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Crank length muni24--for beginner

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01 / Original postCrank length muni24--for beginnerflarityj · 2 May 2008 02 / This pagePosts 1–10Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #10hugo · 2 May 2008

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rec.sport.unicycling
Published
2 May 2008
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2 May 2008
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flarityj
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CranksetsCrank arm length

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  1. Original post
    flarityj
    Archived post
    #1

    I am 52 and live in Buckley, WA. I had a Schwinn Uni in 1975 that I
    rode around a little. I was never very good at it, but I rode it up
    and down the street as long as I wanted. I could never get started
    without a support like the regular riders.

    I was thinking that it would be fun to ride a muni with my wife (mtb)
    on the easy trails around town. I bought a Nimbus 24 with 155mm
    cranks (you guys recommends for muni). This is a MUCH better bike
    than my old Schwinn.

    KH told me to take off the knobby and put on a BIG Apple tire. I
    found a hookworm 24 at Universal Cycles and got that instead. They
    had no Apple 24". I also took out the allen screws in the pedals.

    The problem: This bike seems much harder to ride than I remember the
    Schwinn. I can sometimes get 30' runs, but I am very inconsistant.
    The lore is once you can go 30', you can go forever. Today I worked
    at it for 30 minutes and my best run was 15'.

    ARE THOSE CRANKS TOO LONG? I will get the 125mm cranks if that will
    make any difference. On my old Schwinn, I remember that you were
    pretty much good to go if you survived the first couple of turns.

    I have been working at this a month with little progress.

    Why did I think I could ride a muni when I am actually a rank beginner
    with a 33 year layoff? It is the power of positive thinking I
    guess.

    Thanks for any advice.

    joe

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  2. MuniAddict
    Archived post
    #2

    Haha wow! You sound a lot like me and we are the same age! I had a
    similar layoff, but more like about 40 years lol! Anyway, I've been
    riding pretty extreme MUni for a couple years now, and recently
    switched from 165mm to 150's, and I much prefer these. I'm wondering
    why Kris Holm would tell you to *not* use a knobby type tire for MUni,
    and use the big apple, which I don't think is made for MUni.

    CAn still climb sufficiently well with them but also can go
    considerably faster. I would say that 150's are really the ideal
    overall good size for MUni, but then again it can depend on your style,
    height, leg length and so on. I would not suggest 125mm cranks for
    MUni, since they will give you limited leverage and are not ideal for
    hopping and technical riding.

    --
    MuniAddict

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  3. forrestunifreak
    Archived post
    #3

    I don't think shorter crank would benifit you at all. Although you can
    sure try, to see which one you prefer.

    I'm not completly sure on this, but I believe the Schwinns have
    something in the range of 150mm cranks aswell?

    My dad re-learned to unicycle at about your age, after 30+ years
    without riding. It didn't take very long for him to be able to ride up
    and down the street, and now he can do some basic off road riding
    (although he rarely rides/practices at all).
    It does depend very much on the person though. Different people learn
    at different speeds and in different ways. Just keep practicing. 🙂

    --
    forrestunifreak

    I will, because I can.
    '*-My Gallery-*' (http://tinyurl.com/wcrsl)
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    christ*

    Joe 'Hodgekins said:

    Oh... they don't kick bricks, do they?


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  4. forrestunifreak
    Archived post
    #4
    MuniAddict said:

    Haha wow! You sound a lot like me and we are the same age! I had a
    similar layoff, but more like about 40 years lol! Anyway, I've been
    riding pretty extreme MUni for a couple years now, and recently
    switched from 165mm to 150's, and I much prefer these. I'm wondering
    why Kris Holm would tell you to *not* use a knobby type tire for MUni,
    and use the big apple, which I don't think is made for MUni.

    For muni, a slick tire wouldn't be that good. But for any riding on
    smooth surfaces, pavement, especially learning, the big apple or the
    hookworm are pretty ideal.

    And I believe Joe is talking about initially learning to ride, not
    riding muni.

    --
    forrestunifreak

    I will, because I can.
    '*-My Gallery-*' (http://tinyurl.com/wcrsl)
    *www.qu-ax.com* *unicycle for
    christ*

    Joe 'Hodgekins said:

    Oh... they don't kick bricks, do they?


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  5. flarityj
    Archived post
    #5

    You guys are fast. Funny: I ran a search on crank length before the
    post and didn't see anything particulary useful.

    After the post, 5 similar posts were listed that had very useful
    information.

    I am 6' with 32" inseam. 190lb. In 1975, I was 160lb.

