Muni commuting

When I was deciding where to go from 20" I found advice from people on
this forum to be invaluable as I was quite bewildered by the effects of
wheel size and crank length on speed.

I wanted something fast and lacking the pronounced 'wobble' of 20"-ers
and opted for a Nimbus 28".

I found it a challenge to ride and a few months later bought a Nimbus
24x3, at which point, the 28" was relegated to the storage cupboard
whilst I spent many happy hours riding the muni.

Strangely, much of that riding was spent on road and pavement; I found
myself using it as a short range bike i.e. for commuting.

Traditional wisdom says that 20" is for freestyle/trials, 24" muni for
off roading, 28"/29"/coker for communting and coker for hard core long
distance.

After a couple of years of riding my muni I wanted to offer my
perspective on the commuting issue; whilst the above are a good basic
guide, I feel that in certain circumstances, the muni has advantages
over the 28/29-er.

By muni I mean a 24x3 with 150mm cranks and by 28/29-er I mean with
125mm cranks (these are the combinations I have personal experience
of).

By commuting I mean short/medium trips, starting from where you live (I
don't have a car so wherever it is I want to ride, I have to actually
ride there on the muni) and including trips to town/shops etc.

One factor is speed, and here the 28/29-er has a clear advantage, but
other factors include: -

1. safety for pedestrians- as much of the ride wil be on pavement it is
important that one can ride safely close to bystanders
2. ability to roll up/down curbs
3. ease of mounting and idling

The nice thing about a muni is that it is easy to control, the longer
cranks=better control which means that it's safer for bystanders.

Also, the slower speed of a muni makes it easy to ride behind slow
moving pedestrians who are blocking the way.

The muni is definitly superior to the 28" for going up/down curbs and on
bumpy terrain, though the fatter tyre on the 29" makes it very good for
these.

Another factor to consider is one that has been raised by several people
here in connection with 29-ers and Cokers; whilst the Coker is a faster
and smoother ride than a 29-er, people have found that in a town
situation, the 29" can complete a journey in less time because of the
number of stops necessary for traffic lights etc.

I think the same can be said of the muni and 28/29-er, though the latter
is the faster machine, on journeys that involve crowded pavements
(sidewalks) and frequent stops, the muni can be a less stressful ride,
and sometimes, a faster one.

The final factor, and a very relevant one for me, is that the muni is
better on steep hills, and, in Sheffield, there are a lot of very steep
hills!

I must admit that, when I converted my 28-er to a 29-er, over the few
weeks I spent riding it I really came to appreciate the speed and
smoothness of the ride, and the muni felt like a tank in comparison when
I got back on it.

My 29-er riding was developing nicely until I switched to 110mm cranks
and had a nasty fall. When I recovered and wanted to ride again I didn't
want to risk another fall onto the same place and with the muni I knew
that it wouldn't happen.

Whilst I must confess that I've spent a lot more time on the muni than
the 29-er and do understand that the more one rides a 29-er, the better
one gets; I believe that the muni is a machine that can be ridden with
great control even after a few months lay off.

This isn't the case with the 29-er; I took it out a couple of nights ago
(with 125's) and felt pretty inept; admittedly it was a night ride and I
hadn't ridden the 29 for ages, but this wouldn't be a problem with the
muni.

I do fully intend to get back into 29-ing, maybe next spring when
there's some daylight, cos it is a great ride when you've spent time
getting used to it.

Also, a lot of it is due to Sheffield hills; I took my muni to Milton
Keynes last year, and, if I lived there I think my ideal uni would be a
29-er or even a Coker- Mk is flat and has an amazing cycle path network
that is independant of the roads.

But for steep hilly urban areas like Sheffield I would say that a 24x3
muni is preferable to 28/29 for commuting.


--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 15:22:37 -0600, onewheeldave
.com wrote:

for steep hilly urban areas like Sheffield I would say that a 24x3
muni is preferable to 28/29 for commuting.

Much if not all of what you say is valid. But you leave out the
29'er_and_150_mm_cranks combination - might be a good 'compromise'.
One more remark: when you say 'muni' does that include an off-road
tyre? For city use, a smoother tyre might wear less, cost less, roll
lighter on pavement and possibly weigh less.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
"Friends don't let friends drop to flat - Kris Holm, discussing large drops to flat ground."

You've made a good call dave, one other nice thing about smaller wheels
is that if you happen to live too far away to commute purely on a
unicycle (like me), it'll still be easy to take your MUNi in
cars/trains/buses/helicopters.

cheers
Pete


--
pete66 - Verging on Level 3 Unicyclist
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isn't 'that a compromise?' (http://tinyurl.com/274vk) (a "road muni?")

bear


--
wobbling bear - GranPa goes-a-wobblin'
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On pavements (sidewalks to Americans), the 29er takes some getting used
to, but in the end you can ride around pedestrians fine. However, If I
am just riding on the pavement, I usually prefer my 26" or a 24x3.

