Using a unicycle to do a bicycle's job
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I refer to myself as a "unicyclist" since it is an activity I do on an
almost daily basis. People who unicycle regularly will do so for
various different reasons. For my own part, my interest is primarily
to use it as a tool for getting around and/or keeping myself fit and
active. Thus I use my unicycles pretty much as others might use a bike
(or perhaps even a car). The longest I have travelled in a single ride
is a little over 62km (39 miles) but I cycle distances in the 25 to
30km (15 to 19 mile) range fairly often and I cycle at least 10km (6
miles) for my daily round trip commutes (sometimes more than double
that, as I love taking detours if I have the time).

When I tell people this in "real life" a couple of questions are often
raised, so I decided to write them up and give myself something to
refer to in the future.

[i] If you are reading this and have more questions however, feel free
to send me an email and I might just do a follow up. ;)

Why not just ride a bike?
-------------------------

A unicycle is physically more work than riding a bike. It simply is
not as efficient, nor as quick. The vast majority of unicycles (and
certainly all the ones I own) have fixed hubs. This means that the
cranks cannot move independently of the wheel and thus there is no
straightforward way to "coast". You have to pedal every stroke.
Bicyclists tend to forget how often they coast. Many casual bicyclists
stop pedalling on even the tiniest, most minor downhill gradients. I
have seen cyclists coast on the small drop off the back of a speed
bump!

Additionally unicycles have very low gearing (one revolution of the
cranks is one wheel revolution). A midrange gear on a bike is
typically such that one revolution of the cranks will turn the wheel
through two complete revolutions of the wheel, i.e. you go twice as
far and twice as fast for the same wheel size if you assume the same
peddling speed (cadence).

If that was not enough, a wider range of muscles seems to be involved
in balance and control on a unicycle, compared with a bike.

For all these reasons, new unicyclists often find themselves
completely worn out and sweating profusely after a couple hundred
meters of cycling. With improvements to technique and muscle
conditioning it certainly gets much easier but it will never be
anything like as low effort as riding a bicycle, which is likely the
most efficient form of human powered transport.

So why bother? For much the same reason that someone might choose to
run or skate instead of ride a bike. Efficiency is not the be all and
end all. Many people enjoy the extra workout, for others they find the
movement more interesting and hence more fun. Unicycling is much the
same, while superficially it might appear to be essentially the same
as bicycling, in practice the differences can be the very thing you
are seeking. Certainly that is true in my case. I relish the extra
effort and the feeling of balance is something quite special and not
matched by a regular bike bike, as far as I am concerned.

How fast is it?
---------------

Unicycling is not necessarily as slow as many might assume. The
typical image of a unicycle in most people's mind is fairly small,
with a 20 inch wheel. Unicycles of this size are likely the most
common and it is a good size for a range of tricks but it is a little
small for my use cases. My smallest unicycle has a 24 inch wheel
(roughly the same size as a child's mountain bike wheel), while my
largest has a massive 36 inch wheel, which is far bigger than any
bicycle you are likely to encounter.

A bigger wheel means gets you closer to bike performance as you will
travel further and faster for the same cadence relative to a little
wheeled unicycle. There are other tricks as well. Learning how to spin
fast comfortably is a skill that can be achieved with some effort.

Running very short cranks can also help with spin rate. It is easier
spin quickly with small, tight movements, which is more natural when
using shorter cranks. A bicycle will typically have cranks in the
165-170mm length range. I have been known to run cranks as small as
75mm (which look like something I stole off a small child's bike).
Shortening crank length comes with a lot of compromise however. You
lose control (something already in short supply on a unicycle) and by
using less of your leg length, you are not making optimal use of your
muscles. For this reason I tend to favour lengths in the 100 to 117mm
range.

So... how fast is it then? Well it varies of course depending on which
size unicycle, which size cranks, how hilly the route is, the weather
and other factors. On my commutes I tend to average 15-16km/h
(9-10mph) for a typical 5km distance. Though on a good day, if I am in
a hurry, I might average in the 18-19km/h (11-12mph) range. These
kinds of speeds actually put me pretty close to a casual/relaxed
bicycle rider. So slow... but not that slow. ;)

P.S. Here are some of my previous articles that talk a little about
unicycling.

~ Brakes on a unicycle:
gopher://sdf.org/0/users/r0/phlog/2022-09-03_Brakes-on-a-unicycle.txt

~ Unicycling in the snow:
gopher://sdf.org/0/users/r0/phlog/2021-11-30_Unicycling_in_the_snow.txt

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