rec.sport.unicycling · Public discussion

Re: The Ultimate Touring Machine?

chuckaeronut · 2008-03-28T18:14:26+00:00

gap in gearing between 1:1 and 1.5:1. So, with a geared hub, you end up gearing down on really steep sections and spinning a lower cadence than the fixed gear IMHO, you've hit the nail on the head! I was noticing that exact effect on my rides with Corbin. I think I'll make sure to have my old ungeared 36 built up with my 102 or 114mm cranks for the hillier sections of RTL, just for the nasty rollers. It seems like one would want longer cranks with a guni. Hence, you're losing a measure of comfort in riding 137s, say, instead of 110s or 102s. How's that going to work out on a "long day"? Regarding crank length and comfort, on my bike I can easily ride 100 miles, and have ridden 180-210 in a day, with 175mm cranks, and it's way more comfortable than riding for extended periods on my 102s or 125s. I think it all comes down to your cadence. Naturally, 137 cranks at cadences required by an ungeared unicycle will destroy all but the stupidly strong monsters by the end of the day, but 137/150 cranks at the lower cadences of a Guni (especially a 36er), IMHO, will be more comfortable than higher cadences at 102 or 110mm. Yes, one will be pushing a higher gear, but cadence will be lower and one be able to use more of the range of motion in one's leg. (For me, I think this means less fatigue and more power.) Of course, I could be wrong. I have to go on some long rides to see. This is my hypothesis... BTW, @maestro8, you're in Sunnyvale, and me and Corbin are in Cupertino! I don't know who you are, but you're most likely on Corbin's bluetreesoft MUni list. Me and Corbin (and hopefully others) are doing Coker Muni tomorrow morning, and you should come. If you don't want to spend the gas money, I can give you a ride out there! -- chuckaeronut Uni to work, work to eat, eat to live, live to uni. 🙂 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ chuckaeronut's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/14677 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/68741 Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services ---------------------------------------------------------- ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** ---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.usenet.com

Started by chuckaeronut · 28 March 2008 · Last activity 28 March 2008 · 4 posts · 281 views

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Original section: rec.sport.unicycling
Published: 28 March 2008
Last activity: 28 March 2008
Original author: chuckaeronut
Posts: 4
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 281
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Short cranks Cranksets Indoor trainers

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Original post
chuckaeronut
Archived post

28 March 2008, 18:14 UTC #1

Quoted message said:
gap in gearing between 1:1 and 1.5:1. So, with a geared hub, you end up
gearing down on really steep sections and spinning a lower cadence than
the fixed gear
IMHO, you've hit the nail on the head! I was noticing that exact effect
on my rides with Corbin. I think I'll make sure to have my old ungeared
36 built up with my 102 or 114mm cranks for the hillier sections of
RTL, just for the nasty rollers.
Quoted message said:
It seems like one would want longer cranks with a guni. Hence, you're
losing a measure of comfort in riding 137s, say, instead of 110s or
102s. How's that going to work out on a "long day"?
Regarding crank length and comfort, on my bike I can easily ride 100
miles, and have ridden 180-210 in a day, with 175mm cranks, and it's
way more comfortable than riding for extended periods on my 102s or
125s. I think it all comes down to your cadence. Naturally, 137 cranks
at cadences required by an ungeared unicycle will destroy all but the
stupidly strong monsters by the end of the day, but 137/150 cranks at
the lower cadences of a Guni (especially a 36er), IMHO, will be more
comfortable than higher cadences at 102 or 110mm. Yes, one will be
pushing a higher gear, but cadence will be lower and one be able to use
more of the range of motion in one's leg. (For me, I think this means
less fatigue and more power.) Of course, I could be wrong. I have to go
on some long rides to see. This is my hypothesis...
BTW, @maestro8, you're in Sunnyvale, and me and Corbin are in
Cupertino! I don't know who you are, but you're most likely on Corbin's
bluetreesoft MUni list. Me and Corbin (and hopefully others) are doing
Coker Muni tomorrow morning, and you should come. If you don't want to
spend the gas money, I can give you a ride out there!
--
chuckaeronut
Uni to work, work to eat, eat to live, live to uni. 🙂
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chuckaeronut
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28 March 2008, 18:16 UTC #2

Corbin and I seem to be mirroring each other's thoughts, lol. 😄. We
both said pretty much exactly the same things, including inviting
maestro8 to ride with us, heh. We were both writing at the same time,
even!
--
chuckaeronut
Uni to work, work to eat, eat to live, live to uni. 🙂
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corbin
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28 March 2008, 21:26 UTC #3

chuckaeronut said:
Corbin and I seem to be mirroring each other's thoughts, lol. 😄. We
both said pretty much exactly the same things, including inviting
maestro8 to ride with us, heh. We were both writing at the same time,
even!
Yeah, maestro8 (Jason H) is my best uni and climbing buddy -- who also
came to Vietnam.
corbin
--
corbin
http://www.corbinstreehouse.com
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GizmoDuck
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28 March 2008, 22:08 UTC #4

*blush*
I'm no more an authority on GUNI's than any of you...
I have a 29'er Schlumpf unicycle....and I've always maintained that
it's faster on the flat...because you have to regard it as a 43.5"
gear. It's even faster on slightly hilly terrain.
But the 29" 1:1 mode is not much good on the road unless you have
really short cranks (like say 100mm), so you can't factor that in when
considering speed on varied terrain too much. You also have to factor
in shifting...which you have to slow down for. Also once you start
throwing in hills and varied terrain, then it's still a higher gear,
and often a 36" wins out.
That's probably why all the fastest riders at UNICON XIV marathon were
on ungeared 36'ers. But it suited the terrain. Given a different
course, it may well have been different.
Having said that, if the gear ratio on the Schlumpf is a bit closer (eg
1:1.25 and 1:1.5), then I would think it may be even faster varied
terrain.
I like short cranks (= short legs), and find it more comfortable to
ride. If I ride for the length of time on a unicycle as on my
bike....I'm definitely more tired after riding the bike. My toughest
ride was a double century on the bike with 3200m of climbing....it's
way harder than almost anything I'd done on one wheel.
I'm back down to riding my ungeared 29'er with 100mm cranks. It's fun
to go back to something lightweight and simple :p
Ken
--
GizmoDuck
The Uninam Tour 2008.....Hanoi to Saigon!!! www.uninam.net
The Monguni 2009....Unicycle Tour of Mongolia
Email me for details.
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