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-   -   WTB: Used Unicycle (26" or 24")... (http://www.cyclebanter.com/showthread.php?t=47359)

Carl Barrentine October 1st 03 12:47 AM

WTB: Used Unicycle (26" or 24")...
 
At age 50 I've finally decided to make the leap from two wheels to
one! ;) I'm a 6'1" fella with a 34" inseam, so I'm thinking that a
unicycle with a 26" (or 24") wheel would be a suitable fit. I'm
aimin' to use the cycle for campus commuting, as well as for possible
short tours (once I acquire the requisite skills and confidence).
I've looked at some rather swellish new unicycles (commuter and
touring-type cycles) on-line, but I'm reluctant to slap down hundreds
of dollars on a spiffy new unicycle at this early stage in my
commitment to pedalin' on one wheel. Please contact me if you know of
someone who's eager sell a good quality unicycle, say one with either
a 26" or 24" wheel. I'm certainly eager to buy my first unicycle!
Thanks! --carl



GILD October 1st 03 04:18 PM

WTB: Used Unicycle (26" or 24")...
 

Carl Barrentine wrote:
* Please contact me if you know of
someone who's eager sell a good quality unicycle, say one with
either
a 26" or 24" wheel. I'm certainly eager to buy my first unicycle!
Thanks! --carl


*



if u could give an indication of your upper price limit and your
location (by continent would help, city would be better)u might get more
of a response


--
GILD - Waffle-tosser

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the
silence of our friends.
-- Martin Luther King Jr.

'this will only take a minute...(fixed)'
(
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/actions/un.htm)
'and while u're in a good-deed-doing-mood...'
(http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com.)

JUST SAY 'KNOW'!

Namaste!
Dave
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unibabyguy October 1st 03 11:09 PM

WTB: Used Unicycle (26" or 24")...
 

You can often find used unicycles on Ebay. I would recommend a Schwinn
with cotterless cranks. There should be lots of those around. But for
the price you pay, you could probably get a brand new Torker.


--
unibabyguy - Hunter-riding Municyclist
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daino149 October 2nd 03 02:05 AM

WTB: Used Unicycle (26" or 24")...
 

Black (Stealth) Torker all the way! I just rode 40 miles on mine!

Daniel


--
daino149 - How's it going, Texas?

A One That Isn't Cold Is Scardely A One At All
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Carl Barrentine October 5th 03 12:58 AM

New Torker: My first attempts trying to ride...
 
daino149 wrote in message ...
Black (Stealth) Torker all the way! I just rode 40 miles on mine!

Daniel


Daniel et al. -- Thanks to all who responded to my inquiry about
purchasing a used 24-26" unicycle. I bought a 24" Black Torker whilst
I was in Fargo yesterday, and have been beaverin' about the task of
learning to ride the thing. So far I've invested 'bout an hour
attempting to ride with my left hand on the railing of the patio deck
last evening, and spent another hour this morning trying to ride the
inside perimeter of a local tennis court. I get the feeling that I'm
making some progress, though I have to concentrate pretty hard--so
much that I was pretty perspirey after each session--to (1) keep my
back straight and (2) put my weight on the saddle, not on the pedals.
(Thousands of hours bicycling has probably ruined me for unicycling!)

After a couple of hours practicing, I've a comment and then a quick
question about leg extension and placement of the foot on the pedals.
As a cyclist, I 'clip-in' to my heel-less shoes near the 'ball' of the
foot. But fiddlin' with this uni, I feel that I have more control on
the unicycle when I wear a heeled shoe and make contact with the pedal
in the arch portion of my foot.

Here's the question: Is there a preferred or recommended way that I
should place my feet on the pedals to maximize balance, control, and
smooth cadence?

My sense is that riding this contraption is heaps harder than riding
my track bike--my hard-learned cyclin' skills don't seem to transfer
well in the process of learning how to master this unicycle. For
example, after over two hours pedaling, I can sometimes go about 2-3
crank revolutions before I feel the need to prevent a fall. Is this
pretty typical? Candidly, I'm feelin' like a six year old, even
though I'm 51 and have been bicycling since I was six. ;)

Thanks for any hints you'd care to share! --carl (A new uni from
North Dakota)

Cubby01 October 5th 03 01:36 AM

New Torker: My first attempts trying to ride...
 

Thanks for any hints you'd care to share! --carl (A new uni from
North Dakota)


Carl, I'll turn 43 here pretty soon and just started riding in July. It's
amazing to ride today and recall the struggles of the first two weeks or so.
These days I'm able to mount and ride a mile or two without dismounting
quite easily. I've been working on rolling over speed bumps and scrap
lumber.

I've only one hint cause I know that like me you've read all the tips and
faqs you could find. JUST KEEP AT IT. It's just going to take a bit of
time for the neural connections between your butt, your brain, and your legs
to figure out what needs to happen. Till then, try to relax and let the uni
fall as it will. I'm also amazed at how much abuse the uni can take and how
much one can beat up a seat in that first few weeks. I'd suggest taping the
front and back of the seat to protect it a bit especially if you're
practicing on asphalt or concrete.

In the beginning I road around the inside of a tennis court hanging onto
chainlink fence. It helped me figure out how to get on and peddle around
the court grabbing chainlink but that's essentially what I learned... to
hold on to something. In hindsight I did this longer than I should have.
As soon as you can get several revolutions with assistance of a person,
wall, rail, or fence then start working on going it alone. I found an
empty parking lot that had quite a few light poles. Once I started getting
in a few revolutions of freedom and UPD'd, the next light post was only a
few yards away. You will hit the ground a lot. And in the most unexpected,
ungraceful ways. Wear at least a helmet and wrist guards.

