rest of us feel better if he's not schooling all of us on a smaller wheel.
-- paco - Proud owner of 2 opposable thumbs
You might as well ask, which is the loudest musical instrument when it isn't being played. -Mikefule ------------------------------------------------------------------------ paco's Profile: unicyclist.com3715Open ↗ View this thread: unicyclist.com29913Open ↗
I think he'll still be on the 20" this year for Muni. He is just so comfortable and has no problems keeping up. On last Sunday's Muni ride (17 riders!) he was gliding and seatdragging on the dirt with the 20 - he just loves it. One of the kids on the ride was about his size and was riding a KH24 - it looked big, but he was doing some great riding. Beau rode my KH24 recently, but didn't like it since the 170s feel so much different from the 125s that he's used to.
---Nathan
-- nathan - BIG rides: Muni & Coker ------------------------------------------------------------------------ nathan's Profile: unicyclist.com251Open ↗ View this thread: unicyclist.com29913Open ↗
that looks so cool wish i could coker to school...cept i don't have a coker 🙁
-- treepotato - No brakes, No limits.........Felix
Some unicycles can give nasty pedal bites.....i still have the scars to prove it ------------------------------------------------------------------------ treepotato's Profile: unicyclist.com3942Open ↗ View this thread: unicyclist.com29913Open ↗
*Beau rode my KH24 recently, but didn't like it since the 170s feel so much different from the 125s that he's used to.*
That's because 170mm is way too long for anyone, even if they have long legs. I think 140mm or 145mm is a far better length for 24x3" MUnis. 150mm would be a good in-between length to get a bit more leverage probably. I don't know how anyone can like riding with 170s. Heaps of people do, and Unicycle.com even recommends them! Insanity!!!
Rowan, come ride with us is all I can say. Long cranks for Muni DO make sense on steep terrain. Some ride with 175s and 180s and I even got to try out a Coker with custom 210mm cranks one time - now those are long! I've also ridden a Coker with 102mm cranks...lots of variation. In general, after trying many lengths, many of us here in Calif have come to regard 170mm as the ideal crank length using 24x3 Gazz for the Muni rides we do.
---Nathan
-- nathan - BIG rides: Muni & Coker ------------------------------------------------------------------------ nathan's Profile: unicyclist.com251Open ↗ View this thread: unicyclist.com29913Open ↗
*Rowan, come ride with us is all I can say. Long cranks for Muni DO make sense on steep terrain. Some ride with 175s and 180s and I even got to try out a Coker with custom 210mm cranks one time - now those are long!*
I'd love to come riding with you, but unless you come to NZ it probably won't happen for a while. I don't know if America would let me into the country with my drug convictions (cannabis). They would probably see me as a terrorist, weilding a Unicycle of mass destruction. I find that short cranks are a bit out of control on some steep terrain, but a brake would make more of a difference than long cranks. For the extra leverage you get with long cranks, you also get more awkwardness and increased likelyhood of pedal scrapes. There are pros and cons for all lengths. I think short cranks make rides more exciting, and smoother. Ask Tony Melton about short cranks on steep hills, I went flying past him down this hill at Red Rocks on the verge of being out of control. I know it is a matter of personal preference, I just think that Unicycles go slow enough as it is, and there is no point in slowing them down by having rediculously long cranks. I have both 170mm and 145mm profiles for my Wilder, and the 170s mostly just sit in my toolbox. I only put them on so as not to neglect them, but when I do I usually regret it and change back to short cranks soon afterwards.
So many times when I see a picture of someone coming down a hill, the picture never does the hill justice. If this photo isn't doing that hill justice, that is just scary. It really looks steep in the picture!
-- bugman - Equilibrium Challenged
"Trying to maintain balance by wild arm and body motions is something like trying to balance a wet noodle" Jack Wiley _The_Unicycle_Book_ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ bugman's Profile: unicyclist.com3812Open ↗ View this thread: unicyclist.com29913Open ↗
