New found respect for Coker riders...

Hi all, I got my 29er from Municycle.com the day before last and I was
so surprised at how strange it felt to ride! My other unicycles consist
of two freestyle unis with 20" wheels and 125mm cranks, a 19" trials uni
with 140s and a 24x3 with 170mms. The 29er has 114mm cranks and it took
me several attempts to mount it, not being used to the height, crank
length or wheel size, having never even seen a 29er before!

Finally I got going and took a ride down the street and found stopping
and even slowing down really difficult as I tried jamming "the brakes"
on and having the wheel carry on without me down the road. Several
times. So I took to slowing down more gradually and getting more and
more comfortable with it. I even had flies bouncing off my face and
which I found strangely enjoyable (until three successive ones hit me in
the eyes) as I never thought it would be something I'd experience on a
unicycle.

Tried riding my trials uni immediately after andmy legs have apparently
forgotten how to use it. Very embarrasing!

I'll hopefully go for my first man-sized ride soon!

Anyway, I thought I'd share losing my 29er cherry with you all and take
my hat off to all coker riders. I've read a lot of coker reports on
these forums and often thought "surely it can't be that hard"- now I
take it back, I don't know how you do it and have a huge amount of
respect for all those that can!


--
one wheeled stallion - Guerilla Unicyclist

OWS

"It's all in the mind, not the behind" -Mikefule
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I always felt, and still do a bit, the same way. I can't wait to try
one.

David


--
darchibald - Unofficial level 3.9

"Testacles still intact" ~ My mom's reaction after watching me do a
suicide mount.
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I've had my 29er for two proper rides now, the first a long but
straightforward cruise and the second a proper off-road excursion. It's
been blummin' brilliant so far. Being able to keep up with the bikes (or
even go faster than, on some hills) is great, and you can go that much
further from the car park than on a 24".

I had my first proper falling-off-faster-than-I-can-run incident on the
last ride. Coming down a hill I lost control over a lump, tried to run
out of it but couldn't keep up and nearly dived headlong into a big
muddy puddle...

It's got 125mm cranks on it at the moment; I'm going to try 150s to see
if it's any easier to go up steep bumpy hills with them.

Looking forward to it...

Phil


--
phil - ex-studenty type

"Cattle Prods solve most of life's little problems."
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Wait till you try a Coker. You ain't seen nothin' yet. I just got my
29er yesterday, and the wheel feels light as a feather compared to the
Coker! This is for offroading, as I prepare for the 24 hour race this
weekend. My Coker currently has 170s on it. This makes it just barely
tolerable on the uphills, good on the downhills, and cruisin' fast on
the flats.

The 29er came with the 160s I asked for. I will experiment with those
and probably 150s for this event. It really depends how hilly the course
is. It's supposed to end with a 4-mile climb...

After that, I will start putting shorter cranks on the 29er in
preparation for racing it. I may try riding it to work with super-short
cranks. I'll keep you updated on my progress.


--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not
because they are easy, but because they are hard." -- John F. Kennedy,
1961
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Yea, the Coker is an interesting unicycle to come back to after taking a
break for like 5 months.

I have been riding my 26x3.0 MUni with 170mm cranks for a while and it
was a very different feeling to get back onto the Coker. It took four
or five tries to get back into the groove with the 150mm cranks.
Mounting the coker and then getting use to the cranks proved difficult.


anywho

later dudes


--
onetiredguy

I invented popular videos games such as "Dig Dug" and "Q-Bert"

I also came up with the name "Frogger." Can you believe they wanted to
name it "Highway Crossing Frog"?
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The Coker is the best unicycling illustration of the Law of Inertia. A
Coker in motion will tend to remain in motion....


--
tomblackwood - Registered Nurtz

Tailgate at your own risk.....

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I've been switching back and forth between 125s and 102s on my 29er, and
IMO a 29er with 102 cranks and a big apple tire behaves more like a
small Coker than anything else. It certainly has some differences, but
you get the same feeling MikeFule described recently of shared control
with the unicycle.

Incidentally, I've decided to use 125s rather than 102s for offroad. I
wouldn't want to go much longer than that, or else it defeats the
purpose of the unicycle. If I need a lot of leverage, I'll take my
24x3.

Ben


--
Ben Plotkin-Swing

www.benps.com

"Every truly great accomplishment is at first impossible" -Fortune
cookie.
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On Wed, 12 May 2004 15:12:19 -0500, "one wheeled stallion" wrote:

The 29er has 114mm cranks

That adds to the difficulty. I started to ride mine with 150 mm which
eased the transition a lot.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
be sure to remove the saddle and simply sit on the seat post. this is far more comfortable - tennisgh22 on the comfort of Savage unis

Ben Plotkin-Swing wrote:
*...Incidentally, I've decided to use 125s rather than 102s for
offroad. I wouldn't want to go much longer than that, or else it
defeats the purpose of the unicycle. If I need a lot of leverage, I'll
take my 24x3.

Ben *

Each course will call for its own uni-characteristics. How much flat,
how much hilly... I ride roads and flatish offroad with 125s. But had
dramatically better overall times on our 6.5 mile Tour d'Wolf MB course
by switching to 150s. Slower in the flats but could negotiate more of
the uphills and downhills remaining in the saddle. Drastically fewer
UPDs (and therefore remounts). But then, there are courses around here
I'd never attempt with the Niner. Waaaay too steep.

Survey. Think. Adjust and tweek as necessary. Have fun.


--
Memphis Mud - Student of GrandMaster 2T

Mantra: Avoid Hitting Tailbone...Avoid Hitting Tailbone...

"do not think, just ride"...muniracer
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I always thought of the 29er as really more like a 24/26" unicycle than
a Coker. So I didn't really have much interest. But I discovered a great
use for it. In the last 24 hour race, after I had completed 15 laps on
the Coker, I tried one on a 29er with 152mm cranks. It felt great! It is
so much lighter and easier to turn than a Coker - and that difference
is greatly magnified when you are completely hammered from riding for 15
hours straight!

I don't think you ever want longer than 152mm (and only that for steep
offroad). But it is a great feeling - it goes over obstacles, up steep
parts, and cruises on the flat reasonably well.

I've also ridden a 29er with 102mm cranks on the road and it is a nice
feeling, but I prefer the Coker w/120 to 130mm.

---Nathan


--
nathan - BIG rides: Muni & Coker
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