Help: How to UPD a Giraffe unicycle?

locked joints, there is your problem.

landing from high places involve no locking of joints, or you do
damage.

--
zippy
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Learning to roll out safely is extremely helpful. Also wearing pads,
just in case. A helmet is a MUST, and 661 shin guards are good for you
too.
But yes, learn to roll out.

--
James_Potter

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Come to a complete stop. Pop the seat out in front of you, then jump
down behind the unicycle. You'll land standing behind it, with it still
upright in front of you. The crowd will burst into applause!

You can dismount to the rear. First kill your speed, then either let
yourself fall back (holding the wheel still), or let the wheel roll out
to drop straight down.

Going off the front tends to put more pressure on the joints, I think.
You should only use that method if you're falling off. Be sure you know
how to drop and roll as mentioned above. At 29" speeds it's going to
happen sometimes, and you'll really benefit from knowing how to protect
yourself if you're going at or above running speed when you lose it.

And especially, no locked joints!

--
johnfoss

John Foss
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
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"The worst thing you can do on a unicycle when you land is stop dead."
-- Kris Holm, world's expert on high-consequence unicycling
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UNIquelyCanadian said:

One more of us, one less of them... and one more of us with sore knees.

So, I've converted another b*ke into a Giraffe 29'er (greared to nearly
1:1) and I can't figure out how to land when I UPD. It seems I land one
foot first with my knee locked straight then break into a bit of a run.
After a few dismounts I'm hurting.

How do you normally run out of a UPD off a Giraffe or a Big wheel? I'd
rather not learn how to combat role every time I UPD. 🙁

The two most important things when dismounting a giraffe:

1. Get clear of the unicycle
2. Land on your feet.

This is simple if it is a controlled dismount. Just stop and let it go
out in front or back of you. You said UPD though so I assume you mean
going forward with speed and the wheel getting stopped or deccelerated
enough to pitch you off forwards.

In those situations you have to gauge whether or not you can run it out
and whether or not you can land with both feet. If you are going slowly
enough to land on both feet, doing so is your best option. Land on both
feet and smoothly bend your knees with the fall to absorb the impact.
This really saves your knees. If you are going too fast to land on both
feet (meaning doing so will cause you to topple forward because of your
horizontal momentum) try to land in a run with one foot rapidly after
the other. Then keep running in a normal stride until your momentum is
gone. If you can't run it out land on your feet and try to run off as
much of the momentum as possible before you roll.

--
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How do you convert a bike into a giraffe?
That sounds cool. Id like to make one myself.

--
willdabassist
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Yeah can we see a picture? I'd like to see the 29" wheel.

--
dogfeathersvt

May your air saddle never go flat.
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The frame design is similar to this project:
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43095

Except with a 24" B*ke frame and a 700c street tire.

I hope to do another one once I find another b*ke. It should be
possible to make entirely out of one bike with no extra parts needed.
For tools it would only be a adjustable wrench, pliers, chain tool and
a drill.

--
UNIquelyCanadian

~Cameron
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If these are really UPD's than most of that dismounting info isn't going
to help you, correct? If you are having uncontrolled and unexpected
falls than you need to learn how to roll. Find a car or a deck of jump
off it a bunch of times, then move up to something higher (I'd
recommend into grass). When you land tuck and roll until it stops
hurting. You need to learn how to fall correctly, or make sure that you
never UPD on the giraffe.

--
Seager

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By roll do you mean a "combat roll" eg. landing on you shoulder and then
roll?

Does anyone have a video of how do do a good roll that won't break
anything?

Diving headfirst onto pavement looks rather painful if you don't get it
right. 🙂

Running out off a giraffe is tough for me because of the drop before
the run. Does it just take practice?

Controled dismounting is working better for me now, it's just
dismounting when I'm at speed and the wheel stops for some reason.

--
UNIquelyCanadian

~Cameron
Macro Photography: _www.camerondonaldson.com__

“When someone tells you there is no such thing as truth, they are
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UNIquelyCanadian said:

By roll do you mean a "combat roll" eg. landing on you shoulder and then
roll?

No no, not like that at all. Do you play any other sports? That's
where most people learn how to fall.

The general idea is you land on your feet and then collapse your legs
while moving forward into a roll. You let your legs and arms/shoulders
take most of the downward force as you transfer that into forward
force. You simply change all your downward momentum into forward
momentum.

Although, if it's not a very high giraffe you should be able to get by
with just bending your knees upon landing until they almost touch the
ground (squatting). Rolling may not be neccisary. Just remember to
stay loose no matter what you do.

--
Seager

'Team RoadShow' (http://www.teamroadshow.com) | 'Unexpected Failure
Productions' (http://www.unexpectedfailure.com) | 'Moab'
(http://tinyurl.com/9fxuv)
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This might help you:

http://tinyurl.com/s6arf

The first post seems like a good tutorial. I ideally proper falling
should be iinherent and natural - something you learn as a kid. It's
hard to explain it.

--
Seager

'Team RoadShow' (http://www.teamroadshow.com) | 'Unexpected Failure
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I still wanna see a picture of that 29" wheel.

--
dogfeathersvt

May your air saddle never go flat.
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Thanks for the link to pk roll. If I can't save myself by running out I
automatically roll, I just can't make myself do it on purpose. Maybe if
I work on it on grass I'll work up to the roll onto pavement.

As requested: A photo of the 700c wheel on a 24" frame.

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--
UNIquelyCanadian

~Cameron
Macro Photography: _www.camerondonaldson.com__

“When someone tells you there is no such thing as truth, they are
asking you not to believe them. So don’t.”
- Dr. Roger Scruton
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That thing looks pretty dangerous for UPDs!! :eek:

--
phlegm
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phlegm said:

That thing looks pretty dangerous for UPDs!! :eek:

I was going to leave the handle bars and seat on but after thinking
about it I changed my mind.

It's not so bad but I can't figure out how to free mount since there's
no way to step onto the back of the tire to climb up.

Eventually I may cut some of the frame (I still need the back triangle
for strength) But for now it's kind of a novelty and doesn't mess much
up, as long as I don't land on it (eek!)

Any ideas for the mount? Mount the front then unispin? :o

--
UNIquelyCanadian

~Cameron
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Thanks for the pic. Looks like a bigger attention-getter than a standard
giraffe.

Can you rotate the seat 180 degrees and have the "back" become the
"front"? Probably not, due to the angle of the seatpost.

--
dogfeathersvt

May your air saddle never go flat.
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Whoa, does that have a freewheel on it still?

And, be careful with those rear dropouts. The more you pedal the
looser the chain will get until it slips. Make sure you keep those
bolts tight since you'll be fighting against them.

Sweet design!

--
Seager

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Forgot about the left/right threading on the pedals making it
non-reversable. But disregarding that, would it be practical to turn it
around?

--
dogfeathersvt

May your air saddle never go flat.
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It would be possible to switch front and back, you would have to change
the cranks around and mount the tire backwards, that way the chain
would be on the other side and the pedals wouldn't unscrew. However
that would put bad presure on the locked out hub.

The freewheel is locked out by wiring the rear cog to the spokes using
coat hanger and spoke wire. So far I have only ridden it a few miles
but it seems to be holding ok. The wiring doesn't get a whole lot of
constant force since to pedal forward the original mechanism takes the
load.

--
UNIquelyCanadian

~Cameron
Macro Photography: _www.camerondonaldson.com__

“When someone tells you there is no such thing as truth, they are
asking you not to believe them. So don’t.”
- Dr. Roger Scruton
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