    KH says the knobby is not needed unless the trail is very nasty or
    steep--not the usual terrain for a beginner.

    I think I will lower the seat a bit and see if that makes a difference.
    I will keep after it.

    Joe

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  6. MuniAddict
    Archived post
    #6
    flarityj said:

    You guys are fast. Funny: I ran a search on crank length before the
    post and didn't see anything particulary useful.

    After the post, 5 similar posts were listed that had very useful
    information.

    I am 6' with 32" inseam. 190lb. In 1975, I was 160lb.

    KH says the knobby is not needed unless the trail is very nasty or
    steep--not the usual terrain for a beginner.

    I think I will lower the seat a bit and see if that makes a difference.
    I will keep after it.

    Joe

    The saddle should be high enough to allow optimum power strokes, but you
    don't want your legs to lock at the downstroke. The higher saddle
    adjustment is ideal for climbing and distance riding, but for technical
    riding and hopping, etc, lower the saddle to allow for more knee bend,
    which is necessary for hopping and technical stuff, unless your riding
    sif mostly.

    --
    MuniAddict

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    My sponsors:
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  7. pkittle
    Archived post
    #7

    Hi Joe--

    Welcome to the Unicyclist forums! I too was a big "gap" unicyclist,
    stopping from the time I was around 12 until I turned around 33; been
    riding regularly for the past 10 or so years.

    I think the uni is probably fine as it is. Your seat height something
    to play with, but usually it's set too low, not too high. A good way to
    ballpark the height is to put the pedals at 6 and 12, and put your
    *heel* on the lower pedal. If your leg is nearly fully extended, with
    your knee almost locked, then your seat is at about the right height.
    When you put your foot on the pedal to ride (with the pedal's axle
    under the balls of your feet), your knee will have about the right
    amount of bend.

    Good luck! Keep at it!

    --
    pkittle

    *==========================
    Peter Kittle * Chico, CA
    "The Revolution is just a t-shirt away."
    --Billy Bragg
    ==========================*
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  8. skilewis74
    Archived post
    #8

    Yeah the saddle could be too high or too low. For learning and
    freestyle, you want it on the high side. Make sure you keep a slight
    bend in the knee and your hips aren't rocking side to side as you
    pedal.

    The hookworm is a good tire for the road and to learn on. When you
    switch to trails w/ your knoby you will need to pedal more smoothly and
    may take some getting used to (took me several rides), this is much
    more so w/ a road tire.

    Do you mean 150 mm for your cranks? I've never seen cranks in that
    length.

    For me I found longer cranks made it easier to learn on. More tourque
    on the wheel, I was a bit lower to the ground, and going a slower
    speed, making riding a bit easier and UPD's less scarry.

    My 170mm cranks are a bit too long for me to pedal smoothly, but they
    alow me to get over more challenging terrain (I have long legs, so no
    pain in my knees). I'll prob put my 150's back on when I get better.

    --
    skilewis74

    Ride everywhere and never just ride anywhere. If you can ride where you
    are going within a hour, do it, and if you can do a trick 50-75% of the
    time do it along the way.- Bob Burnquist

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    Street'
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  9. mscalisi
    Archived post
    #9

    I'm a big fan of the hookworm, but it needs to have a bit of pressure or
    else it feels a little squirrly. Make sure you're running 45-60 psi (I
    think max is 65ish).

    Your cranks are fine. 125's would probably be harder at first. Also, if
    your seat is too low, it will be harder to ride (of course, so will too
    high, but it's usually pretty obvious if your seat is too high).

    Your problem may well be that you just need to practice a bit more. If
    you can ride 30 feet, you're probably at the edge of a breakthrough.

    --
    mscalisi

    Quoted message said:

    <> Unicycle for (reducing the) Buddha <><


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  10. hugo
    Archived post
    #10

    My 24" unicycle has 152mm cranks and for me they are just fine. I have
    the saddle quite high, more like you would have it for freestyle, but I
    find it quite comfortable, even when going up a gradient of 12%.

    Since my 24" is not a real Muni, I "upgraded" the 1.75" tyre to a 2.3"
    tyre and riding is now much more comfortable off road.

    Back to the original question: On a 24" uni, I think that the cranks
    should not be shorter than 145 mm for a beginner. And I am definitely
    still a beginner (started from scratch in Dec 2007).

    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |Filename: 24.JPG |
    |Download: http://www.unicyclist.com/attachment/26473 |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

    --
    hugo

    hugo 😎
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