How Efficient is unicycling?

oh you could easily do that if you practiced enough so you wouldn't
flayal your arms everywhere and burn precious energy

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I agree with Jerrick, and once you pick up your uni from Unicycle.com
and learn to ride, I would think you will find going up small hills
incredibally easy.

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Sgaterboy said:

Hello! good to meet you guys. I've been interested in unicycling for
about a year or so, but havent made any investments, yet. I have a
question or two, if you guys dont mind :-)

Is unicycling (after a break in period) more efficient than walking?
in other words, would I be able to travel about half a mile without
getting sweaty after about six months of practice? How much physical
exertion is usually associated with your riding? OF course I
understand there are dozens of variables, but I'm just looking for
generalities. If I'm a quick learner, keep my weight on the seat, and
practice daily, is half a mile without breaking a sweat unrealistic? .
. . . . I think I just phrased the same question about three different
ways 😄

You appear to have read the forums a bit, nice going! As for you're
question, in my experience unicycling is much more efficient than
walking. It takes the same amount of energy to ride as it does to
walk, but you go twice as fast and it's much easier on the joints. The
only downside I have with traveling on a unicycle is saddle soreness,
but with proper equipment (which I don't have) that shouldn't be much
of a problem.

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wow. I'm impressed with the speed of the replies!!! I live in key west,
so i guess the sweating is inevitable, but there are NO hills for over
180 miles (literally no ground over 10 feet above sea level, except
maybe the landfill. . .)

Okay, you've convinced me... should I get an LX now? I'm 6' even and
147 pounds.

Thanks!

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heh heh, spudman you posted while i was responding :-D yeah, I try to
do some searches before posting and have been browsing for some time
today, and decided to let you guys know I'm here 😉

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yeah go for the lx, it's a good deal to start out with

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What type of riding were you looking into?

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I find it is a great form of transportation! I ride it to all my
classes on campus, and I'd agree that, when riding at a decent pace
(which is about 2x faster than walking), it's about as tiring as
walking (but you have more wind = less sweat). You can also "sprint"
places at approx. 3x walking speed but that'll get you sweaty, I've
found.

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onelesscar

mmm...i love my qu-ax...
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tricks down the road, but probably at least year off. mostly, commuting
and social riding. comfort is something that will be important to me.
I'm willing to go up to about $200 til i decide whether unicycling is
for me or not... really, durability and comfort are my biggest
concerns. does that answer your question?

--
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I'm a pilot and live about 3/4 of a mile from the airport I fly out of.
I usually walk to work, but have been biking lately because its
slightly faster. Bike storage is a problem, because i hate locking the
thing up. A unicycle i can just store in our crew room at the airport.
This website was kind of an epiphany for me!

--
Sgaterboy
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I am 6 foot too, I measured my self just a few days ago, and weigh 170.

The LX is perfect for learning, but it seems like you are more into
distance riding, so a 24 wheel would suit you best, You could still
jump and do trials on it, but that sized wheel is mainly for Muni or
longer distances.

If your more interested in learning street, or freestyle, or trials,
get the 20 inche wheel, you can still do distance and muni on a 20, it
will jsut take longer.

--
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Yup, sounds like the '24\" Torker LX'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=675) would be a good
start for you, it's good for most starters. :P

In my opinion, though, you'll want a different seat. An LX seat tends
to feel suspiciously like a brick after you sit on it for too long.

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Spudman said:

Yup, sounds like the '24\" Torker LX'
(http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=675) would be a good
start for you, it's good for most starters. :P

In my opinion, though, you'll want a different seat. An LX seat tends
to feel suspiciously like a brick after you sit on it for too long.

any quick reccomendations on a seat? I really appreciate the time you
put in to grab that link in the last post :-D (not necessarily a hint
to do it again, I can search as well as anyone. But I do appreciate it
😉 _

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Lucky for you, the LX has a very simple and easy, quick conversion that
you can do to the seat to make it very very comfy.

Its called an 'Air Seat' (http://www.unicycling.org/airseat/) It might
take you 30min to an hour to do it, but its very easy, cheap, and worth
it.

EDIT: You dont need the gell, just the inertube itself is good enough.

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okay, i just submitted the go ahead for a 24" LX... good to join you
guys! MY newest goal is to be riding competantly in less than a month.

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I guess my biggest turn on is: no gear and chain to get my pant-leg
caught in 😠

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You can definately do it in less than a month, I got 50 feet in a
straight line after four days. Mind you i did practice for a whole
weekend straight. You'll do fine no worries it's easier than you think.
If you have a deck with a railing use that to learn, it worked great
for me.

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Efficiency can be measured in a number of different ways. You'll use
more energy unicycling for 10 minutes than you will walking for 10
minutes. But if you tried to jog/run at your unicycling speed, you'd
use a lot more energy running than unicycling, once you're a decent
unicyclist.

Bicycling is more efficient than either unicycling or walking, by
either measure.

--
tholub
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tholub said:

Bicycling is more efficient than either unicycling or walking, by either
measure.

But not nearly as cool. 😉

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