A couple of questions from a newbie..

[Splodge]

I've had my first Muni (Onza) now for a week , and it sure is harder
than I thought (why I thought I'd pick up balancing on one wheel quickly
is beyond me!!), after a couple of hours in the sadle I can wobble about
3 wheel revolutions - as everything I've read/seen says I think it's
just a matter of practice, practice and more practice.
I've read everything I can (this forum is fantastic) and think I know
how to carry on learning, however a couple of questions that might seem
daft but...

Tyre: It's a really knobbly Kenda - would I be better to change this to
a smoother tread for learning?
Tyre pressure: At the moment its 50psi (3.5 bar) and feels hard, should
it be more, less or doesn't it make a difference?
Pedals: The pedals have 1/4" pegs/pins to grip my shoe sole's, as I use
walking type treaded shoes for riding moving my feet about is difficult,
should I just get used it or would I be better removing them.

Thanks for any advice......probably more things to answer than I can
think to ask!


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[hansc]

Welcome to the forums!



> Tyre: It's a really knobbly Kenda - would I be better to change this to
> a smoother tread for learning?



I've heard that it's easier to learn with a smooth tire. Personally I
felt it was too troublesome to change back and forth, so I learned to
ride on my knobbly 26x3.0 tire anyway.



> Tyre pressure: At the moment its 50psi (3.5 bar) and feels hard, should
> it be more, less or doesn't it make a difference?



You should have quite high pressure in the beginning, it gives you more
control. I don't know how much 50 psi is, but if it feels hard it should
be OK.



> Pedals: The pedals have 1/4" pegs/pins to grip my shoe sole's, as I use
> walking type treaded shoes for riding moving my feet about is difficult,
> should I just get used it or would I be better removing them.



You'll eventually get used to it. However, I recommend to use plastic
pedals in the beginnig - especially if you don't have shin guards. Pedal
bites can be quite nasty. It'll probably also increase your confidence,
which is very important when learning.

I wish you good luck. :)


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[saskatchewanian]

Hey Splodge, welcome to the forums!

Sounds like you are doing OK in the learning department, once you can
get 3 revs in a row you are half way there. It took me two weeks to be
able to go 100m.

Most people agree that a smooth tire is easier to learn on, one that is
highly regarded is the Maxis Hookworm, It is a nice round tire with
inverted tread and decent volume.

Most people like a harder tire for learning, I liked a softer one, it
is all personal preference. A harder tire will roll faster and be easier
to turn, a softer tire will have more resistance and be harder to turn.
For some reason I did better with less pressure, I guess I am weird, you
might be too.

I would suggest removing the pins and see how you like it, If you find
the pedals too slippery without them put them back in, this is a cheep
and easy way to see which is better for you. I learnt with plastics
(Odyssey Twisted PCs) and am sure that I would have suffered more shin
injuries if I was using metal pedals. If you haven't been hurting
yourself I wouldn't bother with getting new pedals.


Good luck with learning and let us know how it goes!

ERIC


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[BurnerDave]

I agree with Saskachewanian on the hookworm tire. My uni had a hookworm
tire that I learned on. Once I could ride, I switched to a knobby tire
(just to see). But I found that the tire just stuck to the ground way
too much for me and I didn't have the wiggly side to side control (=very
technical terminology!) the hookworm had.


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Dave :D

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[skilewis74]

I'd get some plastic pedals like the P.C's and a Hookworm tire. Why
waist your knobby on roads, you will prob need ride on the street for at
least a few weeks before going off road (it took me months).

I liked air pressure near the max ~ 50 psi. Later on I lowered it to
help absorb the bumps on technical road riding during my commute (took
me a while to get used to it).

The knobby tire won't roll as easily and harder to turn, but when you
go off road the resistance to turn from all the grip will be desirable.
For me on even mildly challenging dirt the wheel turns drastically w/
each half pedal stroke while using a road tire, unless I'm ridding fast


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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

What next? 'IUF skill levels'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/levels/)*'
Street'
(http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Unicyclopedia/Street)*'unicycletips.com'
(http://unicycletips.com/)*'Trials class system'
(http://tinyurl.com/yqpvxk)*'Trials Building'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64235)
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[corbin]

Splodge;1124436 wrote:
> I've had my first Muni (Onza) now for a week , and it sure is harder
> than I thought (why I thought I'd pick up balancing on one wheel quickly
> is beyond me!!), after a couple of hours in the sadle I can wobble about
> 3 wheel revolutions - as everything I've read/seen says I think it's
> just a matter of practice, practice and more practice.
> I've read everything I can (this forum is fantastic) and think I know
> how to carry on learning, however a couple of questions that might seem
> daft but...
>
> Tyre: It's a really knobbly Kenda - would I be better to change this to
> a smoother tread for learning?
> Tyre pressure: At the moment its 50psi (3.5 bar) and feels hard, should
> it be more, less or doesn't it make a difference?
> Pedals: The pedals have 1/4" pegs/pins to grip my shoe sole's, as I use
> walking type treaded shoes for riding moving my feet about is difficult,
> should I just get used it or would I be better removing them.
>
> Thanks for any advice......probably more things to answer than I can
> think to ask!