OK well maybe that was more than one hint. Take Care. Have fun. It's
worth it.

-Cubby.




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Carl Barrentine October 5th 03 02:34 PM

New Torker: My first attempts trying to ride...
 
Cubby wrote:

JUST KEEP AT IT. It's just going to take a bit of time for the neural
connections between your butt, your brain, and your legs to figure out
what needs to happen....I'd suggest taping the front and back of the
seat to protect it a bit especially if you're practicing on asphalt or
concrete....I found an
empty parking lot that had quite a few light poles. Once I started
getting in a few revolutions of freedom and UPD'd, the next light post
was only a few yards away. You will hit the ground a lot. And in the
most unexpected, ungraceful ways. Wear at least a helmet and wrist
guards.

Cubby-- Thanks for the swell advice! I guess it does take some time
to 'rewire' the ol' neuromuscular physiology for pedalin' a unicycle.
The light pole notion seems like a doable idea! I'll give it a try
afetr a few more days grapplin' with the McKinley chainlink fence at
the local tennis court!;) I'll tape-up the plastic on the seat
too--smart idea! Finally, I purchased a set of used wristguards, and
elbow and knee pads at a local thrift store. Wearing that gear
(including my bicycle helmet), I feel like a gladiator. Learning to
ride a uni must be 'bout as abusive as playin' rugby in the Walmart
parking lot! ;) Thanks for your advice, Cubby! --carl

joona October 5th 03 04:55 PM

New Torker: My first attempts trying to ride...
 

MUNIYETI wrote:
...Lastly; I found a saddle height far lower than my normal bicycle
saddle height works best for me.

The saddle height is really important. I practiced with a too short
seatpost and it took quite a lot of time. Too high is also not a good
option. While holding on to a light pole, wall or similar roll one pedal
down. Saddle height is right when your leg is almost straight, but you
shouldn't have "force" the leg down, like while riding a bike. Your
foot should be horizontal, if you know what I mean.


--
joona - )-O --Neat

Real men use the same razor to shave their beard and legs
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Carl Barrentine October 5th 03 06:14 PM

New Torker: My first attempts trying to ride...
 
MUNIYETI wrote:

I know if you've read through the posts here the number 1 thing that
is suggested is to "put your weight on the saddle"...this advice did
not work for me initially, the high center of gravity (coupled with
ingrained "bike balance"
mentality of having most of the weight supported by your legs) made me
nervous and wildly unstable. I found I made better progress in
learning by gradually increasing the "saddle pressure thing" as I felt
more comfortable.

Muniyeti-- Oh, I certainly agree with you! As a cyclist I rarely put
the whole of my weight on the saddle--one's weight is transferred to
the bicycle through the feet (to the pedals) and hands (to the
handlebar) rather than to the saddle, and this is especially true when
starting. (And starting is the first hurdle of mastering the
unicycle, I think.) The weight of the bicyclist, the distribution of
his or her weight (or the center of gravity?), relative to the angle
of the seat tube and crankset, is waaaaay different than that of the
uni rider! Old habits die hard! ;)

Day 3: I spent another hour at the tennis court this morning. After
about 45-minutes of rather sluggish progress, I was finally able
to--in an accidental flash of luck, I think!--pedal 5 or 6
revolutions! Gads! I was balancing, not touching the fence with my
gloved left hand, and was really moving. Then I got scared, perhaps
because of the speed on the 24" wheel, and I launched myself forward
and off the uni like a gazelle. It's not much. But for me the 5-6
pedal strokes was a wildly important Day 3 milestone. I sure do a
heck of a lot of perspiring whilst fiddlin' with this Torker. What a
workout! I don't think there's a relazed muscle in my body...not even
my eyelids! This is perhaps why it's taking me so long to get the
hang of it. I have a hard time relaxing. Riding a bike is very
relaxing. Not so, yet anyway, on the uni! Toodles! --carl

joona October 5th 03 08:46 PM

New Torker: My first attempts trying to ride...
 

Carl Barrentine wrote:
Day 3: I spent another hour at the tennis court this morning. After
about 45-minutes of rather sluggish progress, I was finally able
to--in an accidental flash of luck, I think!--pedal 5 or 6
revolutions! Gads! I was balancing, not touching the fence with my
gloved left hand, and was really moving. Then I got scared, perhaps
because of the speed on the 24" wheel, and I launched myself forward
and off the uni like a gazelle. It's not much. But for me the 5-6
pedal strokes was a wildly important Day 3 milestone. I sure do a
heck of a lot of perspiring whilst fiddlin' with this Torker. What a
workout! I don't think there's a relazed muscle in my body...not even
my eyelids! This is perhaps why it's taking me so long to get the
hang of it. I have a hard time relaxing. Riding a bike is very
relaxing. Not so, yet anyway, on the uni! Toodles! --carl

I'd recommend you stop holding to the fence, now that you can do a few
revolutions. You may end up with a nasty habit of leaning to one
direction. I practiced by getting up while holding onto a wall and rode
away from it. Just like Cubby said, start holding to a light post or
something like that and ride away from it. This way you get more
practice on balancing and propably learn a bit faster. And remember,
never look down. Look at the same point all the time.
And about that sweating part, you'll learn to relax while practicing.
When I made my first about 400 meters (1/4 mile) ride, I sweated about 4
litres. Or more. This was while learning to freemount. Now I can ride
continuosly about 2 miles and it's quite easy.


--
joona - )-O --Neat

Real men use the same razor to shave their beard and legs
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