I know I'm digging a ways back for these quotes, but I haven't looked at
*Not only does that make Tom's time extremely expensive, but it
contrasts the fact that he is on FREE TIME when doing unicycling
related things. An insult to all of our intelligences, I must say.*
My (and Tom's) time is not free. All the hours we work at our jobs is to
"buy" our leisure time. We "spend" this time by not being paid for it.
If Tom and I choose to spend that time riding more and repairing our
cycles less, it is because that's what we choose to do with our time.
This does not mean it's wrong to enjoy doing cycle maintenance. I used
to enjoy that, along with car maintenance. No I prefer to do neither. If
I can spend a little (or maybe a lot) more to cut down on this
maintenance, it's well worth it *to me.* I do not know how much it's
worth to you, and you do not know how much it's worth to me, except by
reading our opinions here.
*Tom forgets you have to drill your own holes to a certain size AND
file those holes - which takes more time than slapping together parts
that already work together.*
How many times? We all seem to agree that one CF base is equal to an
unknown number of seat repairs, but the general consensus seems to be
"many."
*3. Finally, Tom omits the fact that unicycle maintainence is PART OF
THE SPORT. You are going to have to pump up tires, tighten bolts,
change components, shop, dream, design, modify parts of your
unicycle.*
Certainly it is, and this is true with any sport. Our choice to buy more
expensive parts so we can do *less* maintenance is up to us. Again you
seem to miss the point that some of us like maintenance less than
others. This makes the price difference less of a stretch for us.
Some of us believe the parts should not break. There's a difference
between maintenance and replacing parts that break because their design
is not up to the task.
I've been around long enough to see a lot of evolution in unicycles, and
to have been a participant in it. You know why Trials didn't exist when
I first got into unicycling? Because the unicycles would get destroyed
too fast. You would have to like repairing unicycles about 10x more than
riding to have enjoyed it.
Now we are in a time of evolution, with lots of new designs being tossed
around and actually available for us to buy. A CF seat base, even at $80
US, is infinitely more practical than a seat that will break after a few
days' hard riding. In the early 80s, all we had was the breaky seat.
It's nice to have a choice now.
*4. Finally, Tom omits the fact that something CAN go wrong with the
CF frame. For example, those holes that are drilled and filed - well,
they could wear lose (expecially if you have a tendency like me to
over tighten things).
Not gonna happen with 1/4 thick steel - you're more likely to snap the
bolt or strip the threads.*
Huh? Sounds like you're saying a CF frame can/will fail but a 1/4" thick
piece of steel won't. Is that your logic? Both have the potential for
eventual failure.
*john_childs: "A stiff seat meant better acceleration off the line.
And that would mean the difference between winning and losing some
races."
Unicycling is not that serious. Unicycle Racing isn't even an Olympic
sport, (where this type of thing would matter) is it?*
(That quote was me by the way) Is the Natioal Football League's sport
not that serious? You imply that it is. Cool as it is, the Olympics is
not everything.
If little league baseball isn't important, how come it turns parents
into such idiots? It's important to someone.
Any sport you do, *ANY SPORT* is as important to you as you choose it to
be. I chose to save up for many months and travel to the opposite side
of the world to race my unicycle. There I competed in a "Guinness 100m
race." The outcome of that race was determined in the first 10 meters,
and the finish was in the tiniest fraction of a second.
Photo attached. The three guys at the right are all within 1/10 second
of each other. This was one of about 10 heats we did to get the fastest
run possible. All had very similar outcomes.
Anyway, by having a quicker start than the guy next to me (Shigeru
Koike), I was able to be the winner. We rode at exactly the same top
speed, so it was all in the start. BTW, all the guys in that race,
except the one in the back, were riding on what were probably undoctored
Miyata seats and posts. This was before they had handles on the front.
This was 1987, Unicon III.
By winning this race, I got into the Guinness Book for four years. I
used this in my work, when appearing in schools, to encourage kids to go
down to the school library and read.
Even without all of that, it was still important. Our sport has world
championships, and top riders get together from around the world to
compete. Don't belittle them.
*it raises the question about how many unicycling races were lost by a
fraction of a second.*
You are showing your lack of knowledge. Hundreds. At least a dozen at
every NAUCC or Unicon. And the higher-level races, the finals, are
usually the closer ones, of course.
*Need more speed, get more skill, eat a better breakfast, change your
tire pressure, change the tire, have a "good" day - but change the
frame of your seat?*
I'm going to be polite in this whole message except for here.
Idiot.
I can get more skill, I already ate a better breakfast, if I put any
more air my tire would pop, and I had an absolutely bitchin' day. Let's
say I do all of those things. You're saying if Shigeru Koike did the
same, *and* had a super-stiff seat setup he wouldn't get a quicker
start?
Well you might say that. I'm here to correct you. No, it would make a
big effing difference. Thank you very much. Now let's hear some rebuttal
on that from experts.
Think about it: you need a extremely stiff seat, covered by an extremely
CUSHY innertube? That is not logical in anyway whatsoever.[/b]You think about it. You've got the whole seat flex thing upside down. You
keep recommending hanging a weight from the seat for objective "numbers."
Seat flex *downward* isn't the problem. The problem is when you pull up,
as you mentioned in one of your later posts. I want my seat to not flex
when I pull up on it. I want it to be soft when my crotch bounces around
on it. I have exactly that on my DM ATU, with gusseted Miyata air seat.
Works great.
On my carbon MUni, which I used to win some of those awards at Moab, I
have a Miyata air seat on top of a Thudbuster Uni Pivot seat post. Minimal
upward flex, so I can beat all but one or two of the "kids" in two of the
the uphill races. Sure, the engine counts for 99% of that. But we're
talking about the machine here, not the engine.
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--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com
"Beer me." -- Scot Cooper, at the end of a group ride all the way up and
all the way down Mt. Diablo (3300'), a 20 mile round trip of road and
trail.
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