I also learned on a muni. A KH 24. I think you'll be fine learning on
it. I don't think the knobby tire will make it much more difficult.

Lower the pressure. 50psi is way too high. It should be at 22 psi. The
softer tire will make learning easier.

General tips:
Put your weight in the seat, not in the pedals.
Go from parallel (to the ground) crank position, to parallel crank
position -- don't stop at the "dead spot" (vertical cranks).
Lean slightly forward.

corbin


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[Splodge]

Thanks guys, I've lowered the pressure to 25 psi and it feels alot more
stable (I still fell off quickly though!!) so I'm going to carry on with
the original tyre at the moment, although I do like the look of the
Hookworm for more 'normal' riding.
Also removing the pedal pins has improved my confidence in relation to
moving my feet about abit. I never ride without full shin guards on (I
learnt this VERY quickly!!!!).

I went out last night to my local park, it was very dark and poorly lit
so I nearly didn't even start - however when I did I strangely found it
easier due to hardly being able to see anything but just 'feeling' my
balance more. I was probably just having a better time of it but I'm
going to try it again in the dark and see how I get on. It could be the
way to learn!!!!.


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[scoope]

Hi Splodge

I am a relative beginner and learned on a 24" Nimbus Muni with the 3
inch knobbly tire that came stock with the bike (24x3 Duro).

I have just purchased a Hookworm as just about all of my riding is on
the street at the moment (though I do intend to go Muni when my skills
increase).

I will be testing the Hookworm this weekend and will report back with
how it compares to the Knobbly.

Cheers

Simon


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[Nurse Ben]

It takes time, lots and lots of time.

My son and I have been riding unicycles for five months. It took a week
to ride across the yard, a month to ride around the parking lot, two
months to learn a decent free mount, three months to ride gravel roads
and some easy double track, four months to start getting into technical
trail riding, and at present I'm still working on technical riding.

Unicycling has probably the flattest learning curve of any sport I have
tried, including surfing and whitewater kayaking.

If you want it, then you need to be obsessive about practice, daily if
possible, push yourself to try new things, start riding on grass and
gravel as soon as you can handle pavement, work on downhill skills, get
your freemount, learn to hop, etc...

I ride 3-5 times a week, so over the past five months I have ridden my
muni nearly 100 times and I still suck compared to the majority of the
riders on this forum, but I know that with time I'll be good enough to
ride my local trails with a UPD, logs, roots, rocks, and all :D


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[scoope]

I've just had a try out on the Hookworm. Initial thoughts were that the
tire felt quite twitchy in comparison to the knobbly. However after a
very short adjustment period I found that I could turn more easily.

Now this could simply be that I am getting better in general but the
ease that I found myself turning to the right (my hard side) I really
think was due mostly to the Hookworm.

Freemounting however was more difficult. I guess this makes sense as
the slick Hookworm offers less road rolling resistance making it easier
to lose forwards momentum during the static mount.

I am currently riding with 165mm cranks (24" wheel) but picked up some
150s when I ordered the Hookworm. I will try the 150s tomorrow as I did
not want to change too much at once. I hope that the shorter cranks
(and hence less torque) will counter the loss of road rolling resistance
and make the freemount a little easier for me - we shall see!

Stay tuned.

Cheers

Simon


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[scoope]

Been out on the 150s and I think I prefer them over the 165s. Easier on
the knees and I can spin better. I'm surprised 15 mm in crank length
makes so much difference.

Freemountng may be a little easier too because of less torque, but I
cannot be sure as I am still learning to freemount but it was definitely
not harder to mount.

I also think being slightly higher off the ground helps too, however I
am glad I had the 165s as I think they helped me along the way in the
early stages of learning.

Cheers

Simon


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[Splodge]

That's good info, I've got 165's at the moment but as I'm still at the
wobble - wobble - crash stage I doubt I'd notice a difference!!


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[zfox001]

i would definitely say lower your tire pressure. usually on the tire
they have a recommended pressure rating. so you might want to check that
out and then go for the lower end. dont go so low that your tire is
smooshy though

it took me a while to learn....but once i got the feeling for it i was
off.
after countless 2 or 3 revolution rides....it finally just clicked and
i was able to do like 20....then 30....and now just however much i want

goodluck...just keep with it


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