When I commute, I ride on the actual road. It's so much faster and you
don't have to worry about running down pedestrians or stop anywhere near
as much.

Joe


--
joemarshall - dumb blonde
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Klaas Bil wrote:
*
Much if not all of what you say is valid. But you leave out the
29'er_and_150_mm_cranks combination - might be a good 'compromise'.
One more remark: when you say 'muni' does that include an off-road
tyre? For city use, a smoother tyre might wear less, cost less, roll
lighter on pavement and possibly weigh less.
*

Yeah, I should try out 150's on a 29, and also 125's on the muni, I'm a
little lazy with switching cranks.

I do wonder what I'd gain though by having 150's on a 29, given that I'd
lose the advantage of speed and small crank turning circle, am I not
going to be better off on the muni?

For the tyre I use 3" Halo Contra, a fat off road tyre which is slightly
smaller than a Gazz and has a rounder profile, it's effectively a slick
now cos the treads gone.

I would love to try a proper fat slick though, but the only ones
available are sub 3" (no one in UK seems to stock the 'Big Apples')


--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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onewheeldave wrote:
*...
For the tyre I use 3" Halo Contra, a fat off road tyre which is
slightly smaller than a Gazz and has a rounder profile, it's
effectively a slick now cos the treads gone.

I would love to try a proper fat slick though, but the only ones
available are sub 3" (no one in UK seems to stock the 'Big Apples') *
The german muni guy has the Dyno Fireball 24x3. It's a nice looking
tyre, but I think I'm too lazy to change tyres, and the
Halo/Duro/Contra/Wildlife does OK.

http://tinyurl.com/y943


--
cjd - Pashley apologist
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I meant to say Fireball, not Big Apple (I think the Apple is for
29-ers?).

It'd be nice to try a 24x3 slick tyre but I agree that the
Halo/Duro/Contra/Wildlife is a really good tyre- inexpensive, ok for
roads/pavement and, when the knobbles have worn down it still lasts for
ages.

While on this subject I'd like to say what a great machine the Nimbus
24x3 is; I must have had mine a couple of years now and, despite a lot
of use it's still in excellent shape.

Whilst that's partly due to the fact that I mainly just ride it and
don't do drops or trials type stuff, it's held up really well with the
wheel as true as the day I got it and the cranks still at 180 degrees.

I think for the price it's one of the safest bets for beginners who
don't know exactly what kind of unicycling they want to get into.


--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 14:05:36 -0600, onewheeldave
.com wrote:

I do wonder what I'd gain though by having 150's on a 29, given that I'd
lose the advantage of speed and small crank turning circle, am I not
going to be better off on the muni?
Well, you said you have 150's on the muni too.

For the tyre I use 3" Halo Contra, a fat off road tyre which is slightly
smaller than a Gazz and has a rounder profile, it's effectively a slick
now cos the treads gone.
Are the treads also gone on the sides? If not, the footprint may have
become wider, impeding turning and the like (similar to how the Gazz
doesn't like pavement). I think a dedicated road slick may work
better.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
I hope to be a 90 year old guy who rides his unicycle to the store for whiskey and condoms. - J.D. Miller

Klaas Bil wrote:
*On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 14:05:36 -0600, onewheeldave
.com wrote:

I do wonder what I'd gain though by having 150's on a 29, given that
I'd
lose the advantage of speed and small crank turning circle, am I
not
going to be better off on the muni?
Well, you said you have 150's on the muni too.

For the tyre I use 3" Halo Contra, a fat off road tyre which is
slightly
smaller than a Gazz and has a rounder profile, it's effectively a
slick
now cos the treads gone.
Are the treads also gone on the sides? If not, the footprint may
have
become wider, impeding turning and the like (similar to how the Gazz
doesn't like pavement). I think a dedicated road slick may work
better.

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
I hope to be a 90 year old guy who rides his unicycle to the store for
whiskey and condoms. - J.D. Miller

*

I meant that a 29-er with 150's wouldn't be that much different to a
24x3"(effectively 26") with 150's, so there didn't seem much point to
it.

After todays ride I'm happier about the 29 with 125's (see next post)
and reckon I'll work on getting used to it one the roads because, even
though the 125's=less control, I do like the smoother ride they give.

As for the worn down Muni tyre, there doesn't seem to be any turning
problem; I'm sure a dedicated road slick would be better for concrete
riding, but there aren't any 3" slicks available in UK.


--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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